Aggies Ink Six Swimmers in 2022 Signing Class
Nov 16, 2021 | Men's Swimming and Diving
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M men's swimming & diving team signed six swimmers to National Letters of Intent, including Baylor Nelson, Maximiliano Vega Cuevas, Kaloyan Levterov, Connor Foote, Garret Green and Batuhan Filiz, head coach Jay Holmes announced.
"Our team and staff are really excited about this incoming class," Holmes said. "We have the top-end quality of having a swimmer like Baylor Nelson who can literally do any stroke at an elite level. We have the international experience of Kaloyan Levterov, Batuhan Filiz and Max Vega Cuevas. We have two of the best of Texas in Connor Foote and Garret Green. On paper we don't know if there is a better incoming class in the country. Individually these guys are some of the best we have ever recruited to A&M. Top-to-bottom this is the best class in our history. Putting them together, we think they are going to make a huge, immediate impact on our team and our future."
Baylor Nelson – Huntersville, N.C. – IM
Holmes on Nelson: Baylor is arguably the No. 1 recruit in the country. Just by looking at his times you can see he is elite in every stroke. He is first and foremost a racer. His club coaches told us that straight away. He just finds a way to win and is truly great in relay situations. But he is going to bring more than that to our program. We think he will be a guy who will make everyone around him better.
Nelson comes to Aggieland as the top recruit in the nation according to SwimSwam.com and was recently named to the USA National Junior Team. He has been competing with SwimMac Carolina under coach Chuck Batchelor for 10 years. Nelson qualified for Wave II of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He helped the SwimMac Carolina 800 free and 400 free relay teams break two 17-18 LCM national age group records in 2021. Nelson also helped his club to a Summer Junior Nationals team championship in 2019. Nelson was a four-year swimming letterman for the Community School of Davidson, serving as the team captain his senior year. He is a four-time state champion in the 200 IM and three-time champion in the 100 fly, leading his team to a second-place finish at state his junior year. Nelson was also named MVP at state his junior year. He has recorded top times of 47.50 in the 100 fly and 1:44.46 in the 200 IM. His sister, Emme Nelson, is a sophomore on the Aggie women's swimming team.
Maximiliano Vega Cuevas – Rosarito, Mexico – IM/Breast
Holmes on Vega Cuevas: Max is a very good IM'er. He was 14th at the 2019 World Juniors and will compete at the Junior Pan-Ams next month. Over the past decades we have had quite a few swimmers from Mexico be great additions to our team. Max is going to continue that tradition and has a great upside in potential for us.
Vega Cuevas has been swimming for Rosarito Nadadores under the instruction of Erik Galvan for nine years. He has recorded top times of 4:14.40 in the 400 IM, 2:00.40 in the 200 IM, 2:14.2 in the 200 breast, 2:00.6 in the 200 back and 2:00.70 in the 200 fly, in short course competition. In long course competition, he clocked in at 4:23.6 in the 400 IM, 2:04.75 in the 200 IM and 2:19.2 in the 200 breast. He earned the honor of Swimmer of the Meet at Mexican Junior Nationals in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Kaloyan Levterov – Sofia, Bulgaria – Free/Back
Holmes on Levterov: Kaloyan is an Olympian, having represented his home country at this past summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo. While he will help us in freestyle too, his best stroke is backstroke. He currently is ranked No. 17 in the world in the 200 back. Being in the top 20 in the world with still another year of high school to finish is really an awesome accomplishment. His impact on our program will be immediate.
Levterov, a Tokyo Olympian, is coming to Aggieland after spending 12 years swimming for club Slavia, under coach Jorj Stankovich. His time of 1:56.57 in the 200m back from the 2020 Grand Prix Burgas ranks as the 17th fastest time in the world in the 2020-21 season. He has also recorded LCM personal bests of 25.70 in the 50 back, 54.96 in the 100 back, 1.50.25 in the 200 free and 49.6 in the 100 free relay. Levterov holds Bulgarian national records in the backstroke events and competed in the 100 and 200 back at the 2021 Olympic Games.
Connor Foote – San Antonio, Texas – Free/Back
Holmes on Foote: We heard about him initially from one of our former swimmers, who told us that Connor had a great stroke and could kick. We just had to see him once to know that we wanted him at A&M. Connor has a beautiful stroke and can be a truly great kicker. Put those two strengths together and we think everyone will see that he is going to be great on our team. He has a tremendous future of great swimming ahead of him.
Foote has been swimming competitively since he was 8 years old, most recently for the Alamo Area Aquatics Association under coach Doug Gjertsen. Foote also received four varsity letters, swimming for Alamo Heights High School, where he clocked personal-best times of 47.35 in the 100 fly, 44.38 in the 100 free and 48.42 in the 100 back, breaking school records in these events. Foote is a two-time 5A state champion in the 100 free and earned a state title in the 100 back as a junior. He was named MVP for his high school team his freshman, sophomore and junior years.
Garret Green – Kingwood, Texas – Free/Fly
Holes on Green: One of our priorities in this class was to find a flyer. Getting Garret to A&M as one of our first commits to this class really got us started in the right direction. The bonus about getting Garret is that he is a very good freestyler and IM'er. He is actually quite versatile and will push us in more than fly events.
Green competes for Blue Tide Aquatics where he is coached by Andy Korda. At 2021 Speedo Summer Championships (West) he posted a LCM time of 54.23 in the 100m fly, also setting new personal bests in the 100m free, 50m back and 50m fly. At Kingwood High School, he claimed the 6A state title in the 100 fly (47.80) and 400 free relay as a junior, and took third in the 100 back (49.19). Green's performances at the Texas State Championships earned him NISCA All-America honors in the 100 fly, 100 back, 200 medley relay and 400 free relay.
Batuhan Filiz – Ankara, Turkey – Free
Holmes on Filiz: Batuhan won the European Juniors this past summer and is ranked as the No. 1 16 year old in the world in the 400 free. Having him in our distance training group is going to raise all of our expectations. We look forward to getting him here as soon as possible.
Filiz is an Ankara, Turkey native that competes for Enka Spor Kulubu. At the 2021 LEN European Junior Championships, Filiz won the 400m free with a lifetime best time of 3:50.68. In the spring, Filiz recorded first-place finishes at Turkish Youth Junior and Winter Nationals in the 800m free (8:00.43), 400m (3:52.50) and 200m free (1:50.29), also adding a sixth-place finish in the 100m free (52.45).
"Our team and staff are really excited about this incoming class," Holmes said. "We have the top-end quality of having a swimmer like Baylor Nelson who can literally do any stroke at an elite level. We have the international experience of Kaloyan Levterov, Batuhan Filiz and Max Vega Cuevas. We have two of the best of Texas in Connor Foote and Garret Green. On paper we don't know if there is a better incoming class in the country. Individually these guys are some of the best we have ever recruited to A&M. Top-to-bottom this is the best class in our history. Putting them together, we think they are going to make a huge, immediate impact on our team and our future."
Baylor Nelson – Huntersville, N.C. – IM
Holmes on Nelson: Baylor is arguably the No. 1 recruit in the country. Just by looking at his times you can see he is elite in every stroke. He is first and foremost a racer. His club coaches told us that straight away. He just finds a way to win and is truly great in relay situations. But he is going to bring more than that to our program. We think he will be a guy who will make everyone around him better.
Nelson comes to Aggieland as the top recruit in the nation according to SwimSwam.com and was recently named to the USA National Junior Team. He has been competing with SwimMac Carolina under coach Chuck Batchelor for 10 years. Nelson qualified for Wave II of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He helped the SwimMac Carolina 800 free and 400 free relay teams break two 17-18 LCM national age group records in 2021. Nelson also helped his club to a Summer Junior Nationals team championship in 2019. Nelson was a four-year swimming letterman for the Community School of Davidson, serving as the team captain his senior year. He is a four-time state champion in the 200 IM and three-time champion in the 100 fly, leading his team to a second-place finish at state his junior year. Nelson was also named MVP at state his junior year. He has recorded top times of 47.50 in the 100 fly and 1:44.46 in the 200 IM. His sister, Emme Nelson, is a sophomore on the Aggie women's swimming team.
Maximiliano Vega Cuevas – Rosarito, Mexico – IM/Breast
Holmes on Vega Cuevas: Max is a very good IM'er. He was 14th at the 2019 World Juniors and will compete at the Junior Pan-Ams next month. Over the past decades we have had quite a few swimmers from Mexico be great additions to our team. Max is going to continue that tradition and has a great upside in potential for us.
Vega Cuevas has been swimming for Rosarito Nadadores under the instruction of Erik Galvan for nine years. He has recorded top times of 4:14.40 in the 400 IM, 2:00.40 in the 200 IM, 2:14.2 in the 200 breast, 2:00.6 in the 200 back and 2:00.70 in the 200 fly, in short course competition. In long course competition, he clocked in at 4:23.6 in the 400 IM, 2:04.75 in the 200 IM and 2:19.2 in the 200 breast. He earned the honor of Swimmer of the Meet at Mexican Junior Nationals in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Kaloyan Levterov – Sofia, Bulgaria – Free/Back
Holmes on Levterov: Kaloyan is an Olympian, having represented his home country at this past summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo. While he will help us in freestyle too, his best stroke is backstroke. He currently is ranked No. 17 in the world in the 200 back. Being in the top 20 in the world with still another year of high school to finish is really an awesome accomplishment. His impact on our program will be immediate.
Levterov, a Tokyo Olympian, is coming to Aggieland after spending 12 years swimming for club Slavia, under coach Jorj Stankovich. His time of 1:56.57 in the 200m back from the 2020 Grand Prix Burgas ranks as the 17th fastest time in the world in the 2020-21 season. He has also recorded LCM personal bests of 25.70 in the 50 back, 54.96 in the 100 back, 1.50.25 in the 200 free and 49.6 in the 100 free relay. Levterov holds Bulgarian national records in the backstroke events and competed in the 100 and 200 back at the 2021 Olympic Games.
Connor Foote – San Antonio, Texas – Free/Back
Holmes on Foote: We heard about him initially from one of our former swimmers, who told us that Connor had a great stroke and could kick. We just had to see him once to know that we wanted him at A&M. Connor has a beautiful stroke and can be a truly great kicker. Put those two strengths together and we think everyone will see that he is going to be great on our team. He has a tremendous future of great swimming ahead of him.
Foote has been swimming competitively since he was 8 years old, most recently for the Alamo Area Aquatics Association under coach Doug Gjertsen. Foote also received four varsity letters, swimming for Alamo Heights High School, where he clocked personal-best times of 47.35 in the 100 fly, 44.38 in the 100 free and 48.42 in the 100 back, breaking school records in these events. Foote is a two-time 5A state champion in the 100 free and earned a state title in the 100 back as a junior. He was named MVP for his high school team his freshman, sophomore and junior years.
Garret Green – Kingwood, Texas – Free/Fly
Holes on Green: One of our priorities in this class was to find a flyer. Getting Garret to A&M as one of our first commits to this class really got us started in the right direction. The bonus about getting Garret is that he is a very good freestyler and IM'er. He is actually quite versatile and will push us in more than fly events.
Green competes for Blue Tide Aquatics where he is coached by Andy Korda. At 2021 Speedo Summer Championships (West) he posted a LCM time of 54.23 in the 100m fly, also setting new personal bests in the 100m free, 50m back and 50m fly. At Kingwood High School, he claimed the 6A state title in the 100 fly (47.80) and 400 free relay as a junior, and took third in the 100 back (49.19). Green's performances at the Texas State Championships earned him NISCA All-America honors in the 100 fly, 100 back, 200 medley relay and 400 free relay.
Batuhan Filiz – Ankara, Turkey – Free
Holmes on Filiz: Batuhan won the European Juniors this past summer and is ranked as the No. 1 16 year old in the world in the 400 free. Having him in our distance training group is going to raise all of our expectations. We look forward to getting him here as soon as possible.
Filiz is an Ankara, Turkey native that competes for Enka Spor Kulubu. At the 2021 LEN European Junior Championships, Filiz won the 400m free with a lifetime best time of 3:50.68. In the spring, Filiz recorded first-place finishes at Turkish Youth Junior and Winter Nationals in the 800m free (8:00.43), 400m (3:52.50) and 200m free (1:50.29), also adding a sixth-place finish in the 100m free (52.45).
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