2024 Olympian Luke Whitlock is expected to make his first appearance for the Indiana Hoosiers this season at the College Swimming League Wild Card match tomorrow in Indianapolis. This would be his first action for the Hoosiers since the 2026 NCAA Championships last season.
The Hoosiers have already competed in a slew of matches this season, including two CSL matches (#1 and #5), and a pair of high-level meets against Texas/Northwestern in early October, and Kentucky/USC later that month.
Whitlock raced in only five meets for Indiana last season, his first season with the program after spending his first collegiate semester at Florida, where he represented the gators though their midseason invitational as a freshman.
At the time of his commitment to Indiana, he said he had been experiencing pain in his right shoulder. However, he continued to train, later getting an MRI which revealed a more serious injury. This led him to return to his club team, Fishers Area Swimming Tigers, where he trained and rehabbed the shoulder through the spring semester of his freshman year.
In his sophomore season at Indiana, his first meet with the team came at the Ohio State Invitational. He later finished as the runner-up in both the 500 free (4:09.60) and the 1650 free (14:31.54) at the Big Ten Championships, and went on to finish 6th at NCAAs in the 1650 (14:34.30) and 22nd in the 500 free (4:14.41).
Whitlock was seeking a medical hardship waiver, though it was reportedly rejected, a source told SwimSwam.
Now, as a junior, Whitlock is expected to make his first appearance of the season in Indianapolis as the Hoosiers aim to claim the final spot in the CSL final in the Wild Card meet tomorrow.
Indiana has declined to comment.
The Indiana team has performed well this season in the CSL and will be looked at as favorites to claim that last remaining spot. Though the Olympian does boost those odds, his prowess as a distance swimmer minimizes the impact, considering the CSL does not race anything longer than 500 yards. It will be interesting to see what Whitlock opts to race in a meet that only truly features one sure-fire event for him, though he did swim a career best 1:35.53 200 free in a dual meet against Purdue last season.
Whitlock rose to the headlines after making his first Olympic Team in 2024 as the youngest male to make the US Olympic roster since Michael Phelps in 2000, though his college career up to this point has not gone exactly according to plan.
In Paris, Whitlock finished 15th in the 800 free (7:49.26), though he was one of several US swimmer to test positive for COVID-19.
We only saw Whitlock once during the long course season, which came in early May at the Indy Spring Cup, where he picked up two wins in the 400 free (3:51.42) and the 800 free (7:58.26).
The CSL roster limits allow only 14 men and 14 women per school, which is less than half of a Division I roster, which is capped at 30 men and 30 women.
Whitlock’s Best Times At Indiana:
- 200 Free: 1:35.53 (PB)
- 500 Free: 4:09.60 (PB)
- 1000 Free: 8:42.28 (PB)
- 1650 Free: 14:31.54 (PB)
- 400 IM: 3:42.69 (PB)
