Two NCAA finalists this previous season Josh Matheny and Luke Barr of Indiana have entered the NCAA switch portal “briefly” to permit for a voluntary reallocation of scholarship cash to Owen McDonald, who introduced his switch earlier this week.
Only a day earlier than the switch portal closed, Matheny and Barr entered with “don’t contact” designations. Each entered “briefly as a result of it gave us the choice of giving a few of our scholarship {dollars} to Owen,” Matheny mentioned.
Getting into the portal allowed Matheny and Barr to “break” their scholarship agreements and voluntarily cut back their scholarship for subsequent season.
“Owen is a improbable addition to the team-a nice man and an incredible swimmer. We had been actually excited to have the ability to play a small position in getting him to IU,” Matheny continued.
The Indiana males completed 4th this previous season at NCAAs, solely two factors behind Florida. The addition of McDonald is big for the staff as they give the impression of being to remain on the high of the NCAA.
McDonald’s greatest influence appears to be like to fill among the hole that graduating fifth 12 months Brendan Burns leaves. McDonald was in the identical NCAA ‘A’ remaining as Burns in each the 100 and 200 backstrokes. Along with his backstroke means, McDonald additionally brings worth to the IM group as he was 2nd within the occasion at 2024 NCAAs. Owen’s youthful brother Cooper McDonald dedicated final November and also will arrive this fall.
Along with McDonald, the Hoosiers additionally welcome the return of their seniors that swam at NCAAs. Tomer Frankel and Jassen Yep had been 2024 NCAA ‘A’ finalists whereas Gavin Wight swam as a relay-only swimmer for the staff. The staff additionally welcomes Brian Benzing from Towson for his fifth 12 months.
Getting into the switch portal permits for colleges to realloate one’s scholarship. As scholarships are sometimes signed based mostly on binding contracts, getting into the portal is critical within the case of a voluntary reallocation of scholarship. Matheny and Barr are each getting into their senior seasons whereas Owen McDonald will arrive as a junior.