Regis Jesuit boys swimming star Clark Smith has verbally committed to the University of Texas.
Smith gave his pledge to the Longhorns and coach Eddie Reese on Sunday, joining the school where both his mother Tori and father John starred.
The three-time Class 5A state champion in the 100 butterfly, his family and Nick Frasersmith, his coach at the Denver Swim Academy, visited Austin, Texas, to make the announcement.
Smith — who swam a heavy slate in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Neb. over the summer — is headed to a program that currently includes another former Aurora state champion, Grandview graduate John Martens, who is a freshman this season. Texas is also in the running for the pledge of another Regis Jesuit star, Olympian Missy Franklin.
The commitment of Smith is big news in the Texas swim community, which still remembers the contributions of his parents in the 1980s.
His mother Tori, formerly Trees, was a 1984 Olympian in the 200 backstroke and his father swam in the U.S. Trials twice. John Smith was on a NCAA championship-winning 400 medley relay team in 1984.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at [email protected] or 303-750-7555
