BATON ROUGE — LSU head swimming coach Jeff Cavana announced the signing of eight student-athletes for the fall signing period Thursday afternoon.
The eight prospects are the most to sign letters-of-intent during the Cavana era. Two of the signees hail from Texas, two from Georgia, one from Indiana, one from Kentucky, one from Louisiana and one from the nation of Estonia.
“This is by far the most that we’ve ever signed in the early signing period,” said Cavana. “It is also one of our best classes ever. They are a talented group of recruits that will make us better in all areas of our swimming program – sprint, stroke, middle distance and distance.”
Destrehan, La. native Kevin Braud is one of the top sprint freestyle swimmers in the state. The Louisiana state high school champion in the 100-yard backstroke carries a 3.2 gpa and qualified for Senior Nationals in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke events.
“Kevin is an exceptional swimmer that will be able to step in immediately and have an impact on our program,” said Cavana. “We are excited to keep an athlete of this caliber in the state of Louisiana.”
Signees Stefanie Carver and Michelle Stabler both hail from the state of Texas. Carver, who currently attends Klein High School in Spring, was a U.S. Open qualifier in both the 100-yard butterfly and the 200 individual medley. While adding much needed depth to the Lady Tigers’ butterfly events, Carver currently carries a perfect 4.0 gpa. Stabler, a native of The Woodlands, earned high school All-American status 11 times during her illustrious high school career. The versatile swimmer was a Texas state finalist in both the 200 and 500-yard freestyle and was also a U.S. Open qualifier in five freestyle events.
Fort Thomas, Kent. native Mallory Neltner will add much needed depth to the Lady Tigers’ sprint freestyle efforts next season. Neltner was a Kentucky state finalist in both the 100-yard backstroke and 50-yard freestyle where she finished third and sixth, respectively as a junior. Her older brother, Ross, is currently a standout freshman on the LSU men’s basketball team.
Two signees will join the Tigers after having outstanding high school careers in the state of Georgia. Jay Fitzgerald of Parkview High School in Liburn was named high school All-American in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle. Fitzgerald was a U.S. Open qualifier in the 500 and 1000-yard freestyle. He also was a standout member of the highly recognized Dynamo USS Club Team out of Atlanta.
“Jay is going to be able to step in immediately and add quality to our distance and middle distance freestyle events,” said Cavana. “He will also help strengthen our 800-yard freestyle relay and continue to improve year after year.”
Michelle Hanson is a native of Alpharetta, Ga. Hanson, who currently attends Chattahoochee High School, is one of two Lady Tigers to carry 4.0 gpa’s into their senior year of high school. She will join current LSU swimmers Lauren Harvey and Jeannine Malbrough as one of three breaststroke swimmers on the squad.
“Michelle will make an immediate impact and help us out in both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events,” said Cavana. “She has also proven that she is also an outstanding student-athlete and is able to balance both swimming and academics.”
Eddie Kenney, a product of Westfield High School in Carmel, Ind., specializes in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle. He was the Indiana state high school runner-up in the 100-yard freestyle and finished fifth in the 50-yard freestyle as a junior.
“Eddie will help us out in our sprint events,” said Cavana. “He’s a very focused individual, with a great personality and big-time goals. He will be a great addition to our men’s team.”
Rounding out the fall recruiting class is Miko Malberg of Tallinn, Estonia. Malberg, a stellar all-around swimmer, currently holds the Estonian junior record in the 100-yard freestyle. This past summer, he competed in the 2003 European Junior Championships in Glascow, Scotland. The Estonian national team member finished ninth in the 50-meter backstroke and 10th in the 50-meter butterfly. Later this month, Malberg will travel to Dublin, Ireland to compete in the European Short Course Championships.
“Miko is an up and coming international swimmer that we were very fortunate enough to sign here at LSU,” said Cavana. “He is a very versatile swimmer, being able to swim freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. He will add quality and depth to our sprint events.”
Cavana praised his coaching staff and academic resources for signing such a promising class. “I want to especially thank Lars Jorgensen and Amanda Norton for all of their hard work,” he said. “Our Academic Center for Athletes was a big influence on why these student-athletes chose LSU. We are looking forward to have all of them become Tigers and making an immediate impact on our program.”