Coming off their fifth consecutive top-five College Club Swimming National Championship showing, the Flames continue to build on strong foundation.
Even after losing half of last season's roster to graduation and attrition, Liberty University 10th-year men's swimming Head Coach Heath Grishaw is hopeful the incoming recruiting class that includes seven freshmen and two transfers will help the Flames maintain their competitive edge in the 2026-27 season.
"We've kind of gone to the drawing board (about) how we can keep team cohesion and at the same time still keep rising to success, even though numbers may not be where they were the past few years," Grishaw said. "We're getting creative, we're trying to change some stuff up with our training and how leadership runs, but first and foremost just making sure our standard as a team is set and held to."
Under Grishaw, the Flames have posted five consecutive top-five finishes at the College Club Swimming (CCS) National Championships, including three straight national runner-up showings from 2023-25 before placing third out of a record 144 teams at this past April's event at the Greensboro (N.C.) Aquatic Club. At that meet, Liberty only finished behind programs from Cal-Poly and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that featured several swimmers from their NCAA Division I teams that eliminated or reduced scholarships.
While not as deep as those in recent seasons, this year's recruiting class is more balanced than in years past when the Flames have brought in a few very good swimmers and many needing time to develop.
"It is going to be a fun group that is going to provide some strength in areas where we definitely need it," Grishaw said. "All of them have been around the sport for a long time and are coming in with a really strong knowledge and base of swimming. They all come in with really good strengths, which is going to make our practices really competitive."
"We are going to be able to train on better intervals more consistently and they're going to be able to push our veterans because they're all at that same level," he added. "They all have really good upside potential to show off this year."
The two transfer student-athletes are Kaleo Theis from Pendleton, Ore., who started his career at Oklahoma Christian and should excel in the 50- to 200 free events, and Tim Brown, who started at Thomas University in Thomasville, Ga., before spending the past seasons at NCAA Division I Ohio State University and the University of Hawaii.
The freshman class includes Drew McQueeney, a breaststroke phenom from West Palm Beach, Fla., who should help fill the void left by the graduation of third-year team captain Dillon Delaney in that stroke.
The Flames will feature two very strong backstroke recruits in Landon Crum from Cincinnati and Lincoln Annise from Harleysville, Pa., and a great butterfly swimmer in Brayden Todd from Greencastle, Pa., who formerly attended the Maximum Velocity summer swim camps hosted by Liberty.
"He is going to be a great addition for our team," Grishaw said of Todd. "He is super well-versed in everything. He can swim it all. He's very versatile, but I am most excited about seeing him compete in butterfly."
Mason Drumm, a freestyle and breaststroke swimmer from North Port, Fla., will complement Avery Snyder, a breast and distance free swimmer from Forest, Va., and Aidan Wanner — brother of rising junior Ethan Wanner, from Morgantown, Pa. — who will compete in the breast, fly, and individual medley.
"Coming into an established program, these kids are going to have to show some grit to set them apart," Grishaw said. "I am looking forward to seeing how it all shakes out, and to see who is going to really take to our training and step up at the (Liberty Natatorium) when it's time for meets. Time will tell."
Both Grishaw's wife Ashlyn and Assistant Coach Jordan Stackpole's wife Ellen are expecting in early August and the two coaches will be on paternity leave leading up to this season's tryouts, set to start Aug. 31.
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterHead Coach Heath Grishaw and Assistant Coach Jordan Stackpole cheer the Flames on to their sixth consecutive Eastern Region Championship on Nov. 15, 2025, at the Liberty Natatorium. (Photo by Ryan Anderson)
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