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Waxhaw, North Carolina’s Mike Rice has announced his verbal commitment to Auburn University for the 2026-27 school year.
“I am super excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my swimming and academic career at Auburn University. This amazing opportunity wouldn’t be possible without the support of my dad, mom, sister, friends and my amazing coaches along the way. A big thank you to Coach Ryan, Vlad and the whole team for making me feel at home on the plains. WarEagle 🦅🔥!!!”
Rice is a junior at Marvin Ridge High School. He recently made the move to Mecklenburg Swim Association from SwimMAC Carolina and he is the #9-ranked swimmer on our Way Too Early list of top recruits in the high school class of 2026.
A talented sprinter, Rice boasts the top 50 free time in the cohort, having dropped 1.3 seconds year-over-year to hit 19.79 at the SRVA Shamrock Showdown in March. It was a big meet for Rice; he won the 50/100/200 free, 100 fly, and 200 IM – with lifetime bests in each of those events – and he placed 4th in the 100 back with a PB of 49.48.
His long course season was equally successful. In May, he clocked times of 23.0/50.5/1:51.8 in the sprint free events. In July, he wrapped up his summer at Minneapolis Futures by winning the 50/100 free and placing 2nd in the 200 free and 200 IM. He went best times in the 100 breast (1:06.36), 100 fly (55.48), and 200 IM (2:05.14).
Best SCY times:
- 50 free – 19.79 (best in class)
- 100 free – 44.18
- 200 free – 1:37.13
- 100 fly – 48.49
- 200 IM – 1:48.10
The Auburn men placed 2nd behind Florida at the 2024 SEC Championships. There were 7 sprinters on the Tigers’ squad who broke 19 seconds, including Logan Tirheimer (18.79), Kalle Makinen (19.16), Sohib Khaled (19.49), Ryan Husband (19.57), Nate Stoffle (19.63), Jon VanZandt (19.70), and Benjamin Chateigner (19.97). Chateigner is a sophomore this year, while Makinen, Khaled and Vanzandt are juniors. The others will have graduated by the time Rice arrives.
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