Upper St. Clair swimming star Josh Matheny commits to Indiana

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 | 9:54 PM

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The Indiana Hoosiers are probably known best for an iconic basketball program once coached by Bob Knight, but the school also has a swim team that celebrates championships.

The Hoosiers men and women both were Big Ten champions last winter, and in recent years have had some of the top breaststroke specialists in the world, making the school an obvious draw for Upper St. Clair swimming star Josh Matheny.

The USC junior announced his commitment Wednesday night to Indiana, choosing the Hoosiers less than two months after winning international breaststroke gold at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

“I’m extremely excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my athletic and academic career at Indiana University,” Matheny wrote on his Instagram account. “I would like to thank my family, coaches, and friends for their support. Go Hoosiers!!!”

Indiana’s men finished third overall in the NCAA last season. Ian Finnerty, then a senior for the Hoosiers, won his second consecutive NCAA title in the 100 breaststroke.

Internationally, the Hoosiers had two Olympic breaststroke medalists at the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil. Lilly King won women’s gold in the 100 breaststroke and Cody Miller won bronze in the men’s 100.

Miller also won 400-meter medley relay gold that summer on a four-man team that included Michael Phelps. Miller was a senior at Indiana in 2013-14, and King finished her college career last season for longtime coach Ray Looze.

“Coach Looze and his staff have an unparalleled history of success with their breaststroke group,” Upper St. Clair coach Dave Schraver said. “Josh has very lofty goals he’d like to achieve during his swimming career, and I believe Indiana is the best place for him to pursue those goals.”

Matheny won’t enroll at Indiana until 2021.

He’s already a two-time state champion but celebrated even greater achievements in August when he won two international gold medals and two silvers in Hungary.

Individually, Matheny won a world junior title in the 200 breaststroke and placed second in the 100. He also was part of two relay teams that won gold and silver.

View this post on Instagram

I’m extremely excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my athletic and academic career at Indiana University. I would like to thank my family, coaches, and friends for their support. Go Hoosiers!!! #hoosierdaddy ????⚪️????⚪️

A post shared by Josh Matheny (@josh_matheny) on Oct 16, 2019 at 2:30pm PDT

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Upper St. Clair