Sacred Heart Academy senior Brooke Forde, one of the nation’s top swimming recruits in the Class of 2017, announced she has committed to Stanford University.
Forde chose Stanford over Georgia, Texas and Virginia. Her older brother, Clayton, is a freshman on the Georgia swim team. At Stanford, Forde will be reunited with former Sacred Heart teammate Leah Stevens, who is a sophomore with the Cardinal swim program.
Forde is the No. 2 recruit in the nation in the Class of 2017 according to collegeswimming.com and ranked No. 4 in the nation by swimswam.com.
So excited to announce my commitment to swim for Stanford University! I can't wait to be a tree!
pic.twitter.com/dle5kFC9hC
— Brooke Forde (@forde_b) October 10, 2016
Forde is in her second year as a member of the USA Swimming Junior National Team, having competed in the 2015 FINA World Junior Championships and 2016 Junior Pan-Pacific Championships. She won a gold medal at the Junior Pan-Pacs as a member of the 800-meter freestyle relay team and a silver medal in the 400 individual medley.
Later this month Forde will represent the U.S. at the FINA World Cup meets in Tokyo (Oct. 25-26) and Hong Kong (Oct. 28-29). She is the nation’s No. 1 400 IM swimmer under 18 years of age and in the top five nationally under 18 in the 200 IM and top 10 in the 200 breaststroke.
At this summer’s U.S. Olympic Trials, Forde finished 15th in the 400 IM and 19th in the 200 IM. In last season’s state high school championships, Forde won the 200 and 500 frees and was a member of victorious 200 and 400 free relay teams as the Valkyries won their fourth straight team championship.
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.