Swimming Announces Four Signees for 2024
12/5/2023 11:16:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
HOUSTON, Texas — Rice head swimming coach Seth Huston announced the signing of four recruits on Monday. The Owls will welcome Ava Casperson (Kingwood, Texas), Reese Cole (League City, Texas), Jessica Lawton (Bristol, U.K.) and Ava Portello (Davis, California) to the team next season.
"We are very excited to announce the initial signing of the 2024 fall incoming freshmen class to Rice swimming," Huston said. "These young women are excellent and committed student-athletes. This group has the potential to make a significant impact on our team and we look forward to welcoming them to the Rice Owl family."
Casperson joins the Owls out of Kingwood (TX) High School where she earned first team all-state honors four times and second-team on six occasions. She was named an NISCA All-American in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay, and was also a state champion in the 200-yard medley relay as a sophomore. Casperson owns the freshman record at Kingwood HS in the 50-yard freestyle and owns records in six events for her club swim team, Blue Tide Aquatics.
"It is exciting to have a local standout like Ava committed to Rice," Huston said. "Ava has a wide range of versatility in freestyle events from the 50 to the 500 that will really help our lineup. What I really like about Ava is her success hasn't come easily. She has had to persevere through numerous setbacks and that makes her special."
Cole comes to Rice from Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas. She was named an NISCA All-American in 2022-23 in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley. She was the Region VI-6A champion in 2023 in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard IM and placed fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke at the 2023 Speedo Sectionals at Texas A&M. Cole also swam for South Shore Sails swim club and is ranked as a top-200 recruit nationally by SwimCloud.
"Reese may be one of the most versatile and capable athletes coming to Rice in the last few years," Huston said. "She is from the Houston area and we have followed Reese closely over the years. We look forward to surrounding Reese with some hard working and competitive teammates and continue building on the success she has had to date."
Lawton joins the Owls from across the pond in Bristol, United Kingdom, where she competed in swimming at Prior Park College and for the City of Bristol swim club. Lawton placed first in both the 50- and 100-meter butterfly at the British Nationals and also placed 13th in the 50-meter butterfly and 15th in the 100-meter butterfly at the European Juniors in 2023.
"We are really excited to welcome Jessica from the UK," Huston said. "She is a National Junior Team member and has quite a knack for speed. Jessica joins a long list of elite butterfly swimmers at Rice over the years. It will be fun to cultivate her growth as a collegiate athlete."
Portello joins Rice out of Davis (CA) Senior High School where she was named an NISCA all-american in 2022 in the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relay. Portello placed third in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2023 Futures Championships and won the 500-yard freestyle at the 2023 Speedo Sectionals. She placed eighth in the 200-yard freestyle at the CIF California State Championships and is rated as a top-200 recruit nationally by SwimCloud.
"Since Ava committed last spring, she has created so much momentum and success in the pool," Huston said. "We are excited to have her positive energy become a part of our program. We see so much potential in Ava and believe she has a growth mindset that sets her apart from many peers."