N.C. State Wolfpack on the Recruiting Prowl With Ryan Held Commitment

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, October 1. N.C. State head coach Braden Holloway is on fire on the recruiting trail for the Class of 2014. He just scored his third men’s top-50 recruit as Springfield YMCA’s Ryan Held announced that he’d be leaving Illinois to head to Wolfpack country.

Held, who is ranked 45th in the Class of 2014 by CollegeSwimming.com, will add to N.C. State’s freestyle group. He had a breakthrough meet at the 2013 YMCA Short Course National Championships in April, clocking a 43.91 in the 100-yard free and a 19.92 in the 50-yard free to move him into NCAA Division I territory in terms of potential landing spots. In fact, his 19.92 in the 50 free was the first sub-20 second time in YMCA history.

Fan footage of Held’s 50 free at YMCAs

Held also threw down a 1:39.54 in the 200-yard free and a 49.90 in the 100-yard fly at the YMCA Short Course Nationals this year, demonstrating he has some versatility in his game.

In the long course arena, Held had a strong year in 2013 as well. During the Illinois Senior Long Course Championships, Held posted a 51.55 in the 100-meter free and a 23.67 in the 50-meter free, and could develop under Holloway’s tutelage.

“Everything at NC State was perfect, the coaches, the guys, the rise of the team, academics, the weight room, team spirit, all made me want to be part of the WOLFPACK! RED REVOLUTION!” Held posted on CollegeSwimming.com about his commitment.

That’s the third top-50 recruit for N.C. State in the men’s Class of 2014. Holloway already scored the commitments of No. 16 Anton Ipsen and No. 23 Colin Ellington. In fact, Ellington was one of the earliest commitments, and definitely laid the foundation for other strong swimmers to head to N.C. State in this class.

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