By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
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Darren Nguyen has verbally committed to swim at Claremont McKenna College as a member of the class of 2030. He confirmed the decision in an email to SwimSwam, writing:
I am grateful to announce my verbal commitment to the admissions process at Claremont McKenna College! I want to thank my parents, brother, friends, and teammates for their unwavering support and being there through everything. I also want to thank all my coaches: Logan, Wade, Kristine, Justin, Jacinta, Nate, Sarah, Ron and Rich for shaping me into the swimmer and person I am today. Lastly, I want to thank Coach Charlie and Coach Tom for their belief in me and giving me this opportunity. SKO STAGS!
Top SCY Times:
- 100 Butterfly: 50.00
- 200 Butterfly: 1:51.32
- 100 Backstroke: 51.73
- 50 Freestyle: 21.50
- 100 Freestyle: 47.61
- 200 Freestyle: 1:44.72
Nguyen hails from Irvine, California, where he attends Santa Margarita Catholic High School and trains year-round with Irvine Novaquatics. He’s a butterfly and freestyle specialist, strong across both fly distances and the 50-200 free, and also swims the 100 back during the high school season.
He recently switched to Irvine Novaquatics after training with Mission Viejo Nadadores for his entire career. He first made a name for himself in June 2024 when, alongside teammates Nolan Baker, Victoria Mori, and Gracyn Aquino, he set a new National Age Group (NAG) Record in the mixed 15-16 4×50 freestyle relay, swimming a time of 1:27.91 at a Mission Viejo Instrasquad meet.
Nguyen’s best time of 50.00 in the 100 fly stems from his sophomore season, while his 1:51.32 in the 200 fly, 21.50 in the 50 free, 47.61 in the 100 free, 1:44.72 in the 200 free, and 51.73 in the 100 back were all set last season. Most of his bests were posted at the RAA Winter Championships in December, though his 200 free came at a local club meet in Oceanside in February.
He’s been a stalwart for Santa Margarita at the high school level, helping them win the CIF Southern Section Division I Championships in 2024 and 2025 and contributing to the team’s 2024 State title.
At the 2024 Section meet, Nguyen took 10th in the 100 fly with his personal best and 15th in the 100 back (52.32). He advanced to State in the 100 fly, where he took 29th (50.16).
Last season, he touched ninth in the 100 fly (50.26) and 14th in the 100 back (52.09) at Sections. He also swam the butterfly leg of the 200 medley relay, splitting 22.49 to help the team finish runner-up. He didn’t swim individually at State, but contributed a 22.53 fly split on the 14th-place 200 medley relay and jumped onto the 200 free relay, where he split 20.96 on the relay that finished 11th.
Claremont McKenna College is located in Claremont, California. The swim team is a co-op between Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd College, and Scripps College, which competes as a Division III program in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). The Stags finished first at this year’s SCIAC Championships, winning by 228 points.
On the team’s 2024-25 depth chart, Nguyen would have ranked first in the 200 fly, second in the 100 fly, third in the 100 back, eighth in the 50 free, 12th in the 100 free, and 13th in the 200 free. He could be an immediate consideration for the medley relays on either backstroke or butterfly if he has some time drops during his final high school season.
When he arrives on campus, Nguyen will have several training partners in his primary events. Current freshman Jayden Kadiman owns bests of 49.77 and 1:51.96 in the fly events, while fellow freshman Jack Beckman has been as quick as 51.37 in the 100 back. Sam Zhou, the only other publicized commit in the university’s recruiting class, owns best times of 49.42 in the 100 fly and 49.64 in the 100 back, giving Nguyen another strong training partner.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to Recruits@swimswam.com.
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Read the full story on SwimSwam: Versatile Sprinter Darren Nguyen Sends Verbal To Claremont McKenna College’s Class Of 2030
