Distance Ace Whitaker Steward Gives Tennessee First 2026 Verbal
NEW COMMIT: The University of Tennessee has scored its first public verbal commitment for its men’s Class of 2026 from Olympic Trials qualifier Whitaker Steward out of Kearney, Missouri.
Steward, who will arrive in Knoxville as part of the Vols’ Class of 2030, is the second fastest miler in this class.
He told Swimming World:
“I want to thank my parents for their support through this process and allowing me to follow my heart intuition. To coach Tom Kleiboeker, thank you from taking me from a 13 year old sectional swimmer to Olympic Trials…I owe you so much. Thanks to all my TST teammates for making everyday a blast. To Coach Matt, I cannot wait to swim for you and see how far we can go together! Can’t wait to get to Rocky Top with the rest of my new brothers and sisters in Tenneessee! Go Vols!”
A distance swimmer, Steward does his club swimming with Tsunami Swim Team. He competed in the 1500m free at Olympic Trials this past summer before going on to win the 400m free, 400m IM and 1500m free at Columbia Sectionals.
Last winter, he finished fourth in the mile and 20th in the 400 IM at Juniors West. He then swept all three distance events at Columbia Sectionals in March.
His best times include:
- 200 free – 1:39.11
- 500 free – 4:26.14
- 1000 free – 9:10.44
- 1650 free – 15:12.96
- 400 IM – 3:55.47
Currently a junior at Kearney High School, Steward won the 200 free and 500 free at the 2023 Missouri State Championships during his sophomore season. He won the 500 free and placed seventh in the 100 back at the state meet as a freshman.
Steward appears on USA Swimming’s All-Time Top 100 List in the 1650 free, 1500m free and 800m free.
Tennessee finished sixth at the 2024 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The Vols took fifth at the 2024 Southeastern Conference Championships.
If you have a commitment to share, please send a photo and quote via email to hs@swimmingworld.com.
