Men's Recruiting: #3 - Southern Cal

David Salo’s first three seasons at USC have been a mixed bag. His first two men’s classes, like the Trojans’ finishes in March were good, not great. To his credit, however, Salo helped orchestrate the two biggest upsets at last summer’s Olympic games – Rebecca Soni in the 200 breaststroke and Ous Melloui in the 1500 freestyle.

Those types of upsets give coaches something to tell recruits, but Salo himself, credits this year’s haul to some changes he made. “After three years of coaching at USC,” he explains, “I probably have a better handle on what we need to see in a student-athlete.” Translation: this is becoming a David Salo USC program with kids who share the same drive and passion as the master coach.

The class starts with Frenchman Clement Lefert. The Short Course specialist from Nice is anything but. Fact is, his converted times are downright nasty. He’s a capable NCAA scorer in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyles along with both butterflies, and – maybe perhaps the next great Olympic upset.

USC also plucked a gem in Alex Lendrum. The native of Phoenix considered Texas, Arizona, and Stanford, but decided on SC as the best combination of Biomedical Engineering, athletics, and location. Lendrum, himself is an ideal combination of height (he’s seemingly 6’13”), speed, versatility and blonde locks that will fit right into Cali. Don’t the looks fool you, Lendrum has his eyes set on NCAA titles “individually, on a relay and as a team.”

Morgon Henderson-Kunz will make the drip down the PCH from Tualatin Hills. Henderson-Kunz stands as the second-fastest 100 freestyler prepster behind Tom Shields but possesses more raw speed than the Stanford-bound freshman.

As large a role as Salo has played in the United States’ swimming success, neither he nor his predecessor Mark Schubert have shied away from pursuing top international talent when it becomes available. In addition to Frenchman Lefert, USC added Britain’s Richard Charlesworth. The Brit is part of a rapidly-improving UK distance corps.

Looking east, USC landed Japan’s Kazuki Obayashi. Obayashi’s underwater dolphin kick – while not as famous as compatriot Kosuke Kitajima’s – has propelled him to the fastest incoming times (converted) in the fly and backstroke.

While the pair give USC’s class an international flavor, it wasn’t at the expense of the home state. Spencer DiDio (Carlsbad), Justin DiFederico (El Cajon) and Blake Cushing (Concord) all provide immediate help at the Pac 10 level with the potential to play on the big stage.

If there is one weakness in the class, it’s the lack of a front-line breaststroker. They had one until Trevor Hoyt de-committed. Even so, Cushing and Denver’s Brian Krump could make a big impression on their new coach. After all, the guy does have some experience in the breaststroke department.

This class should make USC the most-improved team next march. Will it be enough to silence the critics? Salo answers, “only if they’re able to score enough points to move the Trojans into the upper echelons of the NCAA Championships.”

2	86.46	Lefert, Clement	Nice, France
4	82.87	Obayashi, Kazuki	Japan
27	70.70	Charlesworth, Richard	Hemel, UK
51	67.03	Lendrum, Alex	Phoenix, AZ	BEST Swim Club
55	66.14	Henderson-Kunz, Morgon	Portland, OR	Tualatin Hills Swim Club
133	58.85	Kranenburg, Pieter	Lucas Valley, CA	Northbay Aquatics
191	55.22	DiDio, Spencer	Carlsbad, CA
199	54.67	DiFederico, Justin	El Cajon, CA	College Area Swim Team
231	52.71	Krump, Brian	Centennial, CO	Hilltoppers
253	51.62	Cushing, Blake	Concord, CA