NC State’s leading scorer at the 2023 NCAA Championships, Kacper Stokowski, will return to Raleigh for his fifth and final year of collegiate eligibility next season.
“I’m excited to announce that I’ll be staying with Wolfpack for my 5th year in NCAA… we have unfinished work,” the 24-year-old Polish backstroke specialist told SwimSwam on Friday. “See you soon 🐺”
At last month’s NCAA Championships, Stokowski made three A-finals in the 100 back (2nd place), 200 back (6th place), and 100 fly (8th place), totaling a team-high 41 points for the Wolfpack. He continued his hot streak this month with a 53.74 in the 100-meter at Thursday’s Polish National Championships, tying Ksawery Masiuk for the title and equaling the Paris 2024 Olympic ‘A’ cut with a new personal best in the process. Stokowski added a runner-up finish behind Masiuk in the 50 back (25.28) on Friday.
“Feels amazing to be back in the groove!” Stokowski wrote on Instagram after Thursday’s 100 back final.
Stokowski won the NCAA title in the 100 back as a junior in 2022, building upon a runner-up finish in the event back in 2021 as a sophomore. NC State placed 5th as a team last season after finishing 4th in 2022. The Wolfpack have won the past two ACC titles.
A two-time European junior champion and former world junior record holder in the SCM 50 back and 100 back, Stokowski earned his first major international medal at the senior level last December at the 2022 Short Course World Championships, taking bronze in the 50 back. He began his NCAA career at the University of Florida before transferring in the summer of 2019.
Stokowski’s extended stay helps bridge the gap between the current group of NC State standouts and the next generation of stars. Although the Wolfpack won’t be getting fellow Polish backstroke specialist Ksawery Masiuk after the Paris 2024 Olympics as initially expected, they have pulled in huge commitments recently from top class of 2024 recruit Daniel Diehl along with No. 3 prospect Kaii Winkler.
Current NC State seniors Ross Dant and Nyls Korstanje have yet to indicate whether they’ll return for fifth years next season.
