Bria Deveaux has joined the impressive list of recent Baylor School swimmers moving on to NCAA Division I programs. The third-year Baylor boarder from the Bahamas signed a national letter of intent Tuesday night to go to Nebraska next year.
A freestyle sprinter and butterfly specialist, she's already been part of Baylor girls' teams that have finished first, second and first in the annual national high school rankings. She said the Chattanooga campus "is like my home now -- it's very homey here," and she similarly thought the Nebraska team seemed "like a family" in her mid-September visit.
"The team all got along well. And Nebraska had everything I was looking for in a school," said Deveaux, who enjoyed the excitement of the Lincoln campus the weekend the Cornhuskers beat Washington in football.
She also visited Connecticut and Idaho.
Her coach in the Bahamas swam for Baylor coach Dan Flack, so that connection helped when she was schoosing a United States prep school, but she said swimming was only "50-50" in her decision.
"She's gotten consistently better each year to the point that she's been All-American two years in a row for us," Flack said. "She was able to go back and win the gold medal in the 100 butterfly in the Caribbean Championships this year, and she also qualified for the World Junior Championships in Peru, which is a big deal.
"We're expecting her to have a significant impact for us in her senior year."