NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
McALLEN — Shaine Casas has made his choice. The McAllen High Bulldogs swimming standout verbally committed to take his talents to Texas A&M.
Casas has earned three silver medals in three separate events at UIL state meets. His training and performances outside of high school, on the national stage, were a big factor in getting college recruiters to raise eyebrows.
“In the beginning of the process, it was very slow,” Casas said. “Then, as time went by and I slowly started to drop time and get a little bit faster and closer to the top 5 in the nation, the offers and the communication started to pick up.”
Along with the Aggies, Casas received offers from Notre Dame in the ACC, Arizona State in the Pac-12 and fellow SEC university Tennessee.
“Deep down, I really had a feeling the entire time I wanted to go to A&M,” Casas said. “But I had to go and make sure I was making the right decision, and the best informed.”
Casas said the offers picked up after his performance at the Speedo Junior National Championships in August, but by then it was too late for him to be wooed.
Texas A&M has arguably the top athletic program in the state. Only the University of Texas can challenge that claim. Casas grew up a fan of the Longhorns, but as he became a college prospect, that began to shift.
“A&M has always been a great school to me,” Casas said. “A&M and UT, I was never left or right with them. I used to be in love with UT, but it just solely got to A&M.”
He did speak with Texas, but the conversations didn’t materialize into a scholarship offer.
That worked out fine for Casas, especially with the opportunity to help the Aggies reach new heights, whereas the Longhorns are perpetually in the nation’s top five.
“It’s not anywhere near top three in the nation, but the guys and the team and coaches are very close-knit,” Casas said about the Aggies. “They’re very geared toward working hard, and they’re going to do a lot better this year. They have a bunch of talented kids. They just need some time.”
Casas compared that to the program in Austin that constantly churns out and recruits the top talent.
“A school like UT, they’re already No. 1,” Casas said. “They’ve been No. 1 for three years in a row. To me, it’s not as exciting to go on a team — it’s not that they’re not hungry for gold, it’s just accustomed to them. I think I’d be able to reach a biggest potential with a group of guys that are just gunning to be No. 1.”
The Aggies seem to reflect Casas as a swimmer. He’s been near the top of Texas swimming for years, and now he has a final season to prove that he’s the top talent in the state. This summer, he proved he’s one of the best in the nation. His final task as a high school swimmer is to go for gold.
“Just to win,” Casas said. “I don’t want anything else. This summer was an eye-opener, and it put a little distance between me and everybody else in my class. After the summer, I was the No. 1 (butterfly swimmer) in the class, and I just plan to stay No.1.”