Before he was an NCAA-qualifying swimmer and conference record-holder, swimmer Alex Santiago’s collegiate swim career was almost over before it began.

“Let’s be honest, he was an unrecruited walk-on,” assistant head swim coach Johno Fergusson said. “He was actually committed to go somewhere, not swim, but be at another university.”

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Santiago, who was a multi-sport athlete in high school, realized that he “definitely really wanted to swim,” and ended up taking matters into his own hands during the summer of 2020 after going largely unrecruited.

Santiago said, “I reached out to some schools, but only two came up. One of them was D3, and then the other was Geoff [Hanson] from SIU.”

Despite these seemingly limited options, Santiago had a path to collegiate swimming. SIU and coach Geoff Hanson were interested in him joining the program, but there was one problem.

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“We unfortunately didn’t have a spot for him at that time,” Fergusson said.

Undeterred, Santiago decided that he was going to go to SIU anyway. And then, opportunity arose.

“A spot happened to open up in August, and we were able to get him enrolled,” Fergusson said. “He started his journey with us two weeks later than he should have. But to be an unrecruited walk on, to see the development he’s had, we’ll take that journey.”

Santiago’s first two years at SIU were productive, but didn’t contain the highs of the 2023-24 season. His best races his freshman season were the 50 and 100 yard freestyles at the SIU A3 Performance Invitational with times of 20.91 and 45.78 seconds, respectively. He was also a contributor to several successful relays.

Santiago’s emergence came this year, when he became one of the best freestylers in the Mid American Athletic Conference. His best times this season, and the ones that set MAC records, in those same events were 19.12 and 42.92 seconds, showing astounding improvement to this point in his career.

According to Fergusson, that kind of development is extremely uncommon for swimmers.

“As an unrecruited walk-on, he came in as a 21 [second] for 50 freestyle. To go to 19.12 in three years, that’s pretty unheard of,” Fergusson said.

One thing that may have held Santiago back in his early years at SIU was how hectic the transition to college can be, especially as an athlete.

“I’d say my freshman year, it was kind of all over the place, going to a new school, new college,” Santiago said.

Santiago knew he could perform at a higher level, and finally found the key to unlocking his potential: consistency.

“That’s kind of trying to make my life very consistent. I eat the same thing for breakfast everyday, go to class, try to keep my schedule the same every day,” Santiago said. “With doing that, it kind of helps doing the same things, like trying my hardest at practice everyday, giving 100% everyday, and it adds up.”

Fergusson also speaks to how consistency has helped Santiago become the dominant swimmer he is today,

“He is the quintessential professional. He is in bed really early. He takes care of himself outside the pool, so that we can do all the stuff we need to do in the pool.

While many outsiders wouldn’t have guessed that Santiago would burst onto the scene, Ferugson and the rest of the coaching staff were more certain of an emergence.

“I had no doubt. He had a wonderful summer of training, training all through from the MAC championships last year,” Fergusson said. “Swimming is a conditioning sport; there’s no ways to get there easy, and he’s obviously taking the right decision to put him where he is at right now.”

Santiago’s decisions on how hard to train were heavily influenced by several fellow standout teammates, including Donat Czuvarsky.

“He was a big help with me. When I first came in, he was the big dog,” Santiago said.

Santiago is also quick to recognize the impact his teammates have made on him and how they’ve helped advance his swimming career.

“We train every day together, we’re right next to each other the whole time, so when they beat you… it makes you want to come back fast,” Santiago said.

Spending this amount of time together in the pool alone, not including outside of the water, leads to tight bonds being formed. 

“Spending the amount of time that we do together, we become very close, and we want the best for each other… I want all my teammates to do as well as they can and I know they want me to do well too,” Santiago said.

These kinds of relationships, especially among exceptional swimmers, have helped to set a standard of excellence within the SIU swimming and diving program.

“Their efforts, in and out of the pool, inspire the others,” Fergusson said. “We have great freshmen that are coming through as well now that see what the standard is… we’ve got there because of what they’re doing, what they’re learning.”

The improvement of swimmers like Santiago can also be inspiring for younger teammates.

“It’s great to see a guy like Alex and Donat, and Jack [Khrypunov]… to see where they started and to see that improvement throughout their four years, or three years. Where they’re at is good, but they know they can get better throughout their time,” Fergusson said.

Santiago’s goal-setting, and the achievement of those goals is also something that should be noted by underclassmen looking to take their career to the next level. 

“At the start of the year, he made a goal of not only making NCAA’s, but at the MAC championship winning the 50, 100, 200 freestyle, and he did. And there’s only a handful of sprinters that have ever done that in the MAC,” Fergusson said. 

To Fergusson, Santiago’s journey to NCAAs, which will be held in Indianapolis, started after his freshman season and his viewing on TV of the NCAA championships.

“He was able to see how those men are able to catapult themselves into the water, their starts, their underwaters, the detail work, and then he took ownership of that,” Fergusson said.

Santiago’s ownership of the small details is something that is clear in his approach to both practices and meets.

“There’s not one day that I have to remind him to keep his kick counts or hold his tempo. He does that… he’s still working on those details so he’s the best he’s ever been,” Fergusson said.

Part of being the best Santiago’s ever been means getting more recognition than ever before, including being named the MAC Most Outstanding Swimmer.

“It’s awesome. Before MAC’s, I definitely had thought about it, but I never thought it could be possible,” Santiago said. “There’s a lot of really outstanding swimmers in the MAC, and to be named one of them, it’s pretty crazy to me. I’m definitely very proud of that.”

Fergusson is very excited for what Santiago’s future holds, but also realizes that Santiago still has a year to develop further.

“First time at NCAA’s, it’s a big step… It’s the fastest meet on earth,” Fergusson said. “I think this first year he wants to be greedy, but there’s also a really good education. What he learns in the next week and a half, I think he’ll be able to implement that so that next year, he can be even more greedy and go for those A finals spots.”

In the meantime, Santiago’s name will now be on the records board at Edward J. Shea Natatorium, visible for every person who walks onto the pool deck to see. He’s not shying away from embracing the challenge of living up to the expectations he’s created for himself though.

“Definitely just putting my head down, getting to work. I’m very proud of my accomplishments, but I know I can do more and push harder,” Santiago said.

Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook and on X @dailyegyptian.

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