Julian Koch on the Transfer Portal, 20lbs of Muscle, and Finding a New Home| Episode 296
5/8/20261 hr
In this episode of Social Kick, Bryan and the crew sit down with one of the hottest "free agents" in NCAA swimming: Julian Koch. After an explosive sophomore season at Pitt that saw him jump from a non-qualifier to a top seed in the 100 Freestyle A-Final, Julian has officially entered the transfer portal. Julian breaks down the "overwhelming" 48 hours after his name hit the portal, his recent visits to powerhouses like Texas, Florida, and Tennessee, and the 20-pound muscle transformation that fueled his 40.4 100 Freestyle. We also dive into his international background—growing up in Dubai, Paris, and Qatar—and why he represents Germany on the international stage. Whether it’s discussing NIL value, his newfound obsession with Hacky Sack, or the 800 IM "worst set ever" from his club days, Julian provides a raw and insightful look at the life of a modern elite collegiate swimmer.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsBrian Lundquist· Host0:00
[funky music] I don't know what the going rate is to get an NCAA finalist in the 100 freestyle, top seed in the morning, a rapid rise. It's a hot commodity, and I think it's really fun for swimming to see free agency of someone who is at that level. And a huge weapon, maybe the most important skill set in NCAA swimming, is ability to swim pretty much every relay. He can swim the 50 up to the 200, and he can swim freestyle and butterfly. He gave us some interesting insight on his background with the worst set he ever did as a 400 IMer. Now that that's a thing of the past, he's even potentially better long course. Welcome to Social Kick. I'm Brian Lundquist. We got a partial crew. Luke's still busy and traveling, but he misses all of you. He misses us, and he wants that to c- get conveyed to the Social Kick audience, so he'll be back soon. He didn't actually quit the pod, despite prior episode jokes about it, so we'll get him back. But that's okay. Filling some big shoes today is a standout sprinter, currently at Pitt in the transfer portal and headed out, but one of the best freestyle sprinters and, and butterfliers in the NCAA today that had an unbelievable NCAAs that we're getting excited to talk about. So Julian Klok, what's going on, man? How are you?
Julian Koch· Guest1:19
Hey, thanks for having me. Yeah, I'm excited to hop on the podcast.
Brian Lundquist· Host1:24
Well, let's get into it. First, uh, we always ask our audience on Instagram