Leah Shackley Named ACC Freshman of The Year
4/10/2025 1:30:00 PM | Swimming
CHARLOTTE, NC – On Thursday, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced its annual end-of-year award recipients, with standout rookie Leah Shackley of NC State earning the prestigious Freshman of the Year honor for her exceptional performance throughout the season.
Freshman Leah Shackley from Bedford, Pennsylvania, has made an impressive impact since arriving on campus, quickly establishing herself as a standout competitor. Known for her versatility in individual events and her reliability as a key member of the relay team, Shackley has proven to be a valuable asset to her team. Currently ranked 15th among female swimmers in the entire USA Swimming rankings, just behind Pack Pro Katharine Berkoff, she is a force to be reckoned with for the 2024-2025 season.
As the top-ranked recruit in Pennsylvania and the 16th overall recruit in the class of 2024, Shackley has already earned the title of the second fastest freshman swimmer in the NCAA ad fastest swimmer in the ACC for the 2024-2025 season. Throughout the regular season, she remained undefeated in dual meet action across all individual events. Heading into the championship season, Shackley played a pivotal role in the Wolfpack Women's 5th place finish at the ACC Championships, contributing 81 points to the team's total of 787.5 points. Her performance earned her one silver medal and three bronze medals.
In addition to her individual success, Shackley consistently contributed points to the team's overall score in both individual events and relays heading to the national stage. Making her NCAA debut after securing automatic qualifying times in the 100 back and 200 back, she helped secure 37 out of the 164 points earned by the Wolfpack at the NCAAs. At Nationals Shackley became a 6x All-American as well as 4x podium finisher.
Leah Shackley freshman year recap:
6x All-American
- 2025: 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly, 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay
4x NCAA Podium Finisher
- 2025: 100 back, 200 back, 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay
2x School Record Holder
- 2025: 50 butterfly (23.21), 100 butterfly (50.33)
3x Pool Record Holder
- 2024: 200 fly
- 2025: 200 back, 200 fly
1x ACC Silver Medalist
- 2025: 200 back
3x ACC Bronze Medalist
- 2025: 100 back, 400 free relay, 400 medley relay
ACC Swimmer of the week
- 2024: November 12, 2024
Top 10 Program Times:
- #1 50 butterfly (23.21)
- #1 100 butterfly (50.33)
- #2 200 butterfly (1:54.30)
- #2 100 backstroke (50.22)
- #2 200 backstroke (1:48.53)
- #8 50 backstroke (24.29)
National Swim Cloud Rankings (NCAA)
- #5 | 200 backstroke
- #5 | 50 butterfly
- #7 | 100 butterfly
- #9 | 100 backstroke
- #28 | 200 butterfly
- #45 | 50 backstroke
US Junior National Team
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