How are the Kentucky Wildcats celebrating America’s 250th birthday? They’re home for the 4th of July with their friends and family — and it sounds like there will be plenty of time spent out on the water, maybe with a cold beverage or two, for those old enough to partake.

KSR caught up with a couple of sharpshooters to wrap up the team’s third week of summer workouts, both thrilled to head home for the long weekend and get those grills fired up.

Milan Momcilovic is back in Wisconsin, enjoying some well-deserved time off, hitting the lake in his hometown before heading back to Lexington for the start of week four.

“Yeah, I’m going back home, going on Pewaukee Lake, so that’ll be fun,” he said. “We get 3 days, so I’ll be back Sunday.”

What’s on the menu?

“Burgers, brats, Wisconsin cheese — maybe a drink or two,” the newest Wildcat joked.

As for Trent Noah, he’s in Harlan doing the same thing, getting his swimming trunks on to stay cool in this insane heat.

“I’m hoping to get back home and maybe hit the lake a little bit,” he told KSR. “The 4th of July is always fun, can’t go wrong. It’s been so hot, so you’ve got to find some body of water.”

A favorite childhood tradition? Fireworks with the family, something he’s surprised worked out so well over the years with his cousins letting the light show rip right in the middle of the yard every Independence Day.

No emergency room visits, only fun and quality time with his loved ones.

“Family fireworks for sure, the cousins shooting them off in the yard,” he said. “Probably wasn’t the safest thing looking back on it [laughs], but we all made it through. That was fun, everybody all together.”

What’s the Noah family cooking up on America’s birthday? He’s proud to say mom is the superstar when it comes to day-to-day meals, but his dad is the grillmaster when it’s time to light some charcoal. He’ll handle the traditional meats while she’ll nail the other dishes.

“My mom is normally the cook — she normally cooks everything, except the grill. My dad kind of breaks it out every now and then, normally the traditional burgers and hot dogs. My dad has the upper hand on the grill, but my mom, she’s got everything else.”

Happy 4th of July, Big Blue Nation! If you want to be like your favorite Wildcats, it sounds like you had better get to the lake and eat a cheeseburger today before lighting off some fireworks after dark.

Stay safe and go Cats.

Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Latvian record holder Nikolass Deicmans has signed with Kentucky for the recruiting class of 2026.

Deicmans holds the Latvia national record in the 200 backstroke at 2:01.18 at the 2026 Lithuanian Championships, breaking his own record of 2:01.52 from the 2025 Lithuanian Championships.

He is also the Latvian record holder in the SCM event, swimming 1:53.47 earlier this month at the Latvian Championships to take three seconds off Uvis Kalnins‘ 2016 time of 1:56.07.

He has also represented Latvia internationally at a few different meets including the 2025 World Championships, where he swam the 100 and 200 backstroke, finishing 51st in the 100 (57.18), and 36th in the 200 (2:02.50).

Despite the new five-for-five eligibility rules taking effect, Deicmans will likely only have four years of collegiate eligibility, turning 20 at the beginning of April. The new rule states that an athlete’s clock will start at full-time college enrollment or the academic year after their 19th birthday, whichever comes first. For Deicmans, this means that his clock likely started last fall, giving him a maximum four years at Kentucky.

Deicmans’ Lifetime Best and Conversions

Kentucky is coming off an 8th place finish at the SEC Championships last season, scoring 582 points to sit about 30 points behind LSU (614) and almost 80 points ahead of Texas A&M (503.5).

Deicmans’ converted times fall just outside of NCAA qualification in his events with the 100 back cutline sitting at 44.82 last season and the 200 back cutline sitting at 1:39.53.

At the SEC Championships, however, Deicmans could be a multi-event point scorer. His 100 backstroke converted time would have been 25th in prelims, just four hundredths behind Hayden Meyers of Georgia, who finished 24th in 46.94.

In the 200 back, his converted time would have qualified for the ‘B’ final, where he would have finished 13th overall. His 200 free and 200 IM would both have been outside of scoring position.

The University of Kentucky retains its top two 100 backstrokers, Lysander Osman and Devin Naoroz from last season, who are both faster than Deicmans’ converted times. Only Naoroz was faster in the 200 backstroke, though.

He will join a small recruiting class of all international swimmers for 2026 consisting of Italian Filippo Bertoni, Estonia’s Siim Keskula, and Romania’s Darius-Matei Trenchea.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].

About the Fitter and Faster Swim Tour 

Fitter & Faster Swim Camps feature the most innovative teaching platforms for competitive swimmers of all levels. Camps are produced year-round throughout the USA and Canada. All camps are led by elite swimmers and coaches. Visit fitterandfaster.com to find or request a swim camp near you.

FFT SOCIAL

Instagram – @fitterandfasterswimtour
Facebook – @fitterandfastertour
Twitter – @fitterandfaster

FFT is a SwimSwam partner.