​Kate Canales reacts as friends and family gather to congratulate her after she signed a letter of intent to swim at the University of Florida during a National Signing Day ceremony at Boerne-Samuel V. Champion High School in Boerne, Texas, on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News)
BOERNE – For 15 months, Kate Canales has envisioned her future as a Florida Gator. This week, Boerne Champion’s star swimmer took a major step into making that a reality after signing a national letter of intent to compete for Florida.”That kind of waiting game of having to watch from the sidelines and seeing how the team was doing was kind of difficult because I wanted to be on the team so bad,” said Canales, who committed to the Gators in August 2025. “I can’t wait to go to Florida. It really is the right fit for me. The environment. The coaches. The team. Everyone is so welcoming, and I know that I’m going to have a blast there.”Based on Canales’ accomplishments, it’s easy to see why the Gators coveted her. Canales is the state’s top-ranked girls swimmer according to Swimcloud. She won a junior national championship in the 50-meter breaststroke in August.Canales is an eight-time UIL gold medalist and holds the 5A state meet record in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:00.44). She has spearheaded the Chargers to state team championships over the last two seasons. The Express-News selected Canales as its Girls Swimmer of the Year last season.
Dulcie Canales, left, helps her daughter, Kate Canales, organize her trophies and medals before a National Signing Day ceremony at Boerne-Samuel V. Champion High School in Boerne, Texas, on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. Kate signed a letter of intent to join the University of Florida swim team. (Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News)
Many of those accomplishments were on display – in the form of medals, certificates and plaques – during Champion’s signing day ceremony on Thursday morning.”This makes me extremely proud of myself just to be able to look back and reflect on how hard I’ve worked my entire life to get to where I am now,” Canales said. “It means so much to me to be able to compete at the highest level, especially among some of the greats.”At Florida, Canales will indeed train among some of the greatest athletes in the sport’s history, most notably Katie Ledecky. Ledecky, the nine-time Olympic gold medalist, is a Stanford alum, but trains in Gainesville, Fla. and often wears a Gators swim cap.”Having been among some of the top swimmers in the nation my entire life, it’s really helped me, and I think it’s going to continue to help me when I get to Florida because I’m going to be training with Olympians, All-Americans – the best of the best,” Canales said.  “It’s going to set me up nice and help me be able to thrive there.”Canales was one of 11 Chargers who signed to play college sports. Others included Julius Hoxhaj (California Baptist, water polo), Brielle Boothe (Texas State, volleyball), Owen Kuhl (Wh