World champion Kylie Masse will captain newcomers Toronto Titans at the ISL ©Getty Images

Interim general manager Dylan Kent says Toronto Titans have recruited "pretty aggressively" as they look to "surprise people" at this season’s International Swimming League (ISL) in Budapest.

The Titans are set to make their ISL debut tomorrow when they come up against LA Current, fellow newcomers Tokyo Frog Kings and Aqua Centurions at the Duna Arena in the Hungarian capital.

Kylie Masse, a Rio 2016 bronze medallist and reigning world champion in the 100-metre backstroke, captains a Titans side that features 37-year-old Brent Hayden, a fellow Canadian who won bronze in the 100m freestyle at London 2012.

The Canadian team have also signed Michael Chadwick of the United States and Shane Ryan of Ireland from LA Current and Rebecca Smith of Canada from Energy Standard.

"One of the things about being an expansion team was that we were behind the eight ball a little bit in terms of recruiting all the other teams had a head start," said Kent.

"They were a known quantity.

"We were a brand new organisation that was trying to get things rolling so we have had to recruit pretty aggressively.

"I am pretty happy with how things turned out.

"We did a lot of chatting with lots of different swimmers, we had to get creative and do a lot of research, but we have come up with a great group here.

"We have a lot of swimmers that I think could perform very well and surprise people."

Shane Ryan joined Toronto Titans from LA Current ahead of the new ISL season ©Getty Images
Shane Ryan joined Toronto Titans from LA Current ahead of the new ISL season ©Getty Images

The Titans had their first training session in the pool on Wednesday and Kent, who has stepped up from assistant general manager after his father, Robert, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, is excited for competition to begin.

"There is certainly a buzz," said the 29-year-old.

"It’s very infectious, the positivity and excitement they have.

"The ISL is fantastic.

"The concept of elevating professional athletes is a great one, and it’s cool that it’s evolving so quickly."

The Titans' general manager is set to cheer the team on from Toronto as he awaits surgery in November.

"This was a career decision for me to make this move from 25 years of investment banking to jumping to the ISL and to miss the culmination of almost a year of hard work is very hard," Robert Kent said.

"Like any general manager I feel a real sense of responsibility for my team, including the swimmers and staff.

"And as much as anything I was really looking forward to further developing the team and relationships with all our swimmers."

London Roar and Cali Condors have won ISL matches so far this season, with all the action taking place in Budapest.