Re-Rank: Top 20 NCAA Swimming Recruits In The Boys High School Class of 2024

NCAA recruiting churns on, and so do our yearly recruit rankings. We’ve already ranked out the top recruits in the current high school sophomore and junior classes, but now it’s time to revisit our recruiting ranks of the graduating seniors.

As recruiting classes get closer to actual NCAA competition, we start to weigh certain factors more heavily: NCAA scoring times become more important, and we tend to value one or two standout events a bit more heavily (compared to a wide range of just decent events) than we would for a high school sophomore who has more time to develop across the board. Having already ranked this class about a year ago, we also get a clearer picture of momentum and trajectory: which recruits are continuing to drop time through their senior seasons, and which have stagnated.

You can look back on our original ranks for this class below, but do remember that those ranks are merely a snapshot in time – we didn’t have a working crystal ball then, nor do we now:

• Ranks As Juniors (from June 2023)
• Ranks As Sophomores (from June 2022)

THIS CLASS

• Still very limited sprint back/fly depth outside of the top 20
• A very top-heavy class, especially amongst sprinters
• Many standout breaststrokers
• A lot of top swimmers were hurt by a lack of senior year improvement

The overall strength of the high school class of 2024 took a hit when Daniel Diehl graduated high school early to join NC State early, but there’s still plenty of talent in this class. Of course, the headliner is Kaii Winkler, who is one of the greatest sprint recruits in history. Even though he got hurt last summer, he still managed to improve as a senior, making an even better case to get ranked as our No. 1 overall recruit.

Winkler wasn’t the only sprinter to see a huge surge this season — others such as Lucca Battaglini, Johnny Crush, Spencer Nicholas, and Jacob Johnson also made their marks. After there were only three 46-point 100 flyers and backstrokers last year, there are now three swimmers in the class capable of going 45 in the former event and two in the latter. On the distance end, swimmers like Luke Whitlock and Gregg Enoch made big moves. However, the issue of time dropoff is still very much a real issue, as there were around 14-15 obvious picks for the top 20 whereas deciding the rankings for everyone else felt like splitting hairs.

One event that got considerably stronger this year was sprint breaststroke. Only four 52-point breaststrokers existed in last year’s season class, whereas six exist in this class. But the lack of depth in the 200 breast still exists, as only four swimmers in this class have been under the 1:55 barrier.

TOP TIMES IN THE CLASS OF 2024

**Not an NCAA event.

A few other factors that weigh heavily in our rankings:

• Relay Value – Relay points count double in college swimming, and any program needs a strong stable of quality sprinters to fill out all 5 relays with stars. Obviously, a special distance swimmer can easily rank ahead of a very good 100 freestyler, but college swimming generally values a sprint freestyler over a distance swimmer, all other factors being equal.
• Improvements – Actual times carry the most weight by a longshot. But we also keep an eye on a swimmer’s trajectory, especially in deciding between two swimmers with relatively even times.
• Short Course over Long Course – while every club and every swimmer will have a different balance of focus between short course and long course swimming, the NCAA competes in short course yards, and that’s going to be the main factor considered in these rankings. Long course times are another data point for consideration, but we mainly view them through the lens of what a big long course swim could mean for an athlete’s future in short course.
• NCAA scoring ability – NCAAs are the big show for college teams, so we’ve weighted NCAA scoring potential very highly. Swimmers who already have NCAA scoring times wind up mostly filling out the top our of rankings. Since college athletic directors – and by extension coaches – also place high value on conference championships, scoring ability at conference meets is also a factor in our rankings.
• Relative depth in the NCAA and recruiting class – a wealth of elite depth nationwide in one stroke discipline makes a big difference in what times are considered more valuable in that event. Events rise at different rates in the NCAA, but when one event gets extremely deep and fast at the college level, it makes high school prospects in those events a little less valuable, relatively, with lots of other veteran options. In the same way, a recruiting class stacked with swimmers in butterfly, for example, would make each butterflyer a little less sought-after in the market, with lots of other recruiting options able to provide similar production.

Of course, there’s no way to predict the future, and the most concrete data we have to go on are cold, hard times. These rankings in no way mean that all of these 20 swimmers will be NCAA standouts, and they certainly don’t mean that no swimmer left off this list will make big contributions at the NCAA level.

Disclaimer: there are a lot of high school seniors in the country, and no really good, complete, 100% accurate listing of them all. If you don’t see your favorite swimmer on the list, feel free to politely point them out in the comments. There’s a chance that we disagree with your assessment of their spot in the top 20, and so long as it’s done civilly, there’s no problem with differences of opinions. There’s also a chance that we’ve simply missed a no-brainer (we’ve taken every precaution to avoid that), and if that happens, we want to make sure we correct it.

TOP 20 SWIMMERS FROM THE CLASS OF 2024

*We’re noting where athletes have publicly verbally committed. While most of these athletes have signed NLIs with their schools, we can’t always verify who has physically signed on the dotted line and who hasn’t – for that reason, the verbiage below is still “verbally committed,” as it was in our junior ranks last year.

1. Kaii Winkler – Eagle Aquatics – home-schooled – Miami, FL **Verbally committed to NC State** (Previous Rank: #1 junior/#3 sophomore)

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.44
• 100 free: 41.96 (best in class)
• 200 free: 1:32.68 (best in class)
• 500 free: 4:23.85
• 100 fly: 45.98
• 100 back: 47.69
• 200 back: 1:45.91

Winkler’s 2023 summer was hampered by fractures in his left wrist and right elbow, but he still remains far and away the top recruit of the 2024 high school class. He didn’t improve in the 50 and 100 free but remains second in his class for the former event and at the top in the latter, with that 41.96 100 free ranking #4 all-time amongst all high schoolers and being worthy enough to qualify for NCAAs. But what really solidified Winkler’s case to stay at the top were his drops in the 200 free and 100 fly in spite of stagnancies in the 50 and 100 free. In the 200 free, he improved from 1:33.28 to 1:32.68, breaking the National High School record and gaining yet another NCAA-qualification-worthy event. He also dropped nearly a second from a best time of 46.94 to 45.98 in the 100 fly, ranking third in the class. On the third day of NCAAs, Winkler will have the option to choose between those two aforementioned events.

After nearly a year of being fully healthy, look for Winkler to wreak havoc both in the long course pool this summer and as a freshman at NC State in the fall. Going 41/1:32 in the freestyle events as a high schooler is something that only one other recruit (Maximus Williamson) has done, so it’s clear that he’s in rarefied air that no other recruit in the class will be able to match.

2. Cooper Lucas – Lakeside Aquatic Club – Keller High School – Keller, TX **Verbally committed to Texas** (Previous Rank: #3 junior/#2 sophomore)

Best Times:

• 400 IM: 3:41.15 (best in class)
• 200 IM: 1:43.88
• 100 free: 43.52
• 200 free: 1:34.69
• 500 free: 4:14.53
• 100 breast: 54.18
• 200 breast: 1:56.32
• 100 fly: 47.66
• 200 fly: 1:43.44

Lucas had a somewhat stagnant senior season, failing to get within half a second of his best times in the 400 IM, 200 free, and 500 free. However, as the only swimmer in this class with both a best time worthy of scoring at NCAAs (the 400 IM) and another NCAA qualification-worthy event (the 500 free), it’s hard to move him down. In addition, he’s just an all-around top swimmer in this class—in addition to holding the top-ranked 400 IM, he’s also ranked second by a hair in the 500 free, third in the 200 free, third in the 200 IM, and and fourth in the 200 fly. His skillset as an IMer and mid-distance freestyler/butterflyer makes him the perfect swimmer to develop under Bob Bowman at Texas, and the fact that he’s already this fast out of college only further helps his case.

It does help that Lucas had some big improvements in the 200 IM, improving over a second from a best time of 1:44.89 to a time of 1:43.88. The 500 free is still far and away a better event for him, but it will be interesting to see if he leans towards doing more distance in college versus becoming a full IM specialist.

3.  Lucca Battaglini – East Carolina Aquatics – Durham School of the Arts – Durham, NC **Verbally committed to Cal** (Previous Rank: #6 junior/#5 sophomore)

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.04 (best in class)
• 100 free: 42.60
• 100 fly: 46.04
• 100 back: 46.55
• 200 free: 1:36.48

Ranking the recruits named No. 2 through 6 felt like splitting hairs, but we ultimately went with Battaglini at the three-slot because of his massive breakout senior season that turned him into the second-best sprinter in this class. Particularly, his 50 free time of 19.04 holds a lot of weight. Not only is that time is worthy of qualifying for NCAAs, but it also puts him in rarified territory, as only Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Hoffer—arguably the greatest NCAA sprinter ever and the greatest sprint prospect ever—have been faster than him as high schoolers. In addition, this time also makes him extremely valuable for relays, as Cal is essentially guaranteed an 18-point relay swimmer straight out of high school.

Battaglini also saw major development in the 100-yard events. His 100 free time improved from a 43.34 to a 42.60, making him the second-fastest 100 freestyler in the class behind Winkler. He also dropped 0.9 in the 100 fly to rank fourth in the class. He may not be able to make direct NCAA impact aside in those two events yet, but he will be able to make relay impact in multiple strokes and distances. And once again, that 50 free time propels him greatly, especially in senior rankings where being top heavy is more important than ever.

4. Adriano Arioti – Rockville Montgomery Swim Club – Georgetown Day School – Potomac, MD **Verbally committed to Harvard** (Previous Rank: #7 junior/#19 sophomore)

Best Times:

• 200 back: 1:40.55
• 100 back: 46.97
• 200 fly: 1:42.94
• 100 fly: 46.63
• 200 IM: 1:43.58
• 400 IM: 3:49.49
• 200 free: 1:37.27
• 500 free: 4:19.75

It was very difficult to decide between Arioti and Hitchcock, but we ultimately put Arioti in front because of more recent improvements and greater aptitude in the sprint events. The Harvard commit had the greatest rise out of all the recruits ranked top 20 on three instances, having dropped half a second in his 200 fly, over a second in his 200 back, and a whopping 1.93 seconds in his 200 IM. He doesn’t actually *lead* his class in any event, but is ranked second by a slim margin in the 200 back, 200 IM, and 200 fly, with times either capable of qualifying for NCAAs (200 back) or within 1% of the NCAA cutline (200 fly and 200 IM). In addition, it also helps that he’s the seventh-fastest 100 butterflyer in the class.

Arioti’s one weakness is that his best events fall either on day two or day four of NCAAs. So unless he wants to take on a 200 fly/200 back double, he’ll have to get better at the sprints.

5. Drew Hitchcock – Baylor Swim Club – Baylor School – Chattanooga, TN **Verbally committed to Georgia** (Previous Rank: #4 junior/#4 sophomore)

Best Times:

• 200 IM: 1:43.48 (best in class)
• 400 IM: 3:41.81
• 200 fly: 1:43.26
• 100 fly: 47.13
• 100 free: 44.00
• 200 free: 1:36.15
• 500 free: 4:22.00
• 100 back: 47.49
• 200 back: 1:44.04
• 200 breast: 1:59.66

Like Lucas, Hitchcock didn’t improve in any of his primary events (though he did come relatively close at Winter Juniors this past winter) aside from the 200 IM, but he did drop 1.7 seconds to become the class’s top swimmer in the event. In addition, he remains the class’s second-fastest swimmer in the 400 IM and the third-fastest in the 200 fly, with an NCAA scoring-worthy time in the former event. Being able to make an immediate impact at NCAAs single-handedly keeps him at the top of his list, and he’s only bolstered by an array of other strong events too.

Last summer, Hitchcock also gained valuable experience on the international stage, finishing sixth in the 200 fly and seventh in the 400 IM at the 2023 World Junior Championships.

6. Spencer Nicholas – Nashville Aquatic Club – Martin Luther King High School – Nashville, TN **Verbally committed to Virginia** (Previous Rank: #12 junior/#14 sophomore)

Best Times:

• 100 fly: 45.08 (best in class)
• 50 free: 19.66
• 100 free: 43.37
• 100 back: 46.58
• 100 breast: 54.29
• 200 IM: 1:44.99

Virginia is getting a ton of hype for its 2025 recruiting class headlined by Thomas Heilman and Maximus Williamson, but the momentum starts with 2024 recruits like Nicholas. His argument for being on this list last year stemmed from his all-around sprinting talent, but this year, he really made his 100 fly time stand out. In one season, his best time improved from a 46.74 to a 45.05, and he is now just 0.06 seconds from scoring territory. Having a 45-point 100 fly off a flat start also means he’s probably capable of splitting 44 on a relay, something that none of the actual Virginia swimmers have been capable of doing in recent years.

Nicholas also saw decent drops in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 back. His 100 free used to a “black sheep” type of weak event on his resume, but now it slots right in with the rest of his events after he dropped from a time of 46.18 to 43.37.

7. Jacob Johnson – Suburban Seahawks Club – Springfield High School – Springfield, PA **Verbally committed to Minnesota** (Previous rank: N/A)

Best Times:

• 100 fly: 45.65
• 200 fly: 1:42.29 (best in class)
• 50 free: 20.06
• 100 free: 44.04

Johnson’s event repertoire is relatively limited compared to the rest of his classmates,  but there aren’t many swimmers in this class who have the same all-around prowess as him in a singular stroke. After not appearing in our rankings as a junior and sophomore, Johnson seemingly came out of nowhere to become the fastest 200 flyer and second-fastest 100 flyer in this class, with his best time in the latter event falling under the NCAA cut line. In one season, he improved nearly four seconds from a time of 1:46.18 to 1:42.29 in the 200 fly, and then from a 47.51 to a 45.65 in the 100 fly. His sprint free times aren’t elite compared to the top freestylers in this class, but they are still promising and will bring him decent relay value on a team like Minnesota.

As an incoming freshman, Johnson has a chance to become the fastest butterflier in Minnesota history. His 200 fly best time is under Kaiser Neverman‘s team record, and he’s not far off Davide Harabagiu‘s 100 fly team record of 45.16 either.

8. David King – Cavalier Aquatics – Albemarle High School – Crozet, VA **Verbally committed to Virginia** (Previous Rank: #8 junior)

Best Times:

• 200 back: 1:40.52 (best in class)
• 100 back: 46.76
• 200 free: 1:34.24
• 500 free: 4:17.02
• 1000 free: 9:07.64
• 1650 free: 15:02.76
• 200 IM: 1:46.22
• 400 IM: 3:48.56

Last year when we ranked King, we called him a distance freestyler who happened to be good at backstroke. Now, it’s the other way around, as he’s risen to become the top 200 backstroker in the class after dropping two seconds in the event. Now, he’s capable of qualifying for NCAAs headed into college. He’s also improved in both the 200 and 500 free but not the 1650 free, indicating that he’s veering on the mid-distance trajectory. After improving from 1:36.6 to 1:34.2 in the 200 free and from 4:21.2 to 4:17.0 in the 500 free, he is now the class’s third-fastest swimmer in the former event and the fourth-fastest in the latter.

It’s perfect that King’s best events seem to be the 500 free, 200 free, and 200 back, meaning that he can swim 0ne event on each day of NCAAs. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s developed a 46-point 100 back, meaning that he could potentially be useful on sprint relays as well.

9. Luke Whitlock – Fishers Area Swimming Tigers – Noblesville High School – Noblesville, IN **Verbally committed to Florida** (Previous Rank:#20 junior)

Best Times:

• 1650 free: 14:50.37 (best in class)
• 1000 free: 8:56.16 (best in class)
• 500 free: 4:15.76
• 200 free: 1:37.17
• 400 IM: 3:48.10

Whitlock was the highest-rising recruit within the top 20, moving up 11 spots in the span of a year. A lot of that has to do with his 11-second drop in the 1650 free, which not only makes him the only swimmer in the class to be under 15 minutes, but also the fastest swimmer in the class by nearly ten seconds. He’s now capable of qualifying for NCAAs in the mile, and has become far and away the best distance swimmer in the class. In addition, he also dropped over nine seconds in the 1000 free to lead the class in that event as well.

In addition, Whitlock is also ranked third in the 500 free, where he is less than a second off NCAA qualification. He doesn’t really have a third event on the level of his 500 or 1650 free, but his strength and dominance in those two events alone is enough to keep him in the top ten.

10. Johnny Crush – Lakeside Swim Team (KY) – Saint Xavier High School – Louisville, KY **Verbally committed to Army West Point** (Previous Rank: #9 junior/BOTR sophomore)

Best Times:

• 100 back: 45.56 (best in class)
• 200 back: 1:42.94
• 50 free: 19.99
• 100 free: 42.70
• 200 free: 1:34.99
• 100 fly: 47.00
• 200 fly: 1:46.76

Crush and Peck have nearly identical backstroke times, but Crush took the edge here for being stronger both the 100 and 200 free. Last year, the Army West Point commit got a high ranking for his standout 100 backstroke time, and that hasn’t changed this year. Now, he’s the highest-ranked 100 backstroker in the class, with a time just a few tenths off of NCAA scoring territory. He also dropped over a second in the 200 back to become the sixth-ranked swimmer in the class for the event.

Aside from backstroke, Crush is also a strong sprint freestyler, which is a big reason why he’s in the top ten. He’s just one of four 19/42-point sprinters in the class, and just one of two swimmers who can go sub-20, sub-43, and sub-1:35. In addition, he remains the highest-ranked non-Ivy League mid-major swimmer ever in SwimSwam’s ranking history.

11. Kyle Peck – Rappahannock Y Swim Team – Chancellor High School – Fredricksburg, VA **Verbally committed to Texas** (Previous Rank: #10 junior/#9 sophomore)

Best Times:

• 100 back: 45.68
• 200 back: 1:42.71
• 100 fly: 46.99
• 200 fly: 1:45.11
• 50 free: 19.74
• 100 free: 43.66

Peck is a very similar type of swimmer to Crush, but just with slightly faster butterfly times and slower 100 and 200 free times. He didn’t improve much in either of his best 200-yard events but saw jumps in the shorter distances, which includes a 1.4-second drop in the 100 back that puts him just outside of NCAA qualification territory. His progressions in the 100 back as well as the 50/100 free seem to indicate that he’s developing into a sprint back/free specialist rather than a back/fly specialist like he seemed to be last year, but his times in all three strokes are still impressive.

12. Gregg Enoch – Carmel Swim Club – Carmel High School – Carmel, IN **Verbally committed to Louisville** (Previous Rank: #14 junior/#18 sophomore)

Best Times:

• 500 free: 4:14.36 (best in class)
• 200 free: 1:34.33
• 200 IM: 1:44.37
• 400 IM: 3:44.80
• 200 fly: 1:44.56

Enoch’s best five events continue to be what they were last year, and he improved in all of them over the course of a season. His progression was especially evident in the 500 free, where he dropped from a time of 4:19.44 to 4:14.36 to become the class’s leading swimmer and fall into NCAA qualification territory. He also improved 5.8 seconds in the 400 IM, ranking as the fifth-fastest swimmer in the class for the event. In the 200s, he’s also a formidable swimmer, ranking top ten for his class in the IM, fly, and free.

Last year, we mentioned that Enoch’s only problem was that his two best events, the 500 free and 200 IM, fall on the same day at NCAAs. The 500 free still remains his far and way best event, but now he has enough other good events on his resume and won’t have to swim the 200 IM to have a successful NCAAs.

13. Jake Wang – Suburban Seahawks Club –  Conestoga High School – Berwyn, PA **Verbally committed to Yale**  (Previous Rank: N/A)

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 52.36 (best in class)
• 200 breast: 1:56.26
• 50 free: 19.93
• 100 free: 43.39
• 200 free: 1:37.89
• 200 IM: 1:44.20

The other top 20 swimmer who didn’t appear in any of our previous rankings is Wang, who made his claim to fame through improving from a best 100 breast time of 53.92 to 52.36. He now is the only swimmer in the class to be within 1% of the NCAA qualification time for the event.

Although Wang’s 200 breast time isn’t as strong as some of the other 52-point breaststrokers, what keeps him at this ranking is the fact that he’s not a one-trick pony. It’s impressive to go 19.9 and 43.3 in the freestylers in addition to a 1:44.2 200 IM as someone who is seemingly a 100 breaststroker, which will give him plenty of options to choose from when it comes to swimming on day two and day four of NCAAs.

14. Jake Eccleston – Fort Collins Area Swim Team – Windsor High School – Severance, CO **Verbally committed to Louisville** (Previous Rank: #13 junior)

Best Times:

• 200 breast: 1:52.95 (best in class)
• 100 breast: 52.74
• 200 IM: 1:46.08
• 400 IM: 3:47.12

As the far and away top 200 breaststroker (and the only 200 breaststroker to go sub-1:53) and a 52-point 100 breaststroker, Eccleston is clearly the best all-around breaststroker in his class. He dropped over a second in his 200 breast and from a time of 53.36 to 52.74 in the 100 breast, markedly improving in both of those events. And although he hasn’t dropped in either of the IMs, his times in both events are still strong enough to remain listed, and the 200 IM will be a good third event for him to race at NCAAs.

15. Michael Hochwalt – Spokane Waves Aquatic Team – Mt. Spokane High School – Colbert, WA **Verbally committed to Arizona State** (Previous Rank: BOTR junior/BOTR sophomore)

Best Times:

• 400 IM: 3:42.88
• 200 IM: 1:47.06
• 500 free: 4:24.53
• 1650 free: 15:05.76
• 200 back: 1:44.51
• 200 breast: 1:58.71
• 200 fly: 1:45.21

After hovering in the “best of the rest” IM category for two years, Hochwalt has finally risen up to become a top 20 recruit. This is due to his improvements in the 400 IM, as he dropped over five seconds from a personal best of 3:48.07 to a 3:42.88, which now makes him the third-fastest 400 IMer in the class, one of three swimmers to be under the NCAA cutline in the event, and one of 10 swimmers in the class with an event capable of 2024 NCAA qualification. He also saw a drastic drop from 15:31.12 to 15:05.76 in the 1650 free, ranking seventh in the class for that event. In addition, he has formidable times in the 200 IM, 200 back, and 200 fly, and can pick any one of those events to continue developing in. Considering how good he is at the 400 IM and 1650 free, it feels like he should have a 500 free time faster than 4:24, but he also didn’t swim the event at the meet where he set his 400 IM and 1650 free best (the Washington State champs). Because of this, his progression in the 500 free should also be worth keeping an eye on (it feels like he’s perfectly capable of going sub-4:20).

16. Joshua Chen – Texas Ford Aquatics – Ames Senior High School – Ames, Iowa **Verbally committed to Harvard**  (Previous Rank: BOTR junior/#16 sophomore)

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 52.59
• 200 breast: 1:53.71

Chen makes his way back into the top 20 after a standout senior season, where he improved from a time of 54.23 to 52.59 in the 100 breast, and then nearly four seconds from 1:57.23 to 1:53.71 in the 200 breast. Although he’s not strong in any other events, his breaststroke times carry a lot of weight, as he’s the third-fastest in this class for the 100 and the second-fastest for the 200 breast — being arguably the second-best overall breaststroker behind Eccleston. Another factor that helps Chen’s case is his international experience. He recently won gold in the 100 breast at the 2023 World Junior championship, showing that he has experience and is capable of performing on the biggest stage, which will be very helpful come time for NCAAs if he qualifies.

17.  Jacob Wimberly – Texas Ford Aquatics – Prosper High School – Prosper, TX **Verbally committed to Texas A&M**  (Previous Rank: #5 junior/BOTR sophomore)

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.89
• 100 free: 43.44
• 200 free: 1:34.00
• 100 fly: 46.26
• 200 fly: 1:45.11
• 100 back: 47.67
• 200 back: 1:43.82
• 200 IM: 1:44.08
• 400 IM: 3:51.05

Wimberly’s times don’t hold up the way they used to, simply because he didn’t improve in a year where many of his other classmates saw a meteoric rise in the sprint events. However, his resume is still too good to leave him off the top 20, as he still holds the class’s second-fastest time in the 200 free, the fourth-fastest time in the 200 IM, and the fifth-fastest time in the 100 back. He’s also going to a program that has developed versatile sprinters like him (such as Connor Foote), so much like Lucas, it seems like there’s nothing to worry about when it comes top him not dropping time as a senior. In addition, it’s important to note that Wimberly didn’t swim at Winter Juniors last summer, meaning that he may not have had an opportunity to get a big yards taper meet this season.

18. Matt Marsteiner – New Wave Swim Team – Leesville Road High School – Raleigh, NC **Verbally committed to NC State** (Previous Rank: #17 junior/#12 sophomore)

Best Times:

• 1650 free: 15:00.38
• 1000 free: 8:57.37
• 500 free: 4:19.80
• 200 free: 1:36.65
• 200 fly: 1:44.25
• 400 IM: 3:47.51

Marsteiner remains one of the top distance swimmers listed in this article, recording the second-fastest 1650 free and 1000 free times out of anyone in this class. In addition, he also dipped under the 4:20 barrier in the 500 free for the first time in his career. But just like last year, what sets him apart from other distance swimmers in this class is his 200 fly time, which he improved over a second from 1:45.29 to 1:44.25 this year. In this event, he ranks fourth in the class (just behind Arioti, Hitchcock, and Lucas), raising his profile to be more than just a distance specialist. His only issue is that the 1650 free and 200 fly fall on the same day at NCAAs, which means he will probably have to choose between the two events.

19. Quin Seider – Ojai Heatwaves – Nordhoff High School – Temple, AZ **Verbally committed to Arizona State** (Previous Rank: N/A)

Best Times:

• 50 FR: 19.78
• 100 FR: 43.03
• 200 FR: 1:34.97

Seider, Dilger, and Gattnar are three very similar swimmers time-wise, but what pushed the Arizona State commit into the top 20 over the other two swimmers was his considerably faster 200 free time. There are plenty of 19-high and 43-low sprint freestylers in this class, but not many of them also have a sub-1:35 200 free like Seider does. In fact, he is just one out of seven swimmers in the class to go sub-1:35 in the 200 free.

After not appearing in rankings as a sophomore or junior, Seider has taken a massive leap this year, improving from 20.34 to 19.78 in the 50 free, from 44.44 to 43.04 in the 100 free, and from 1:38.81 to 1:34.97. Now, he’s a strong three-distance freestyler who will bring immense relay value to Herbie Behm‘s squad.

20. Cooper McDonald – Dynamo Swim Club – Rivers Academy – Alpharetta, GA **Verbally committed to Indiana** (Previous Rank: BOTR junior)

Best Times:

• 1650 free: 15:14.31
• 500 free: 4:17.99
• 200 free: 1:34.82
• 200 back: 1:44.23
• 200 IM: 1:46.33

Cooper McDonald is the younger brother of NCAA runner-up and new Indiana transfer Owen McDonald, but he brings value to the Hoosiers of his own as well. The senior IU commit comes into college with the fifth-fastest 200 and 500 freestyles in the class, and also has strong times in the 200 IM and 200 back. Going 1:34/4:17 in the mid-distance freestyles while being strong in so many other events is not an easy feat, and makes him an extremely versatile asset like his brother.

Honorable Mentions

Devin Dilger – OLY Swimming – De La Salle Collegiate High School – Macomb, MI **Verbally committed to Florida** (Previous Rank: BOTR junior/BOTR sophomore)

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.69
• 100 free: 42.72
• 200 free: 1:37.15
• 100 fly: 47.20

Dilger is one of four swimmers in this class to go sub-20 in the 50 free and sub-43 in the 100 free, the sixth-fastest 50 freestyler, and the fourth-fastest 100 freestyler in the class. His weaker secondary events (compared to Gattnar and Dilger) kept him out of the top 20, but it doesn’t hurt for the Gators to have another strong blue-chip sprint recruit coming out of high school. He does seem to be veering toward the 100 fly as a third event though, as he didn’t improve in the 200 free this season.

Marre Gattnar – North Bay Aquatics – Tamalpais High School – Mill Valley, CA **Verbally committed to Harvard** (Previous Rank: N/A – reclassified from 2023)

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.53
• 100 free: 43.06
• 200 free: 1:35.60
• 100 back: 46.95
• 200 back: 1:46.22
• 100 fly: 47.08

Out of all the swimmers in this category, Gattnar was probably the closest to making it into the top 20. He’s strong in the 50/100/200 free, being just 0.06 seconds away from making the 19/42 club. In addition, he’s also strong in both the 100 back and 100 fly and will be useful on both freestyle and medley relays. However, aside from the 50 free where he’s ranked fourth in the class, he doesn’t have any other times where he’s amongst one of the best in his class. But either way, his drops in time (especially an over three-second drop in the 200 free) to end up on the “honorable mentions” list after not appearing in junior and sophomore rankings is still incredible.

Brady Johnson – FMC Aquatic Club – West Chicago Community High School – West Chicago, IL **Verbally committed to Arizona State** (Previous Rank: N/A junior/BOTR sophomore)

Best Times:

• 50 free: 20.24
• 100 free: 43.15
• 100 back: 46.65
• 200 back: 1:42.69
• 100 breast: 53.39

Johnson is the third Arizona State recruit mentioned in this article to see a huge emergence this year, having a progression spearheaded by dipping under 45 in the 100 free, under 48 in the 100 back, and under 1:47 in the 200 back for the first time in his career. He’s now a proficient multi-distance swimmer in both freestyle and backstroke, ranking amongst the top ten in his class for both backstroke events. Having a strong sprint breaststroke time also bolsters his resume and highlights his versatility, considering that most other strong breaststrokers aren’t as good as him in another stroke.

Landon D’Ariano – Germantown Academy Aquatic Club – Germantown Academy – West Chester, PA **Verbally committed to Texas** (Previous Rank: #19 junior/#18 sophomore)

Best Times: 

• 200 IM: 1:46.29
• 400 IM: 3:44.36
• 200 fly: 1:45.05
• 200 back: 1:46.06
• 200 breast: 1:59.98

D’Ariano did improve from his junior season, but his improvements were incremental to the point where other swimmers were just able to push him out of the top 20. He dropped 0.4 seconds in the 400 IM and remains the fourth-fastest swimmer in the class for the event, and he also improved from 1:45.85 to 1:45.05 in the 200 fly — arguably his second-best event. His biggest drop came in the 200 IM though, where he went from a best time of 1:47.13 to 1:46.29. However, he doesn’t rank as high in that event as he does in the longer IM race.

Nick Mahabir – Coronado Swim Association Team Elite – San Diego, CA **Verbally committed to Cal** (Previous Rank: HM junior/HM sophomore)

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 55.13
• 200 breast: 2:01.09
• 100 LCM breast: 59.96
• 200 LCM breast: 2:11.87

For the third year in a row, we are keeping Mahabir in the honorable mentions just because of how good he is in long course, but he hasn’t raced short course yards at all this season and we have no idea where his capabilities are at in the small pool. However, not highlighting a swimmer who is improving in long-course every year and is quite literally just four-tenths away from an Olympic qualification time in the 100 breast just feels extremely silly.

Daniel Li – Rose Bowl Aquatics – San Marino High School – San Marino, CA **Verbally committed to Stanford** (Previous Rank: #11 junior/#13 sophomore) 

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 52.43
• 200 breast: 1:55.08
• 200 IM: 1:46.29
• 100 free: 44.98
• 200 free: 1:36.85

Li hasn’t improved in any of his main events, with the exception of the 200 IM, where he dropped over a second from a personal best of 1:47.60 to 1:46.29. He also saw some progression in the 200 free, dropping over a second. However, his breaststroke times from last year are what keeps him here. He’s still the second-fastest 100 breaststroker in his class, although his time doesn’t stand out in the same way as it did as a junior. He’s also got the fourth-fastest 200 breast time in the class, bolstering his reputation as a strong all-around breaststroker.

Sam Lorenz – Schroeder YMCA Swim Team – Homestead High School – Theinsville, WI **Verbally committed to Wisconsin** (Previous Rank: HM junior/BOTR sophomore)

Best Times:

• 50 free: 20.12
• 100 back: 46.55
• 200 back: 1:42.85

Lorenz doesn’t really have times that merit a top 20 ranking, but his backstroke times are substantially better than those in the “best of the rest ” category. He improved a few tenths in the 100 back and dropped over a second in the 200 back, and is now one of the seven swimmers in the class with a sub-47 100 back and a sub-1:42 200 back. In addition, he still remains the third-fastest swimmer in the class for the 100 back. He only dropped 0.09 seconds in the 50 free, it but still remains a promising third event for him.

Best Of The Rest

Some more names that came up in our research. For the purposes of space, we won’t include every top event for these athletes, but just a few of their standouts. Verbal commitments are listed where they’ve been reported. Each of these athletes is still an extremely high-level recruit:

Sprint Free:

• Evan Croley (19.8/43.2) **Harvard**
• Garrett Gould (19.9/43.5, 47.1 1BK, 47.2 1BK) **Texas**
• Sean Setzer (19.7/43.7, 54.8 1BR) **North Carolina**
• Thackston McMullan (20.2/43.6/1:35.8, 47.7 1FL) **Cal**
• August Vetsch (19.71/43.6/1:35.83, 46.8 1FL) **Cal**
• Matthew Klinge (19.45/44.11, 47.2 1FL) **Ohio State**
• PJ Foy (19.7/43.9/1:38.1, 54.6/1:58.7 1 BR/2BR) **North Carolina**
• Jeremy Kelly (20.0/43.6/1:36.1, 1:45.5 2IM) **Texas**
• Tolu Young (19.6/44.1) **Arizona State**

Distance Free:

• Jones Lambert (1:35.9/4:19.0/15:07.7) **Utah**
• Pierce O’Grady (44.11/1:35.58/4:22.86, 1:46.5 2FL) **USC**
• TJ Frost (1:35.8/4:19.4) **Ohio State**
• Dean Jones (1:37.3/4:22.2/15:02.7) **Navy**
• Dillon Wright (4:21.9/15:05.1, 3:45.01) **Virginia**
• Luke Corey (1:37.3/4:21.4/15:04.8) **Florida**
• Freddy Klein (1:37.2/4:19.6/15:02.1) **Cal**

Back:

• Nolan Dunkel (46.8, 47.3 1FL, 20.3 50 FR/44.7 100 FR) **NC State**
• Ben Bricca (46.7/1:44.5) **Tennessee**
• JT Schmid (47.1/1:43.4) **North Carolina**
• Szymon Mieczkowski (47.0/1:43.6) **Kentucky**
• Cole Witmer (47.3/1:43.4) **Alabama**

Fly:

• Diego Balbi (46.7/1:45.3) **USC**
• Logan Robinson (47.1/1:44.8) **Florida State**
• Rian Graham (47.4/1:45.9) **Louisville**
• Daniel Verdolaga (46.8/1:49.7) **Army**
• Michael Mullen (47.8/1:45.4) **Florida**
• Jeffrey Hou (47.4/1:45.7, 53.2 1BR, 1:45.75 200 IM) **Penn**
• Chase Swearingen (46.8/1:47.9) **Texas A&M**
• Logan Noguchi (46.1/1:45.3, 1:46.7 2IM) **Princeton**

Breast:

• Watson Nguyen (53.3/1:55.7) **Penn**
• Max Buchen (52.5/1:59.7)
• Grayson Nye (53.7/1:55.3) **Tennessee**
• Xavier Ruiz (53.4/1:54.9) **UNC**
• John Reese Taylor (53.0/1:57.1) **Cincinnati**
• Hudson Schuricht (53.9/1:54.8) **NC State**

IM:

• Carter Lancaster (1:45.0/3:46.6, 53.8 1BR/1:57.8 2BR) **Cal**
• Tony Laurito (1:46.4/3:45.7, 1:44.7 2BK) **Tennessee**
• Angus MacDonald (1:46.5/3:49.0) **Notre Dame**
• Charlie Bufton (1:46.3/3:48.9) **NC State**
• Jacob Turner (1:45.2/3:47.0, 1:44.9 2BK) **Dartmouth**

BONUS LOOKBACK:

Feeling nostalgic? Here’s a look back at our historic recruiting class rankings, plus our retrospectives of those classes after four NCAA seasons: