Ranking the 2020 Men’s NCAA Recruiting Classes: #9-12

See also:

• Women’s honorable mentions
• Women’s classes #13-16
• Women’s classes #9-12
• Women’s classes #5-8
• Women’s classes #1-4
• Men’s honorable mentions
• Men’s classes #13-16
• Men’s classes #5-8
• Men’s classes #1-4
• Individual recruit rankings – Girls final rankings (April 2020)
• Individual recruit rankings – Boys final rankings (April 2020)

We continue our spring recruiting series with a team-by-team look at the best recruiting classes entering the NCAA next season. The classes below are projected freshmen for the 2020-2021 season. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic presents a number of wrinkles to this analysis: some athletes didn’t get a senior-year taper meet. Some high-end recruits may opt to defer their enrollment for a year to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics. There’s also still the possibility that the 2020-2021 school year is delayed, along with NCAA sports. All things considered, these ranks are based on the 2020-2021 NCAA season happening, but as we usually view these recruiting classes over their projected four years of college swimming, a potential delay or cancellation of the upcoming season doesn’t have as big an impact on this analysis as it would seem.

A few important notes on our rankings:

• The rankings listed are based on our Class of 2020 Re-Rank from just last month. “HM” refers to our honorable mentions.
• Like most of our rankings, these placements are subjective. We base our team ranks on a number of factors: prospects’ incoming times are by far the main factor, but we also consider potential upside in the class, class size, relay impact and team needs filled. Greater weight is placed on known success in short course yards, so foreign swimmers are slightly devalued based on the difficulty in converting long course times to short course production.
• Transfers are included.
• For the full list of all verbally committed athletes, click here. A big thank-you to SwimSwam’s own Anne Lepesant for compiling that index – without it, rankings like these would be far less comprehensive.

Previously ranked:

• #16: Texas A&M Aggies
• #15: Tennessee Volunteers
• #14: Auburn Tigers
• #13: Indiana Hoosiers

#12: Florida Gators

• Top-tier additions: #7 Adam Chaney (OH – free), Trevor McGovern (FL – back), Amro Al-Wir (Jordan – breast)
• The rest: Brendan Peacock (FL – distance), Caleb Kravitz (FL – distance), Jace Crawford (FL – fly), Jack Vandeusen (FL – distance), Mitchell Meyer (VA – free), Nick Eunice (FL – free), Tyson Upton (Australia – free), Wes Hyde (FL – distance), Billy Jones (FL – free), Erik Harper (Hawaii transfer – free), Anton Svirskyi (St. Peter’s transfer – diving)

It’d be hard to rank a class outside our top 12 with a sprint talent like Adam Chaney. The #7 overall recruit in the country, Chaney had the best 100 free (43.00) of anyone in the class of 2020. He’s also 19.6 in the 50 free, which should make him an immediate contender for a 200 free relay spot. (Florida had a 19.6 leadoff from Eric Friese last year at SECs, but also returns all four legs.) A 47.1 backstroke could boost the medley relays down the road, and Chaney is also 1:35.9 in the 200 free – you could see him on four to five relays early in his college career.

The rest of the class is mostly distance-oriented, even the stroke specialists. Amro Al-Wir chips in a 2:14.8 long course 200 breaststroke to go with a 1:02 long course 100. Florida prospect Trevor McGovern is a 1:44.9 backstroker who probably has room to move up from his 49.3 in the 100. Jace Crawford is 1:45.9 in the 200 fly.

Then there’s a quartet of true distance freestylers. Jack Vandeusen is most notable, already at 15:08 and 4:23 in the 1650 and 500 frees. Brendan Peacock (15:19/4:27), Caleb Kravitz (15:26/4:26), and Wesley Hyde (15:31/4:27) should make up a strong distance group for a Florida program that broke the 500 and 1650 free American records last season.

#11: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

• Top-tier additions: HM Sean Faikish (PA – IM/breast), HM Tyler Christianson (MD – IM/breast), Liam Smith (PA – free), Luke Uttley (FL – fly/free), Stephan Lukashev (CA – fly/free)
• The rest: Joe Hunt (TX – back), Kaden Smesko (OH – back), Michael McClamroch (TN – free), Ollie Bernasek (VA – free), Connor Hinkes (GA – free)

Notre Dame got a stellar class of IMers. Sean Faikish was an intriguing honorable mention, just outside our top 20 recruits nationally. He’s 1:44.6 in the 200 IM, which is an incredible high school time. He doesn’t have another event at that level yet, but could be a solid breaststroker (55.4/2:00.0) or 400 IMer (3:54).

Fellow honorable mention Tyler Christianson is 1:46.5 in the 200 and adds an even better 400 IM: 3:46.6, or just a few seconds off of NCAA invite level. Christianson is also a 53.6/1:55.5 breaststroker and he and Faikish should make outstanding training partners, with similar events and times. It’s worth noting Notre Dame’s 2020 success with breakout freshman IMer Jack Hoagland, who went from 3:49 to 3:40 as a freshman.

Luke Uttley and Stephen Lukashev are also a very similar duo in fly and free. Uttley has a little more range (20.4/44.3/1:37.2 free, 48.0 fly), while Lukashev has a little more pure speed (20.2/45.5 free, 47.5 fly).

There are three more 20-point types in free (McClamroch, Bernasek, Hinkes) and some backstroke depth in Hunt and Smesko.

#10: USC Trojans

• Top-tier additions: #13 Ben Dillard (CA – breast/IM), Danny Syrkin (CA – fly/free), Scott Sobolewski (OH – breast), Holden Raffin (IN – back), Hugh Svendsen (NC – free/back), Vaggelis Makrygiannis (Greece – back)
• The rest: Ryan Abdollahi (CA – IM/breast)

The Trojans got an extraordinary and well-rounded class. Ben Dillard out of California is one of the best breaststrokers on the market, 52.7 and 1:54.7 out of high school. USC had a major breaststroke deficiency last year after losing Mario Koenigsperger to an Olympic redshirt, and Dillard should jump in and contribute immediately. The Trojans also got 53.6/1:59.3 Scott Sobolewski for much-needed depth.

Meanwhile Danny Syrkin is one of the better flyers out there in this freshman class. He’s 46.6 in the 100 and 1:45.6 in the 200, and his sprint free times (20.2/44.3) should make him a multi-relay factor.

Then in backstroke, USC got 200-specialist Holden Raffin (1:43.3 and 48.0) along with Greek prospect Vaggelis Makrygiannis (55.0/1:58.7 long course meters). Toss in 1:36.1/44.7/20.7 freestyler Hugh Svendsen and there’s a lot of developing relay pieces in the mix here. USC needs a bit of a reboot with a new coaching staff and just two 2020 individual NCAA qualifiers. This class is a great place to start.

#9: Virginia Cavaliers

• Top-tier additions: #6 Matt Brownstead (PA – free), Will Cole (KY – back/fly), Noah Nichols (VA – breast), Jan Karolczak (Poland – free)
• The rest: Addie Laurencelle (SC – free), Brian Brennan (PA – free), Jack Moore (VA – free), Tanner Hering (NC – distance)

UVA has been recruiting up a storm lately, and this group just continues to load up a monster of a free relay group. Matt Brownstead is one of the best high school sprinters we’ve seen since Ryan Hoffer, coming in with an individual 19.2 in the 50 free and an 18.6 relay split to his name. That’s instant NCAA scoring ability and helps form a strong relay group with last year’s freshmen Jack Wright and Jack Walker. Brownstead’s pure speed is a necessary addition as Wright and Walker both trend upwards a little from the 100/200 range. Now UVA has a pair of young guns who can split 18 between Browntead and rising sophomore August Lamb.

Brownstead is also 43.2 in the 100 and will probably go 100 fly (47.8) or 200 free (1:36.1) as a tertiary event.

Another key relay piece: Poland’s Jan Karolczak, who is 1:49.6 in the long course 200 free. (That converts roughly to the 1:35-range.) Karolczak is also 23.2 and 50.0 in long course free, and keeps building on a strength of coach Todd Desorbo‘s: relays.

If those two aren’t enough to fill out the free relays, Desorbo adds some developmental pieces in Addie Laurencelle (20.5/45.1), Brian Brennan (20.0/44.1/1:38.0) and Jack Moore (20.8/44.9/1:37.4). Distance man Tanner Hering is a 15:43 miler, but also comes down to 1:37.8 in the 200 free for a potential relay avenue.

Will Cole is a valuable fly/back prospect, a 46.9 backstroker and 47.5 flyer. He’s also got freestyles (20.0/43.6/1:36.7) that should beef up the relay options for the Cavaliers. It’s a well-rounded class between strokes, with breaststroker Noah Nichols going 53.7/1:58.0 out of high school.