2024-25 NCAA Women’s Power Rankings: Pre-Conferences Edition

As in previous years, SwimSwam’s Power Rankings account for a team looks at the moment, while keeping the end of the season in mind through things like a team’s previous trajectory and NCAA scoring potential. These rankings are by nature subjective, and a jumping-off point for discussion. If you disagree with any team’s ranking, feel free to make your case in our comments section.

James Sutherland, Braden Keith, Spencer Penland, Yanyan Li, and Anya Pelshaw contributed to this report. 

The championship season is fast approaching for the 2024-25 season. And while there’s been a few changes in our Pre-Conference edition of the Division I women’s Power Rankings, things have stayed largely status quo from the last edition that we did after midseason invitationals. There are still some questions lingering about how teams may translate dual meet success–or struggle–into the championship format but largely, the NCAA picture is getting clearer.

There are distinct groups of teams vying for particular spots in the rankings–the 6th through 10th places in the standings are being passed around, but by the same four teams that have been there all season long. Meanwhile, there are no changes to the top five teams or the 11th through 16th place teams.

Previous Rankings: 

• Pre-season
• Pre-Invite
• Post-Invite

Honorable Mentions: Virginia Tech Hokies, Utah Utes 

#25: UCLA Bruins -4 (Previous Rank: 21)

UCLA has slipped in the rankings as other teams like Miami (FL) and Florida State have turned heads during January, but the Bruins still seem set to land in the top 25. -SK

#24: LSU Tigers -2 (Previous Rank: 22)

Diving is going to help LSU break into the top 25, but they’ve also got Sofia Sartori and and Grace Palmer as outside scoring threats in the pool. -SK

#23: Miami (FL) + (Previous Rank: HM)

The Hurricanes’ divers have led the charge for the team at NCAAs for years, but its their swimmers that have pushed them back into the top 25 in this edition of the Power Rankings. Giulia Carvalho and Ashlyn Massey are both finals threats. -SK

#22: Purdue Boilermakers -4 (Previous Rank: 18)

As with the Boilermaker men, diving is going to be Purdue’s biggest asset as they push for a top 25 finish. -SK

#21: Florida State Seminoles +3 (Previous Rank: 24)

Maddy Huggins lowered her lifetime best in the 200 breaststroke again in January, swimming 2:07.96 in the Seminoles win over Miami (FL). Huggins looks like a solid two-event scorer at NCAAs, which should be enough for Florida State to finish safely in the top 25. Plus, their 200 medley relay is sitting in scoring position. -SK

#20: Auburn Tigers +3 (Previous Rank: 23)

After slipping five spots in our post-conference rankings, the Auburn Tigers have rebounded by moving up three spots this month. Their wins over Kentucky and Alabama contributed to their bounce back, as did Lora Komoroczy‘s 51.37 100 backstroke against the Crimson Tide. The swim was a lifetime best that pushed her up to 20th in the NCAA standings this season. -SK 

#19: Texas A&M Aggies -2 (Previous Rank: 17)

Like the men’s team, the Aggie women have been largely quiet during the regular season, including at their mid-season invite. Chloe Stepanek is a reliable scoring threat, but right now, what the other NCAA teams have shown, especially in relays, means the Aggies have continued to slide down the rankings this round. -SK

#18: Arizona State Sun Devils +2 (Previous Rank: 20)

The Sun Devils had an unfortunate DQ in their 200 medley relay–one of their strongest events–at the Eddie Reese Showdown. But the team still looked solid over the two-day affair, and has consistently improved all season long. That 200 medley relay of Miriam Sheehan, Iza Adame, Julia Ullmann, and Caroline Bentz broke the program record for a 4th time this season in early January and don’t seem to be done yet. -SK 

#17: Alabama Crimson Tide +2 (Previous Rank: 19)

It’s about to be championship season, which means it will be time for Alabama’s sprint group to go to work. The Crimson Tide may not have the most well-balanced roster in the NCAA, but a solid group of sprinters will take a team far in the championship format. -SK

#16: Duke Blue Devils — (Previous Rank: 16)

Things are status quo in the middle of these rankings, with the 16th though 11th place teams all holding their position from the post-invite rankings. That isn’t to say the SwimSwam writers all agree on these teams, but we’re still disagreeing in the same way that we did last month. Kaelyn Gridley, Tatum Wall, and Ali Pfaff are all in a position to score individually at NCAAs, but for Duke to make up some ground on the teams ahead of them, they’ll need to earn some more NCAA relay cuts. They’ve got one ‘A’ cut so far, plus one ‘B’ cut. -SK

#15: UNC Tar Heels — (Previous Rank: 15)

On paper, the gap between Duke and UNC looks small. But that’s because the scoring projections we’ve done so far don’t factor in diving, and UNC has one of the best divers in the NCAA. In the pool, UNC’s relays look great as well. -SK 

#14: Ohio State Buckeyes — (Previous Rank: 14)

Ohio State lost to Michigan, but a win at the Tim Welsh Classic looks good for the Buckeyes as they gear up for the championship season. -SK

#13: Georgia Bulldogs — (Previous Rank: 13)

Georgia’s mid-distance freestyle group should carry this team. Watch to see if their sprint group and their relays activate at SECs. -SK

#12: USC Trojans — (Previous Rank: 12)

Despite SwimSwam writers ranking USC between 11th and 15th place, the Trojans have held strong at 12th place in the rankings this month. I’m interested to see how they fare in their first season in the Big Ten, which should say a lot about how the team will line up at NCAAs. -SK

#11: Wisconsin Badgers — (Previous Rank: 11)

The Badgers finished out their regular season strong, and have a solid group of likely NCAA scorers as they head into the championship season. -SK

#10: Louisville Cardinals -1 (Previous Rank: 9)

Louisville had a strong dual meet season, including a win over Tennessee in the fall, which they capped by beating Indiana a couple of weeks ago. Michigan still seems to have the edge in a championship format, but Louisville should be heading into the championship season with a lot to be confident about. The team may slip in the ACC standings with the arrival of Cal and Stanford, but that won’t necessarily be a sign the Cardinals are in trouble for NCAAs. -SK

#9: Michigan Wolverines +1 (Previous Rank: 10)

The SwimSwam writers are almost evenly split on whether Michigan or Louisville will earn the 9th spot at NCAAs. Our NCAA projections based on in-season swims from before January 25th has Michigan scoring 180 points and Louisville scoring 132. Now, that doesn’t account for diving, but it’s enough for me to put the Wolverines ahead of the Cardinals for now. -SK

#8: Indiana Hoosiers -1 (Previous Rank: 7)

The Hoosiers’ season finale loss to Louisville is interesting, but has little bearing on the team’s performance at NCAAs, where Indiana’s stars will shine. I have Cal jumping ahead of them for now, but the bottom half of the top 10 has grown tighter as the season progresses. Conference championships may help in sorting these teams out, but it’s going to come down to a couple of key touches to sort these teams out in March. -SK

#7: NC State Wolfpack -1 (Previous Rank: 6)

Moving the Wolfpack down a slot is more a function of belief in Cal’s momentum rather than the Wolfpack underperforming this month. They looked as expected at the Eddie Reese Showdown and I’m excited to see what Erika Pelaez and Leah Shackley can do with a bit of taper. -SK

#6: California Golden Bears +2 (Previous Rank: 8)

The Golden Bears lost to Stanford, but that wasn’t a huge surprise. Importantly for Cal, Mary-Ambre Moluh continues to improve. She swam a lifetime best 21.57 50 freestyle at the meet, moving to 6th in the league this season. She and Isabelle Stadden have been key performers for Cal this season, and that will remain true in the postseason. -SK 

#5: Tennessee Volunteers — (Previous Rank: 5)

Mona McSharry is back for the Volunteers. She hasn’t dramatically burst back onto the scene, but should round into form during SECs and heading into NCAAs. The Tennessee women went undefeated in January, picking up wins against Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and Duke and further cementing themselves as a top 5 NCAA team. -SK 

#4: Florida Gators — (Previous Rank: 4)

The Florida women lost to Florida State in their rivalry dual meet to close out the regular season. Personally, I’m not reading too much into that, the Florida women will be ready to go for the championship season. While much of the focus at the SEC Championships is on the Gator men’s quest for a 13th straight title against a loaded Texas team, the Florida women are in a similar situation as they fight for a three-peat.  -SK

#3: Stanford Cardinal — (Previous Rank: 3)

Lucy Bell swam a Stanford program record and NCAA-leading 2:05.10 in the 200 breaststroke as the Stanford women cruised past Cal as the two Bay Area rivals went head-to-head for their last dual meets of the season. Though not an NCAA event, Aurora Roghair jumped to the top of the NCAA ranks in the 1000 freestyle (9:24.78) at the same meet, continuing her strong season. Continually getting these high-caliber swims from athletes other than Torri Huske solidifies Stanford’s place above Florida in these rankings for me. -SK

#2: Texas Longhorns — (Previous Rank: 2)

Another meet, another 1:49-point in the 200 butterfly and 100 butterfly lifetime best (49.55) for Emma Sticklen. She kept looking great at the Eddie Reese Showdown, and a 100 breaststroke lifetime best from Piper Enge (57.69) is huge for the Longhorns. -SK

#1: Virginia Cavaliers — (Previous Rank: 1)

Katie Grimes earned three wins in her Virginia debut, then added another at the Eddie Reese Showdown, swimming a 3:59.02 in the 400 IM to take over the NCAA season standings. Alex Walsh went 1:51.80 in the 200 IM and a lifetime best 56.98 100 breaststroke in Austin. All the pieces are falling into place for Virginia. -SK

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