Courtesy: American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA)
The American Swimming Coaches Association has announced the 2025 Top 50 Age Group Teams for extra-large, large, medium and small size teams. Working collaboratively with USA Swimming, who provided the data, ASCA updated the criteria this year to recognize more teams and more coaches who are doing an excellent job in age group development.
This recognition is based on athletes ages 10-14, and all clubs were ranked using both the total number of athletes achieving AAA and AAAA+, as well the percentage of athletes achieving these time standards relative to their club size. The dataset was provided via SWIMS by USA Swimming and stays consistent with their definition of team sizes. Time standards were weighted using data provided by the USA Swimming Data Science team.81 athletes, a proportional weight tween the total and AAA athletes.
Congratulations to the Top 50 Age Group Teams in each division!
Extra-Large Teams (351+ swimmers)
| Rank | LSC | Team Name | Rank | LSC | Team Name | |
| 1 | NC | SwimMAC Carolina | 26 | IL | Academy Bullets Swim Club | |
| 2 | OH | Mason Manta Rays | 27 | GA | SwimAtlanta | |
| 3 | MR | Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics | 28 | NJ | Scarlet Aquatics | |
| 4 | NC | North Carolina Aquatic Club | 29 | ST | Nitro Swimming | |
| 5 | FL | Bolles School Sharks | 30 | MA | Jersey Wahoos | |
| 6 | CA | Irvine Novaquatics | 31 | NC | Marlins Of Raleigh | |
| 7 | IN | Carmel Swim Club | 32 | PC | Alto Swim Club | |
| 8 | VA | NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, Inc | 33 | MN | Edina Swim Club | |
| 9 | KY | Lakeside Swim Team | 34 | AZ | Scottsdale Aquatic Club | |
| 10 | CA | Brea Aquatics | 35 | AZ | Phoenix Swim Club | |
| 11 | GU | Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club | 36 | GU | First Colony Swim Team, Inc. | |
| 12 | MN | Aquajets Swim Team | 37 | MN | Minnetonka Swim Club | |
| 13 | PC | Santa Clara Swim Club | 38 | HI | Kamehameha Swim Club | |
| 14 | CA | Rose Bowl Aquatics | 39 | IL | RISE Aquatic Club | |
| 15 | PC | Pleasanton Seahawks | 40 | SE | Huntsville Swim Association | |
| 16 | PV | Rockville Montgomery Swim Club | 41 | IL | Chicago Wolfpack Aquatic Club | |
| 17 | MR | Long Island Aquatic Club | 42 | VA | Tide Swimming | |
| 18 | SN | DART Swimming | 43 | FL | Saint Petersburg Aquatics | |
| 19 | NC | TAC Titans | 44 | CA | Canyons Aquatic Club | |
| 20 | PV | Nation’s Capital Swim Club | 45 | NT | Lakeside Aquatic Club | |
| 21 | MI | Club Wolverine | 46 | SC | Team Greenville | |
| 22 | AZ | Swim Neptune | 47 | GU | Houston Hydra | |
| 23 | IL | Hinsdale Swim Club | 48 | SI | Pacific Swim | |
| 24 | CA | Sandpipers Of Nevada | 49 | IL | Fox Valley Swim Team | |
| 25 | OZ | CSP Tideriders | 50 | PV | Occoquan Swimming |
Large Teams (176-350 swimmers)
| Rank | LSC | Team Name | Rank | LSC | Team Name | |
| 1 | FL | Sarasota Sharks | 26 | GU | Swim Streamline at Northampton | |
| 2 | CA | Aquazot Swim Club | 27 | GU | The Woodlands Swim Team | |
| 3 | PN | Bellevue Club Swim Team | 28 | CA | Los Angeles Swim Club | |
| 4 | MD | North Baltimore Aquatic Club | 29 | AZ | Flying Fish Arizona Swim Team | |
| 5 | MR | Badger Swim Club,Inc. | 30 | FL | Laker Swim | |
| 6 | IL | FMC Aquatic | 31 | CO | Denver Swim Academy | |
| 7 | FL | Southwest Stars Swim Club | 32 | SE | Tennessee Aquatics | |
| 8 | IL | Patriot Aquatic Club | 33 | PN | Olympic Cascade Aquatics | |
| 9 | NE | Shawmut Aquatic Club | 34 | OH | Dayton Raiders | |
| 10 | PV | All Star Aquatics | 35 | WI | Schroeder Swim Team / YMCA of Metro Milwaukee | |
| 11 | IL | NASA Wildcat Aquatics | 36 | PC | San Ramon Valley Aquatics | |
| 12 | IN | Fort Wayne Swim Team | 37 | WI | Elmbrook Swim Club | |
| 13 | AZ | Gold Medal Swim Club | 38 | AM | Allegheny North Swim Club | |
| 14 | PN | Pacific Dragons Swim Team | 39 | PN | King Aquatic Club | |
| 15 | WI | Madison Aquatic Club | 40 | ST | Alamo Heights Aquatic Club | |
| 16 | SN | Sierra Marlins Swim Team | 41 | VA | 757 Swim | |
| 17 | FG | South Florida Aquatic Club | 42 | KY | Kentucky Aquatics | |
| 18 | NE | Charles River Aquatics | 43 | MD | Eagle Swim Team Inc. | |
| 19 | FL | Sarasota Tsunami Swim Team | 44 | KY | Northern KY Clippers Swimming | |
| 20 | IN | Fishers Area Swimming Tigers | 45 | MA | Delaware Swim Team | |
| 21 | GU | Blue Tide Aquatics | 46 | OH | Blazing Barracudas | |
| 22 | VA | Cavalier Aquatics/Piedmont Family YMCA | 47 | MA | Upper Main Line YMCA | |
| 23 | FG | Saint Andrew’s Aquatics | 48 | PC | Burlingame Aquatic Club | |
| 24 | CA | Riverside Aquatics Association | 49 | MR | Westchester Aquatic Club | |
| 25 | NJ | Jersey Aquatic Club | 50 | MD | Naval Academy Aquatic Club |
Medium Teams (76-175 swimmers)
| Rank | LSC | Team Name | Rank | LSC | Team Name | |
| 1 | CT | Stamford Sailfish Aquatic Club | 26 | FG | Pompano Beach Piranhas | |
| 2 | NJ | Lakeland Hills YMCA | 27 | FG | Blue Marlins Of Hialeah Garden | |
| 3 | PC | Orinda Aquatics | 28 | MW | Club Husker | |
| 4 | MN | St Croix Swim Club | 29 | NC | Greensboro Swimming Association | |
| 5 | MA | York YMCA | 30 | GA | Dekalb Aquatics | |
| 6 | MA | Germantown Academy Aquatic Club | 31 | CO | Flatiron Athletic Club | |
| 7 | MD | Loyola Blakefield Aquatics | 32 | CT | Cheshire Y Sea Dog Swim Club | |
| 8 | MI | Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics | 33 | IA | Des Moines Swimming Federation | |
| 9 | FL | Tampa Bay Aquatic Club | 34 | FL | Gulf Coast Swim Team | |
| 10 | FG | Florida Atlantic Aquatics | 35 | OH | Greater Toledo Aquatic Club | |
| 11 | VA | Coast Guard Blue Dolphins | 36 | MI | Sailfish Swim Club | |
| 12 | AZ | Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics | 37 | OH | Lake Erie Silver Dolphins | |
| 13 | NJ | Whitewaters Swimming | 38 | FG | Swim Fort Lauderdale | |
| 14 | MR | Twisters Swim Club | 39 | NJ | X-Cel Swimming | |
| 15 | SE | Life Time Southeast | 40 | NE | Sunrise Swim Club | |
| 16 | NE | Revolution Aquatic Club | 41 | AZ | Arizona Dolphins | |
| 17 | MA | Lancaster Aquatic Club | 42 | VA | Hanover Aquatics, Inc | |
| 18 | NC | Aquatic Team Of Mecklenburg | 43 | IN | Franklin Regional Swim Team | |
| 19 | CA | South Orange County Aquatics | 44 | FG | Azura Florida Aquatics | |
| 20 | FL | SwimRise Aquatics | 45 | CT | Bulldog Swimming | |
| 21 | FL | Treasure Coast Aquatics | 46 | CC | Roadrunner Aquatic | |
| 22 | FG | Gulliver Swim Club | 47 | PC | Diablo Aquatics | |
| 23 | FL | Hydro Swim Club | 48 | MI | Byron Center | |
| 24 | CO | Highlands Ranch Aquatics | 49 | FG | North Palm Beach Swim Club | |
| 25 | MI | Supernova Swim Team | 50 | WI | Pleasant Prairie Patriots Swim Team |
Small Teams (1-75 swimmers)
| Rank | LSC | Team Name | Rank | LSC | Team Name | |
| 1 | AM | Racer X Aquatics | 26 | FL | Fast Lane Aquatics | |
| 2 | PV | Dragon Swim Team | 27 | NM | Roadrunners of Albuquerque Aquatic Club | |
| 3 | FL | Highlander Aquatic Club | 28 | NE | Legacy Aquatics | |
| 4 | NE | Xtreme Swim Club | 29 | LA | Thibodaux Regional Swim Club | |
| 5 | FG | SwimRight Team | 30 | AZ | Ventana Canyon Swim Team | |
| 6 | AZ | Anthem Arizona Swim Club | 31 | MA | Boyertown YMCA Navy Seals | |
| 7 | MA | BeFirst Swim Team | 32 | OH | Green YMCA Barracudas | |
| 8 | WI | YMCA of the Chippewa Valley Barracudas | 33 | MA | Penn Charter Aquatic Club | |
| 9 | MA | Chambersburg Chargers | 34 | SE | Wake Aquatics | |
| 10 | SC | Columbia Swimming | 35 | NI | Cato-Meridian Otters | |
| 11 | FL | Berkeley Aquatics | 36 | OK | Trident Aquatics Club | |
| 12 | GU | Conroe Area Team Swimmers | 37 | SE | Birmingham Swim Team | |
| 13 | CA | Desert Storm Swimming | 38 | OH | Blue Ash YMCA Swim Team | |
| 14 | MI | West Michigan Swimmers | 39 | OH | Massillon Y Gators | |
| 15 | VA | Lynchburg Aquatic Club | 40 | IN | Steuben Co. YMCA Wavemakers | |
| 16 | MI | Farmington Family Y Stingrays | 41 | AM | Sampson of Pittsburgh YMCA | |
| 17 | FL | Carrollwood Village Swim Team | 42 | NI | Southeast YMCA Schottland | |
| 18 | AD | Uncle Sam Swim Team | 43 | PC | Hills Hurricane Swimming | |
| 19 | SE | Birmingham Swim League | 44 | MI | Riverview Buccaneers Swim Team | |
| 20 | OH | Fort Meigs YMCA Stingrays | 45 | MA | Mercersburg Academy | |
| 21 | MI | South Central Swimming | 46 | MW | Bellevue Swim Club | |
| 22 | GA | US-Aquatics Club | 47 | AZ | Flagstaff Snow Sharks Inc | |
| 23 | MA | Northeast Swimming and Aquatic Club | 48 | OH | Lima Family YMCA Swim Team | |
| 24 | MR | YMCA of Middletown Barracudas | 49 | CO | Woodmoor Tsunamis Swim Team | |
| 25 | VA | Lynchburg YMCA Swim Team | 50 | MA | Dallas Mountaineer Aquatic Club |
Can someone please tell me why we’re using 10, 11, & 12 year olds to compile these lists? I can almost guarantee that every team on there (or every team that would want to be on there), probably has their youngest and most developmental swimmers swimming WAY TOO MUCH…just to get a AAA or AAAA time.
So dumb. This list should be 13/Overs, so we’re not prioritizing 12/U’s achieving at too young of an age and then burning out.
People still participate in the scam that is ASCA?
When people ask, I just say what my ASCA level would be based on the performance standards, if I bothered to hold a membership. I never needed John Leonard, who isn’t as good of a coach as me, to sign off on my accomplishments.
Congratulations to Brennan Gravley, all the coaches and swimmers at Team Hydro. A lot of quality of work in a short period of time.
I don’t see any teams from Hawaii 🤔
38th extra large teams.
Is the full data set public with the percentages per team? It would be interesting to correlate some of that information together (by age group, by LSC, etc…)
How crazy that Mission Viejo does not appear on this list….amazing to think about with their location and facilities. I guess the fear of being too focused on diving ended up becoming true.
Lol is that really the local critique??
I think there’s gotta be more to it. Talked to a kid recently that switched teams and he said a lot of his coaches from Mission Viejo left.
I am not local anymore, but curious as to your theory on how a storied program with world class facilities that maybe a couple of other clubs in the whole country have access to comparable setups can’t make the top 50 on this list. Let’s be honest, some of the clubs that made this “list” really don’t rate being recognized (we are members of one of them). The fact that MVN is absent is criminal.
It doesn’t mean Mission Viejo doesn’t have top performing 10-14 age athletes it just means they have a lower percentage of their overall 10-14 age athletes performing at this level. This recognition does punish larger teams who carry more athletes at the bottom and rewards teams who operate leaner and don’t carry much on the lower end performance wise.
That argument doesn’t hold any water, simply because MVN is not even remotely close to being the largest team on the list. There are teams on this list that have several hundred more swimmers than Mission.
Spring AG champs back in March support my statement that things are not going well. 10th at a SCS age group meet? Look at some of those teams listed 1-9…this should not be happening.
I’ve heard they are severely in debt, have a hiring freeze on coaches because of the debt, have lost hundreds of members, and are paying one coach 6 figures to work with a small group of “pros.”
The financials are so bad at one point they were forced to take out a loan from Novaquatics.
Interesting… MVN just became a Speedo branded team. I wonder if that was part of the loan requirements.
What has happened to the Mission Viejo Nadadores? How the mighty have fallen!
We have a large club in our LSC that seemingly has no interest in producing fast swimmers, just wants as many bodies in the pool as possible – which makes lots of money for the owners. Also known as the club the high school age kids move to when they don’t want to do the work anymore.
Given part of the criteria is the percentage of kids achieving the standards compared to the size of the club, is it possible Mission has become a similar place? Just running tons of kids through for the money without even trying to produce fast swimmers?
There’s a lot more money in slow swimming, to be honest. I coached at a small club that finished top 20 in the USA Swimming club excellence rankings every year (well, not anymore, lol) and the owners were struggling to make ends meet. They were like 50 grand in debt when they sold the team.
The results in the water were great, but it turns out that it’s hard to run a functioning business when you alienate everyone who doesn’t want to make swimming the biggest priority in their life.
Yep. The “average” swimmers pay the bills, no a small number of top ones.
The top swimmers are basically a loss-leader. They attract people to the team, but you ultimately lose a ton money when you factor in all of those national-level travel meets you’re flying to with them.
And once the parents of the average kids realize that a lot of their money is going towards subsidizing the top few swimmers, they start looking elsewhere.
It’s a shame when a team (people think) is like that and yet, they still place high at Juniors. Enjoy your negativity.
Things always look different from outside looking in.
🐅 ⬆️