Ranking the 2020 Men’s NCAA Recruiting Classes: #5-8

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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
  • #11: Notre Dame
  • #10: USC Trojans
  • #9: Virginia Cavaliers

#8: Alabama Crimson Tide

There’s a lot of sprint prowess incoming for Alabama, which is great for noted sprint coach Coley Stickels. Washington’s Matt King is one of the top freshman sprinters nationally, coming in  at 19.7/43.2 out of high school. He should become an instant relay contributor with a high ceiling for individual points down the road.

The other big relay additions are international. Bernardo Bondra out of Brazil could be a massive weapon. he’s 52.3 in long course butterfly, and has split 49.6 on a long course 4×100 free relay. Roughly converted, that puts him in the 45.9-range for the 100-yard fly and somewhere around 43-low for his 100 free split.

Meanwhile Poland’s Kacper Piotrowski (23.0/50.6/1:51.5) could be a multi-relay threat, depending on how well he can convert his speed into the yards format.

Eric Stelmar and Christopher O’Connor form a solid 1-2 backstroke punch. Stelmar is a little more well-rounded at 47.9 and 1:43.2, and he could push for an NCAA invite in the 200 back as a rookie. O’Connor has a little more speed (47.7), but will have to bring around his 1:49.9 in the 200.

#7: Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State always seems to have solid depth, and this class is exactly how they do it – a big class with a mix of established and developmental talent.

The most established is Hunter Armstronga key sophomore transfer from West Virginia. Armstrong was a late-comer to full-time swimming, but blew up over his senior year, going from 21.2 in the 50 free to 20.1/44.2 in the 50/100 frees. Then he dropped to 19.7/42.7/1:35.8 as a freshman at WVU. Armstrong will join Ohio State this fall and should be an early-impact, much-needed relay piece. The Buckeyes graduated Noah Lense and Andrew Loy, and their last transfer, star freestyler Cameron Craig, dropped off the roster after two DUIs.

Owen Conley is probably the biggest name among the freshmen. The 3:46.0/1:47.5 IMer was an honorable mention just outside of our top 20 nationally. He’s also 1:44 in backstroke and 1:37.0 in freestyle for some potential relay ability down the road.

And the relay building doesn’t stop there. Justin Fleagle is the younger brother of former Buckeye All-American Josh Fleagle, and brings multistroke sprinting speed to the table. Fleagle is 19.9 in the 50 free, 47.7 in the 100 back and 48.1 in the 100 fly. In the fly, he joins Jean-pierre Khouzama 47.0/1:44.4 prospect, as in-state pickups.

This is a big and deep class, but one other standout is miler Charlie Clarkwho is 15:07 in the 1650 free.

#6: Georgia Bulldogs

  • Top-tier additions: #2 Luca Urlando (CA – fly), #3 Jake Magahey (GA – free), Tommy-Lee Camblong (France – distance)
  • The rest: Connor Haigh (GA – breast), Cheuk Yin Wesley Ng (Hong Kong – free)

Georgia’s class is on the smaller side, but two swimmers alone would probably garner them a top-8 ranking. Luca Urlando is arguably the top domestic recruit in the nation. He’s 45.6 in the 100 fly and 1:40.9 in the 200 fly. Those times would have made NCAA finals in 2019 – in fact, he would have been 14th in the 100 and 6th in the 200.

Urlando is also a 1:42.9 IMer, and brings 19.8/43.2/1:34.3 speed in freestyle. For a Georgia program that has struggled for a long time to build out its freestyle relays, that’s an incredible addition.

Between Urlando and #3 prospect Jake Magaheythe Bulldog relays could take a huge step forward without the team even recruiting a true sprinter. Magahey has extremely rare freestyle range. He’s probably best as a distance swimmer (4:12.7/14:51 in the 500 and 1650), but comes down to excellent 19.9/43.1/1:33.3 times in the relay distances.

Urlando and Magahey should plug right in on all three freestyle relays. Last year at SECs, the Bulldogs had two splits above 20 seconds on the 200 free relay and one split above 44 on the 400 free relay.

Georgia also got French distance swimmer Tommy-Lee Chamblong, who is 15:18 in the long course 1500 and should convert close to 15:00 in short course yards. In-state prospect Connor Haigh is a 55.1 breaststroker who could develop into a medley relay piece, and UGA also got Hong Kong’s Cheuk Yin Wesley Ng, a 50.9 long course freestyler.

#5: Michigan Wolverines

There’s a clear-cut difference in tier when you hit these top five classes. Michigan has two top-10 recruits and one great international, in a class that should pay dividends for years.

Wyatt Davis is an outstanding backstroke prospect and the reigning World Junior champion in the 200-meter back. His 1:40.8 in the 200-yard back is one of the better times we’ve ever seen from a high schooler in that event. Davis is also 45.8 in the 100 back and has a shot to score at NCAAs in both events as a rookie, without even needing to drop much time at all. Between that 100 back and a 1:33.6 in the 200 free, Davis should be a multi-relay weapon every year, and he’s got a 1:44.1 in the 200 IM that probably projects as a better third individual event than the 200 free.

#9 Jake Mitchell is a lot like Magahey – a rangy freestyler who can cover a ton of distances. Mitchell is 4:14.6 in the 500 free and 1:34.0 in the 200 free, rare times through the mid-distance freestyles, where we don’t see many high school recruits under 4:20, much less under 4:15. Mitchell can also swim up to 14:57 in the mile or down to 20.6/44.0 in the sprints. He was a World Juniors teammate of Davis’s, and won gold on a 4×200 free relay.

Canada’s James LeBuke is a key sprint piece to load up the Wolverine relays. He’s 22.8 in the long course 50 free and 50.4 in the 100, which converts to somewhere in the 19s and 43s in yards.

Michigan beefs up its fly group with a pair of prospects: Illinois’ Bence Szabados (47.3/1:44.8) and California’s Charles Morici (47.0/1:46.3). Szabados is also 19.9 in the 50 free, which should be rare out of high school, but gets lost in this extraordinary class nationally.

There’s some other sneaky talent. Yugo Tsukikawa out of Ecuador is 15:25 in the mile. Ansel Froass chips in a 1:47.5 IM for development, along with a 55.1 breaststroke. Michigan just graduated a bunch of IMers, so Froass may have to contribute early.

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cookskinner
4 years ago

Alabama seems tone rising

Frankie 5 Angels
4 years ago

Imagine if them Ohio boys from Mason went to Ohio State….woooweeee

Ghost
Reply to  Frankie 5 Angels
4 years ago

Maybe if OSU won some National champs or put some guys on the USA olympic team, they might have gone there instead of Florida or Texas. I doubt it was a tough choice

Frankie 5 Angels
Reply to  Ghost
4 years ago

Ironically Ohio State has won 11 NCAA teams titles to Florida’s 2. Ohio State’s 11 is 3rd most.

Ghost
Reply to  Frankie 5 Angels
4 years ago

That is right. My mistake….my great grandfather never told me about that!

Swimnerd
Reply to  Frankie 5 Angels
4 years ago

Hey man we’re living in the present. We appreciate the history lesson though. Maybe when the team isn’t 30 deep and taking on every talented problem transfer in the country, we’ll put them back in the discussion.

OoooBoy
Reply to  Swimnerd
4 years ago

Back in the discussion? ok just wait then

Skullgolgotha
4 years ago

Michigan’s LeBuke actually went 50.4 in the 100 fr long course and that was in 2019. Sources say that he went 50.5 at the end of a practice this year. Unfortunately, like others he was unable to have a shaved and taper meet in 2020 due to COVID 19 cancellations. No doubt he would have been easily in the 49s. Look out.

GatorSwims
Reply to  Skullgolgotha
4 years ago

drops like that can probably be said for about half the kids on this list. Wonder how different the rankings would’ve stacked if the world hadn’t stopped.

anonymous
4 years ago

So yet to have Cal, Texas, and NC State. Wonder who the fourth will be. Louisville or Stanford?

Swimfan
Reply to  anonymous
4 years ago

Stanford!

Go Pack
Reply to  anonymous
4 years ago

Stanford

NC Swim Fan
Reply to  anonymous
4 years ago

Arthur doesn’t have any more male children so his recruiting pipeline is drying up. TBH, though, may be harder to find a coach who consistently develops more from lower ranked recruits. Possibly could have put Braden in that conversation but he’s getting top shelf now while Louisville just can’t compete on the recruiting trail. Lucky they have a great coach so they don’t have to resort to strippers like the basketball team!

CACrushers
Reply to  NC Swim Fan
4 years ago

Studd at FSU might get more bang for his buck with recruits

NC Swim Fan
Reply to  CACrushers
4 years ago

Totally agree with you @cacrushers. Studd has to be in that conversation as well. I think he’ll start passing Albiero in recruiting based on school and location soon, so we’ll see if FSU can pass UL in outcome as well. ACC gonna be interesting on the coaching front for years to come if folks stick around.

Packoastie
Reply to  NC Swim Fan
4 years ago

FWIW, I don’t think NC State got a single one of SwimSwam’s top twenty until last year or maybe the year before. Everything Braden has done up to now has been without blue chip recruits(except for a few foreigners that weren’t in the recruiting system)

Coach
Reply to  NC Swim Fan
4 years ago

Steve Bultman- taking unknowns and putting them on Olympic rosters since 1988.

NC Swim Fan
Reply to  Coach
4 years ago

Thread was on men’s swimming but I won’t dispute your point as the Aggies have had a bunch of olympians from a bunch of countries for a long time

B1Guy!
Reply to  NC Swim Fan
4 years ago

Calanog on the Men’s side!

Entgegen
Reply to  anonymous
4 years ago

Y’all really think Stanford is 4th?? Hm…

NC Swim Fan
Reply to  Entgegen
4 years ago

Not 4th, but yes to top 4. NC State ‘has’ to be 4th with Cal third and then the question between Texas and Stanford may come down to depth based on how SS seems to value the top end. Texas with 4 Top 20 plus 2 BOTR vs Stanford with 5 top 20 plus HM plus BOTR plus MINAKOV since you have to assume he’s coming (though I don’t think he will). Stanford on top UNLESS you count divers then UT OR if Yeadon announces he’s going to Texas TODAY then Jared has to scramble.

SwimminIsGood
Reply to  NC Swim Fan
4 years ago

Great quick analysis, NC Swim Fan….I think you’re spot on. (4) NC St, (3) Cal, (2) Texas, (1) Stanford *….*if Minakov shows up….but, true with divers and potential to have Yeadon transfer to Texas (seems like a “certainty” but one never knows!), then Texas would seem to punch the #1 ticket. Will be interesting to see the SS list…tomorrow, I hope!

Taa
Reply to  NC Swim Fan
4 years ago

This may be some screwed up logic but because Texas is so deep their class isn’t as valuable as Stanfords. They all wont get to swim at NCAAs but Stanford they should all get to go. So after the top 4 or 5 guys you have to not value the rest of their class much cause its overkill.

Entgegen
Reply to  Taa
4 years ago

Almost makes Texas unappealing…

But I guess that if you wouldn’t commit there if you didn’t believe yourself that you would become a star on the team and be a certain pick to be on the NCAA team at Texas.

That’s what makes Texas’ practices insanely fast. Everyone is fighting tooth and nail to increase their chances of going. They know they’re fast enough to go to NCAAs but are they fast enough for Texas?

Swammer
4 years ago

Prediction, Jake Magahey will be the best 200 freestyler in this class. Has the distance base and has a great 100 lcm which historically adds up to a great 200scy.

Swimfan
Reply to  Swammer
4 years ago

I’d put money on Lukas Miller. His progression in 200 free is insane.

2016-2017: 1:48
2017-2018: 1:38
2018-2019: 1:34
2019-2020: 1:33

USAUSAUSA
Reply to  Swimfan
4 years ago

Puberty is a hell of a drug.

NCSU Swimfan
Reply to  Swimfan
4 years ago

I’ll double your Money on Lukas Miller, His 100 FR LCM time this short season is # 2 for the class of 2020. It appears he also has the one of the fastest 100 FR Relay splits in the class too, with a 42.51 in the 400 MR at Juniors West.

Anonymous
Reply to  NCSU Swimfan
4 years ago

NCSU swimfan, a few people ahead of Lukas Miller in the 100 free LCM in the class of 2020 are Andrei Minakov, Jake Magahey, Adam Chaney, Carson Foster, Destin Lasco, Luca Urlando, Luke Maurer, Matt Brownstead, and probably a few others I missed.

NCSU Swimfan
Reply to  Anonymous
4 years ago

Looking at the SWIMS database, only Brownstead and Minkov are faster for the 2020 Season, He is ahead of Magahey, Chaney, Lasco, and a few others I missed according to the Swims Database.

Ghost
Reply to  Swammer
4 years ago

His range is great and his times are fast but his technique needs some work!

Entgegen
Reply to  Ghost
4 years ago

Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.

Swimfan
Reply to  Ghost
4 years ago

1:33 with bad technique…. smh…. I had a beautiful technique for 1:39 200 freestyler

JCO
4 years ago

Will Florida’s streak of SEC titles be broken in a few years? Once their rising junior class graduates out, it looks as if it will be wide open between a handful of teams! Georgia and Alabama look to be building up nicely

PK Doesn't Like His Long Name
4 years ago

One could argue that the difference between the top 5 classes and the others isn’t that large when there are 2 classes ranked at 5.

(This joke will cease to be funny as soon as the article gets fixed so please delete tytyty)

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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