Ranking the 2024 Women’s NCAA Recruiting Classes: #9-12

With many schools going back to campus in a few weeks, it is time for NCAA preview season. Here are the #9-#12 ranked recruiting classes for this fall.

See also:

• Women’s #13-16
• Individual Recruit Rankings- Girls Class of 2024

A few important notes on our rankings:

• The rankings listed are based on our Class of 2024 Re-Rank. “HM” refers to our honorable mentions and “BOTR” refers to our Best of the Rest section for top-tier recruits.
• 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 being 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, though weighed less than recruits who came in with four seasons of eligibility.
• 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.
• Some teams had not released a finalized 2024-25 team roster at the time these articles were published, meaning it’s possible we missed some names. Let us know in the comments below.

BEST NCAA SWIMMING & DIVING RECRUITING CLASSES: WOMEN’S CLASS OF 2024

Previously Ranked: 

• #16 Georgia
• #15 Virginia Tech
• #14 Auburn
• #13 Northwestern

#12 Indiana

• Top Tier Additions: Lucie Delmas (France, fly), Justine Delmas (France, breast), Mary Cespedes (breast), Daniela Karnaugh (breast), Miranda Grana (Transfer-Texas A&M)
• The “Rest”: Ana Hazlehurst (IM/breast), Claire Stuhlmacher (distance free), Adrianna Lojewski (sprint free)

The Delmas twins deferred their enrollment and are the biggest recruits of the class, along with transfer Miranda Grana who joined from Texas A&M. The class brings in options it needs in breaststroke and butterfly but has someone from all disciplines.

Justine Delmas enters with best times of 1:08.25 in the LCM 100 breast and a 2:25.12 in the LCM 200 breast. Those convert to a 59.68 in the 100 and a 2:07.13 in the 200. Indiana has a longstanding history with breaststroke and still is home to names such as Lilly King, Josh Matheny, and welcomes Brian Benzing as well. The team only had one sub-1:00 and sub-2:10 breaststroker on the team this past season so Justine will be huge for depth and relays.

Twin sister Lucie Delmas is primarily a butterflyer. Her best times stand from 2021 with a 59.02 in the 100 and a 2:10.42 in the 200, both LCM times. Those convert to a 51.90 in the 100 and 1:54.97 in the 200, with the 200 time being faster than it took to make NCAAs and the 100 right on the border. They had zero sub-52 butterflyers this past season and only one swimmer in the 200 at NCAAs so she fills a much needed gap.

Mary Cespedes arrives as an instate recruit and has SCY best items of a 1:01.42 in the 100 and 2:14.35 in the 200, although her long course best of a 1:08.81 suggests she ahs even more potential in the SCY pool. Daniela Karnaugh also enters around the same best times in the breaststroke events with SCY best times of a 1:01.50 in the 100 and a 2:13.58 in the 200.

Miranda Grana finished 6th in the 200 back (1:51.96) and 8th in the 100 back (51.65) at 2024 NCAAs and has 3 years left after spending a season with Texas A&M. She also has a best time of a 51.32 in the butterfly which is huge for the medley relay as they still have Kacey McKenna for the backstroke leg.

#11 Florida

• Top Tier Additions: Julie Brousseau (Canada, free/IM), HM Sofia Plaza (IM/breast), BOTR Addison Reese (fly), BOTR Gracie Weyant (IM), Julia Heimstead (Arizona transfer-5th year), Nicole Maier (Miami-OH transfer-5th year)
• The “Rest”: N/A

It’s a small class for the Gators and loaded with butterfly and IMers but has the strength it needs after following up the #1 class in the nation a year ago. 5th years also give the team some temporary boosts before another big class in 2025.

Julie Brousseau represented Canada at the Paris Olympics, splitting a 1:57.93 in the 4×200 free relay. Her flat start best stands at a 1:57.60, a time that converts to a 1:43.06, a time that helps will the gap led by Isabel Ivey who split a 1:41.64 flying start on the team’s NCAA winning 800 free relay from this past year. That was the only relay that Virginia did not win. Brousseau also brings in a 4:08.12 in the 400 free (4:38.00 conversion) and a 2:13.66 in the 200 IM (1:57.53 conversion).

Sofia Plaza is the top domestic recruit and already is just off of scoring in the 400 IM with a best time of a 4:08.64. She also has been as fast as a 1:59.04 in the 200 IM and a 2:10.55 in the 200 breast.

Also an IMer, Gracie Weyant, the younger sister of Tokyo and Paris Olympic Medalist Emma Weyant, also brings depth to the IM group with best times of 1:58.6 in the 200 and 4:16.9 in the 400. Miami-OH transfer Nicole Maier made the ‘B’ final of the 400 IM at the last two NCAA Championships and has 1 year left.

Also joining as a 5th year is Julia Heimstead who brings fly depth with best times of 51.61 in the 100 and 1:54.57 in the 200. Addison Reese also arrives to boost the fly group with best times of a 52.9 in the 100 and 1:55.9 in the 200.

#10 Michigan Wolverines

• Top Tier Additions: #19 Rebecca Diaconescu (freestyle), Leila Fack (Canada, fly/free), BOTR Josie Connelly (sprint free), Marian Ploeger (Germany, distance free)
• The “Rest”: Miller Ward (fly/IM), Sophia Jahn (sprint free/fly)

Diaconescu dropped an enormous amount of time as a senior and brings NCAA potential in the distance freestyles with best times (altitude adjusted) of a 4:46.19 in the 500 and 16:04.73 in the 1650 free. The team only had 1 swimmer in the 1650 this past season and Kathryn Shanley enters her senior year this fall and was 35th in a 16:17.25 at NCAAs.

Ploeger also brings in distance free depth with best times that convert to 4:45.10 in the 500 and 16:04.40 in the 1650. Diaconescu and Ploeger arrive at the right time to bring depth for a year until Shanley’s departure. Distance free was one of the weaker links for the team this past season but that looks to change this season.

Fack arrives from Canada and has already broken the 1:00 mark in the 100 fly with a 59.44 which converts to a 52.28, a time on the border of NCAA invite range. She also has the potential to be an option for the team’s sprint free relays with best times 25.55 in the 50 (converts to a 22.29) and 56.35 in the 100 (49.32). The sprint group saw great success in its first year under head coach Matt Bowe alongside Bryon Tansel.

Also joining the sprint group is Josie Connelly. The in-state talent already has been 22.25 in the 50 and 49.66 in the 100. Both Connelly in Flack might not swim on the 200 free relay this year as they return all four legs from their 4th place finish at NCAAs but they will graduate two of them (Claire Newman and Lindsay Flynn) at the end of the season.

#9 Ohio State

• Top Tier Additions: Emma Finlin (Canada, distance free), Maria Ramos (Spain, breast), Delia Lloyd (Canada, sprint free/back), Sienna Angove (Canada, mid-d free), Erin Little (Great Britain, sprint free), BOTR Mila Nikanorov (distance free), BOTR Rachel Bockrath (sprint free), Ava DeAngelis (transfer from George Washington- breast)
• The “Rest”: Susie Lee (distance free/back), Danika Varda (breast), Elise Nardozzi (sprint free/back), Nell Cagle (breast), Tia Lindsay (transfer from Arizona, IM)

Ohio State has a huge class coming in but it needed to as it had 14 seniors and fifth years this past season. It’s a international-heavy class loaded with talent that might take some adjustment to short course yards.

The first Canadian is Emma Finlin who represented the country at the 2023 World Championships in the 800 and 1500 free, swimming personal best times in both of 8:36.47 in the 800 and 16:15.77 in the 1500. As the 1000 isn’t competed at the NCAA Championships, her 1500 free is the key event her with a conversion of a 15:56.63, a time that is on the border of a top 8 finish at NCAAs.

The second Canadian is Delia Lloyd, who swam at 2023 World Juniors. She swam best times of 25.29 in the LCM 50 free and 55.01 in the 100 at the end of July, times that convert to 22.06 and 48.11. Both are close to NCAA-scoring range but are already impactful at the relay level, especially with the departure of Amy Fulmer. Lloyd also has strength in the backstroke events with a 1:00.43 in the LCM 100 back and a 2:11.74 in the 200. Those convert to 53.36 and 1:56.52, which are both out of NCAA invite range but have the potential to be a third event.

The third Canadian is Sienna Angove who swam numerous best times at 2024 Canadian Trials including a 25.54 in the LCM 50 free, 54.89 in the 100, and 1:58.53 in the 200. Her 100 converts to a 48.00 and her 200 converts to a 1:43.90. Like Lloyd, that 100 time is just off of scoring but her 200 is on the border of scoring. Her relay potential is huge, especially in the 800 free relay, where the team was 16th at NCAAs, their lowest scoring relay.

Great Britain’s Anna Little also brings sprint free strength with LCM best times of 25.73, 55.46, and 2:01.37. Those convert to 22.45, 49.43, and 1:46.45. Although they are not as fast as Lloyd or Angove, they bring the depth that the team will need after this year as Kit Kat Zenick, Nyah Funderburke, and Teresa Ivan will be in their final seasons with the team this fall.

Spain’s Maria Ramos enters at the right time for the breaststroke group, which lost Hannah Bach and Josie Panitz this offseason as they finished up their fifth years this past season. Ramos has best times of 29.73 in the SCM 50 breast and 1:05.28 in the 100 breast which convert to 26.78 and 58.81. Bach was one of the fastest 50 breaststrokers of all-time and split a 25.68 at 2024 NCAAs to help the team to 2nd. Although Ramos might not be at a 25.68 yet, she has the potential to develop into that range. She already is ‘B’ final potential in the 100 breast though.

The top two domestic recruits give the class even more freestyle depth with Rachel Bockrath holding best times of 22.7 in the 50, 49.0 in the 100, and 1:45.9 in the 200. The 200 is the key there for their relay. Mila Nikanorov adds distance depth with her strongest events being the 500 and 1500 free where she has best times of a 4:42.4 and 16:17 in the 1650.