Tennessee Jumps Head First Into 2026 Recruiting with Verbal from #3 Molly Sweeney

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High school junior Molly Sweeney from Carmel, Indiana, has chosen the University of Tennessee for her collegiate career. She wrote on social media:

“So blessed to join the University of Tennessee swim family! I’m very thankful for my family’s love and support and for the Carmel Swim Club community for helping me reach this moment. Also a big thank you to Coach Matt and his staff for this incredible opportunity. GO VOLS 🧡🩵 All glory to God!”

Sweeney is the #3 recruit on our Way Too Early list of top-20 girls from the high school class of 2026. She swims for Carmel High School and Carmel Swim Club and is the top breaststroker and 200 IMer in the cohort, with NCAA-scoring times in the 200 breast and 200 IM. She made the 2024-25 U.S. National Junior Team for the 200 breast and 200/400 IM.

A big part of Carmel High School’s continuing dynastic success in just her first two years of prep swimming, Sweeney is already a 4-time individual Indiana High School state champion. She won the 200 IM (1:56.82) and 100 breast (59.78) as a freshman in 2023 and again last season (1:56.38/59.47).

At Winter Juniors East last December, she won the 200 breast (2:07.49) and 200 IM (1:54.58), placed 3rd in the 100 breast (59.66), and came in 5th in the 100 fly (52.24), taking home new lifetime bests in the 200 breast, 100 fly, and 200 IM. Both her 200 breast and 200 IM times would already score at NCAAs.

Sweeney competed in the 100/200 breast at 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, finishing off her best times of 1:08.60/2:28.20 that she achieved in the 2023 long course season. She also clocked a 2:13.52 in the 200 IM that year, and added a 4:47.25 in the 400 IM at Indy Sections in March.

Sweeney is a high powered breaststroke/IM talent and is reminiscent of another Molly who wore Vols Orange: Molly (Hannis) Dunphy. Hannis Dunphy swam for the Vols from 2011-15 and was a 14-time All-American, winning 2 individual NCAA titles. She represented Team USA at the 2016 Olympic Games in the 200 breast and is currently assistant coach at SCAD Savannah, one of the perennial powerhouses in the NAIA.

More recently, current Tennessee swimmer Mona McSharry won bronze in the individual 100 meter breaststroke at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In addition to Sweeney’s projected individual points, she has the potential to add firepower to Tennessee’s relays, with promising times in the 50/100/200 free.

Best SCY times:

• 200 IM – 1:54.58 (best in class)
• 200 breast – 2:07.49 (best in class)
• 100 breast – 59.47 (best in class)
• 400 IM – 4:12.06
• 100 fly – 52.24
• 200 free – 1:47.09
• 100 free – 49.76
• 50 free – 23.00
• 100 back – 55.54

While Sweeney is a first generation swimmer, she has a rich family history of athletics. Both of her parents were soccer players at Butler and are members of the school’s athletics Hall of Fame. Molly also was a high level soccer player for much of her childhood.

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