Top 20 NCAA Swimming Recruits In The Boys’ High School Class of 2026

It’s time to rank the top 20 boys in the high school class of 2026 after their junior year.

As college recruiting has reached earlier and earlier into high school classes, we’re continually expanding our recruiting ranks and coverage. Last spring, we ranked out the then-sophomore class. This is essentially a re-rank of that class, taking into account a year of improvements. Stay tuned to our recruiting channel for more additions to our yearly recruiting coverage:

• Girls & boys ranks for current juniors – high school class of 2026 (updated rankings from our “Way Too Early” rankings last spring)
• Way Too Early ranks for current sophomore girls & boys – high school class of 2027
• Re-Rank of outgoing senior girls & boys – high school class of 2025

Further reading:

• Way Too Early NCAA Recruiting Ranks: High School Boys Class of 2026 (as ranked last spring)

So without further ado, let’s take a look at this class as a whole, then review our ranking methodology and get into our rankings.

THE METHODOLOGY

Our goal in these rankings is to reflect what college coaches look for in recruits, based on many years of conversations and coverage.

We focus only on American-based athletes, simply because there is so much uncertainty with international recruits – if they’ll come to the United States, when they’ll come to the States and with what graduating class they should be ranked. Projecting international recruits often becomes more of a discussion of when they’ll first join a college program and not which program they’ll join.

A few other factors that weigh heavily in our rankings:

• Relay Value – Relay points count double in college swimming, and any program needs a strong stable of quality sprinters to fill out all 5 relays with stars. Obviously, a special distance swimmer can easily rank ahead of a very good 100 freestyler, but college swimming generally values a sprint freestyler over a distance swimmer, all other factors being equal.
• Improvements – Actual times carry the most weight by a longshot. But we also keep an eye on a swimmer’s trajectory, especially in deciding between two swimmers with relatively even times.
• Short Course over Long Course – while every club and every swimmer will have a different balance of focus between short course and long course swimming, the NCAA competes in short course yards, and that’s going to be the main factor considered in these rankings. Long course times are another data point for consideration, but we mainly view them through the lens of what a big long course swim could mean for an athlete’s future in short course.
• NCAA scoring ability – NCAAs are the big show for college teams, so we’ve weighted NCAA scoring potential very highly. Swimmers who already have NCAA scoring times wind up mostly filling out the top of our of rankings. Since college athletic directors – and by extension coaches – also place high value on conference championships, scoring ability at conference meets is also a factor in our rankings.
• Relative depth in the NCAA and recruiting class – a wealth of elite depth nationwide in one stroke discipline makes a big difference in what times are considered more valuable in that event. Events rise at different rates in the NCAA, but when one event gets extremely deep and fast at the college level, it makes high school prospects in those events a little less valuable, relatively, with lots of other veteran options. In the same way, a recruiting class stacked with swimmers in butterfly, for example, would make each butterflyer a little less sought-after in the market, with lots of other recruiting options able to provide similar production.

Of course, there’s no way to predict the future, and the most concrete data we have to go on are cold, hard times. These rankings in no way mean that all of these 20 swimmers will be NCAA standouts, and they certainly don’t mean that no swimmer left off this list will make big contributions at the NCAA level.

THIS CLASS

• A lot of good sprint freestylers, although the 200 still lags a little behind
• A relatively weak distance class behind the top two
• Fly is deep across both distances, while back is weighted more towards the 100
• A lot of similar breaststroke prospects, but few in the very top tier
• Few pure medley swimmers, and not a ton of depth

This class doesn’t have the same stardust as the ones either side of it, but still contains some strong swimmers. There are some areas lacking depth, but Gabriel Manteufel is a distance star and Baylor Stanton seems to be a top swimmer in almost every discipline. Both of them are close to an NCAA scoring time already, and would have qualified for the championships in their primary events, the 1650 free and 400 IM, respectively.

There is plenty of depth in the sprint events across most strokes, although the class lacks a true breaststroke star. Drew Eubanks has had phenomenal improvements this year and could well fill that role in 12 months’ time, but for now, the stroke is characterized by having a number of swimmers all in roughly the same time range. While sprint freestyle is on the rise, the 200 and 500 have yet to catch up, with only one swimmer under 1:35 and three under 4:20.

TOP TIMES IN THE CLASS OF 2025

**The 1000 free isn’t an event at the Division I NCAA Championships, but is swum instead of the 1650 in many Division I dual meets and is part of the NCAA program in Division II.

With that out of the way, let’s get to our rankings.

Disclaimer: there are a lot of high school juniors in the country, and no really good, complete, 100% accurate listing of them all. If you don’t see your favorite swimmer on the list, feel free to politely point them out in the comments. There’s a chance that we disagree with your assessment of their spot in the top 20, and so long as it’s done civilly, there’s no problem with differences of opinions. There’s also a chance that we’ve simply missed a no-brainer (we’ve taken every precaution to avoid that), and if that happens, we want to make sure we correct it.

BEST OF THE REST

In the Best of the Rest section, we outline a few standouts who didn’t quite crack the top 20 or an Honorable Mention spot.

Verbal commitments are listed where they’ve been reported. Each of these athletes is still an extremely high-level recruit:

Sprint Free:

• Andrew Maksymowski (20.7/44.7/1:35.5/4:22) **USC**
• Jake Lloyd (19.8/44.8) **Texas A&M**
• London Rising (20.1/44.3/1:36.7, 47.4 1FL) **ASU**
• Austin Temple (20.0/43.9) **NC State**
• Sam Lofstrom (19.9/44.7) **Georgia**

Distance Free:

• Grant Lilly (1:37.4/4:20.0) **Notre Dame**
• Santi Alzate (4:20.6/15:19.9) **Florida**
• Alex Grocholski (1:38.4/4:22.5, 3:49.6 4IM) **Virginia Tech**
• Evan Gluck (4:28.0/15:09.4) **UNC**
• Alex Parent (4:26.9/15:14.3) **Alabama**

Backstroke:

• Chase Knopf (49.0/1:46.1) **Louisville**
• Michael Geh (47.8/1:44.6, 47.9 1FL) **Princeton**
• Luan Barnard (47.4/1:46.6) **Utah**
• Henry Lyness (47.7/1:46.6) **ASU**
• Joshua Smith (47.9/1:44.4) **Wisconsin**
• Anthony Pineiro (47.6/1:44.8, 48.2 1FL) **FSU**
• Edhy Ronquillo (48.5/1:44.1) **UNLV**

Breaststroke:

• Lucas Young (53.5/1:56.3, 1:49.4 2IM) **Michigan**
• Ian Disosway (53.4/1:57.0) **ASU**
• Peter Vu (54.6/1:57.5, 1:48.4 2IM) **Princeton**
• Gunnar Hansen (53.4/1:58.2) **Alabama**
• Elonzo Santos (53.9/1:57.4) **Army West Point**
• Isaac Carsel (53.4/1:58.8, 1:48.8 2IM) **UNC**

Butterfly:

• Bogdan Zverev (48.3/1:45.8) **Alabama**
• Ethan Chung (47.2) **Penn**
• Mattaus Rammel (47.2/1:47.1) **OSU**
• Jimmy Beeson (47.0, 47.9 1BK) **BYU**
• Sam Marsteiner (1:44.6,4:22.6 5FR) **NC State**
• Isaiah Tucker (47.5/1:46.7, 47.5 1BK) **Princeton**
• Nathan Carr (47.6/1:44.7) **Virginia**

IM:

• Aiden Moy (1:46.8/3:52.0, 47.7 1FL) **Michigan**
• Noh Minkyu (1:46.5, 47.4 1BK, 47.9 1FL) **Texas**
• Jason Sugihara (1:47.8, 20.5/44.3 50/100 FR) **Army West Point**
• Brennen O’Neil (1:47.9/3:51.8) **ASU**

Honorable Mentions

We previously had JD Thuman (Cal)  listed here,  but he has graduated high school a year early and started at Cal this fall. He becomes the second of this class to reclassify, joining Aiden Hammer, who was initially committed to Cal before switching to Texas.

Tyler Porter (Previous Rank: NR) — Quicksilver Swimming — Bellarmine College Preparatory — San Jose, CA **Verbally Committed to ASU**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.49 (best in class)
• 100 free: 44.33

Porter only really has one top-tier event right now, but it is the most valuable in college swimming and ranks him top of the class. He has dropped 0.85 seconds this year to go from 20.34 to 19.49, placing 2nd at winter Juniors behind Maximus Williamson. He has not been under 20 seconds outside of that weekend at Winter Juniors last December, but we can’t really ignore a 19.4 as a junior, especially when it’s faster than anyone else here. He has dropped a second in his 100 as well, but still lags a little behind the top sprinters in the class in that event. Developing his 100 or adding a third event could go a long way for him

Matt Vatev (Previous Rank BOTR) — Hornet Swim Club — Hinsdale Central High School — Clarendon Hills, IL **Verbally Committed to Penn**

• 100 breast: 53.49
• 200 breast: 1:56.87
• 200 IM: 1:48.27
• 200 breast (LC): 2:14.26

Vatev is another breaststroke/IM specialist in this class, but has hacked time off in both yards and meters this year to stand as one of the best-placed to push on even further next year. He dropped over three seconds on his 200 breast in yards, before slicing five off in the big pool to rank 2nd in the class. His 100 in yards also ranks in the top ten, and his meters time of 1:02.04 ranks 3rd after he knocked off more than a second. His IM improvements are slightly more modest, but breaststroke seems to be the main focus for him – he was 29.53 on the breaststroke leg of his 200 best. He could well take over from Matt Fallon as the main man for Penn.

Gerhardt Hoover (Previous Rank: NR) — Commonwealth Club Waves — Boston College High School — Scituate, MA **Verbally Committed to Virginia**

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 54.20
• 200 breast: 1:56.70
• 200 IM: 1:46.87
• 400 IM: 3:49.55
• 200 back: 1:46.95

Hoover is one of several breaststroke/IM swimmers in the class, all of whom have similar times in the former stroke. What separates Hoover is his IM times, where both his 200 and 400 rank in the top ten in the class, and the improvement he has shown across all four events this year. He’s hacked off 2.5 seconds in his 200 IM and a whopping six on the 400 IM, to go along with 1.3 and 3.2 second improvements in the 100 and 200 breast, respectively. With a focus more on the 200 breast than the 100, he also has a nice college lineup of 200 IM/400 IM/200 breast forming. If Hoover carries on dropping time like last year, he could be a scoring threat at the conference level immediately. Hoover also had some great swims at Junior Nationals, going 2:02/4:23 in the IMs, 1:02/2:15 in the breaststrokers, and popping some backstroke speed with a 2:03 200 back.

Jordan Ragland (Previous Rank: NR) — Life Time Northern California — West Park High School — Roseville, CA **Verbally committed to Cal**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.61
• 100 free: 43.91
• 100 back: 47.83

Ragland has been on a phenomenal improvement curve this year, dropping from 21.50 to 19.61 in the 50 free and 45.79 to 43.91 in the 100 free. He is just a tenth off the top of the class in the former, and adds a top-ten 100 back in which he has dropped nearly five seconds this year. Having recently flipped his commitment from Louisville to Cal, he gives them a strong 1-2 sprint punch with Albert Smelzer. However, he has only broken 20 seconds three times in the 50 free, all within eight days in May, so will need to build a little bit more consistency to ensure he joins the established sprinters in the top 20. Adding a quality 200 freestyle, or developing his 100 back into a serious third event, could go a long way to him doing so.

Watch out for his breaststroke – he was 1:02.06/2:15.18 in meters at Futures this summer, despite only being 55.6/2:06.8 in yards.

Elliot Rijnovean (Previous Rank: NR) — Atlantis Swimming-BBA — Seaholm High School — Bloomfield Hills, MI **Verbally committed to Indiana**

Best Times:

• 100 back: 47.10
• 200 back: 1:45.26
• 100 fly: 47.85

Rijnovean holds the 2nd-fastest 100 back time in the class, but in a class with several 47-points, and holding a slightly weaker 200, he doesn’t quite crack the top 20. He’s dropped over a second and a half from the 48.69 he started the season with, and has dropped four in his 200. He’s also knocked nearly a second off his 100 fly going from 48.83 to 47.85, which gives him a little more versatility although doesn’t help with a third event for college. However, a 21.71 50 backstroke is fantastic for a junior, and he should be a boon for Indiana’s medley relays in addition to already being within Big Ten scoring range in the 100 back. Adding some freestyle speed or dropping his 200 backstroke down to the 1:42-range could see him vault up the list next year.

Sam Wolf (Previous Rank: #14) — Badger Aquatic Club — Middleton High School — Middleton, WI **Verbally committed to Indiana**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.88
• 100 breast: 53.07
• 200 IM: 1:47.58
• 100 free 44.80
• 200 free: 1:38.04

Wolf is an intriguing prospect for Indiana – a sub-20 50 freestyler who also, inevitably for Indiana, holds one of the top 100 breast times in the class. His best three events make for a rare trio, with his third event being the 200 IM where he is 1:47.58. He hasn’t dropped a ton of time recently in the 200 IM – just over six tenths in two years – and has been caught by the rest of the class now. However, a 2.48 seconds drop in the 100 breast to rank him 2nd, as well as being only just outside the top-ten in the 50 free, are more than enough for him to remain as one of the top prospects in this class. His improvements outside of those two events does leave a little to be desired – he dropped no time in the 100 and 200 free, and his 200 breast lags a long way behind his 100.

TOP 20 SWIMMERS FROM THE CLASS OF 2026

20. Brody Chandler (Previous Rank: #17) — Sierra Marlins Swim Team — Granite Bay High School — Roseville, CA **Verbally committed to Tennessee**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.82
• 100 free: 43.41
• 200 free: 1:37.15

We kick off the top 20 with the first of two three-distance freestylers, and one who has developed all three events this season. Chandler has knocked off three-quarters off a second from his 50 free to rank 9th in the class, and also shaved off three-quarters off a second in the 100 free to jump up to 6th. Finally, a near two second improvement in the 200 should give him three clear individual events in college and a ton of relay value. However, most exciting is his long course improvement this summer, where he was the 50 free champion at Junior Nationals in a huge best of 22.52, shaving nine-tenths from his time from last year to rank 2nd fastest in the class, just a tenth behind Yury Kuzmenko. A drop from 51.23 to 50.45 in the 100, as well as a near-three second drop in the 100 fly to go 55.31, indicate a swimmer who is in fantastic form and poised for a big fall in yards.

19. Nathan Foucu (Previous Rank: BOTR) — Quicksilver Swimming — The King’s Academy — San Jose, CA **Verbally committed to Stanford**

• 50 free: 20.18
• 100 free: 43.54
• 200 free: 1:35.40

Foucu ranks in the top ten in both the 100 and 200 free, placing 7th and 3rd respectively in the class currently. He has hacked off chunks of time in each to get there, going from 137.99 to 1:35.40 in the 200 and 44.72 to 43.54 in the 100. With the class having a dearth of three-distance freestylers who focus on the 200, he could become the best in the class next season if he can keep up his current rate of improvement. Not only dropping time in yards, Foucu has hacked four seconds off his long course 200 free to go from 1:55.4 to 1:51.4. He’s set new bests of 22.91 in the 50 and 50.41 in the 100 as well this summer, winning the 100 and placing 2nd in the 200 at the Sacramento Futures Championship. He could be one of the biggest risers on this list next season if he can keep it up.

18. Ian Heysen Ricci (Previous Rank: NR) — Blue Dolfins Oviedo/WinterPark — Winter Park High School — Winter Park, FL **Verbally committed to Virginia**

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 53.41
• 200 breast: 1:55.23
• 200 IM: 1:46.61
• 400 IM: 3:48.36

Ricci ranks in the top 10 in the 100 breaststroke, 2nd on the 200 breast, 6th on the 200 IM and 4th on the 200 IM, after coming into this season as an unranked recruit. He’s had big drops in breaststroke, going from 55.2/1:57.4 to 53.4/1:55.2 this year to become one of the top in the class. He set his 200 best at Winter Juniors, where he was right with three ranked recruits from the 2025 class – Gabe Nunziata, Josh Bey, and Noah Cakir – until the very final 50. He has hacked time of on IM as well, three seconds in the 200 and four in the 400. He looks to be developing into a classic breaststroke/IM archetype, and his best lineup for college right now looks like 200IM/400IM/200 breast. He’ll fill a hole in breaststroke at Virginia, and join an IM group that will still include Maximus Williamson and Thomas Heilman when he arrives. A 52.1 long course 100 free indicates he could develop some freestyle chops, but he is already a fantastic recruit with just the four events listed here.

17. Matthew Wolfle (Previous Rank: #NR) — Nova of Virginia Aquatics — James River High School — Richmond, VA **Verbally committed to Virginia Tech**

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 53.19
• 200 breast: 1:55.95
• 200 IM: 1:46.97
• 400 IM: 3:47.27

Wolfle has dropped an absolute ton of time this year, going from unranked recruit to a surefire top-20 one. He has the 3rd-fastest 100 and 200 breaststroke in the class, as well as top 10 rankings in both IM distances, but it is his improvement this year that stands out. He has gone from 56.4/2:01.1 to 53.1/1:55.9 on breaststroke, and 1:50.5/3:57.3 to 1:46.9/3:47.2 on IM, to become one of the best prospects in the class.

There are several similar swimmers to Wolfle in this class – good breaststroke prospects who can swim IM to a high level – but he is the best of the bunch. Add that he’s come from nowhere to be in that position, and he looks a very good pickup for Sergio Lopez at Virginia Tech.

16. Liam Smith (Previous Rank: #16) — Greater Kalamazoo Crocs — Otsego High School — Kalamazoo, MI **Verbally committed to Florida**

Best Times:

• 100 fly: 48.02
• 200 fly: 1:44.14
• 200 IM: 1:47.46
• 400 IM: 3:49.52
• 200 free: 1:37.93

Smith ranks 2nd in the 200 fly, and looks to have already settled on his three events for college in the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 fly. He has dropped time in all of those this year, but his most important is the 2.46 second improvement in the 200 fly, from his 2nd place finish at Winter Juniors in December. He now ranks outside the top ten in the 200 IM, but knocked more than a second off his time this season and more than six and a half from his 400 IM. He’s been 1:45.1 or better four times this season in the 200 fly, and that is where his real value lies right now.

He has not dropped any time on the 100, but if he can convert his gains in the longer event then he could be further up. A 1:44.1 is a more than solid 200 fly time as a junior, but adding a second event on that same level would go a long way towards preserving his place in the top 20 next year. His IM improvements, especially in the 400, are welcome, and after setting new long course bests in both butterfly and IM distances this summer at Futures, where he had a great meet, Smith could be in line for a big year next season.

15. Miles Blackson-Dunbar (Previous Rank: BOTR) — Alpha Athletics — Crossroads School — Los Angeles, CA **Verbally committed to Tennessee**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.53
• 100 free: 43.39
• 100 back: 47.96

Blackson-Dunbar is an elite sprint freestyler, but compared to his fellow sprinters higher up the rankings he doesn’t quite have the same versatility. He is dialed in on the 50 and 100 free, with the 100 back looking like his third event after dropping just over two seconds this year. He has had some nice drops in his main events as well, going from 20.11 to 19.53 in the 50 and 44.88 to 43.39 in the 100. Those rank him 3rd and 5th in the class, respectively, and was 21.78 in the 50 back at Winter Juniors. He looks to have his NCAA schedule nailed on with the 50 free/100 back/100 free, and should then be an option on the 200 and 400 relays – he has already split 42.83 on the 100 free.

He is, however, going to Tennessee, possibly the best place for college sprinters right now. He will join just after Gui Caribe’s graduation, but will join forces with Nikoli Blackman and Pedro Sansone. With Jordan Crooks and Caribe becoming stars after joining, don’t be surprised if he continues improving next year and then blows up in a big way as a freshman.

14. Brandon Ha (Previous Rank: HM) — DART Swimming — Angelo Rodriguez High School — Fairfield, CA **Verbally committed to Northwestern**

Best Times:

• 100 fly: 46.27
• 200 fly: 1:45.99
• 50 free: 20.48
• 100 free – 44.21
• 200 IM: 1:49.62
• 100 back: 48.40

Ha ranks highly here due to a huge drop in the 100 fly that makes him the second fastest swimmer in the class. He has gone from 48.07 to 46.27 this season, and would already come in as Northwestern’s second-fastest flyer. His improvements came in the latter part of the season too, meaning we have not seen him swim his second-best event since he stepped up – his 200 fly best of 1:45.99 came at Sectionals at the end of February, a meet where he was just 47.36 in the 100. He has been between 46.6 and 46.2 four times since breaking 47 seconds, winning the CIF State Champi0nships by nearly a second and a half and the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Championships by more then two.

Ha has also dropped more than a second in the 100 free, just under a second in the 50, and four in the 100 back. He will continue to dial in on the fly events though, and, after continuing to drop time in meters through the summer, going from 55.13 to 53.90 in the 100, look for his 200 in yards to catch up next year. Already with 20.75 and 20.77 50 fly splits to boot, Ha could well be fighting with Rowan Cox for the mantle of best flyer in the class this time next year

13. Yury Kuzmenko (Previous Rank: NR) — Valley Splash — Valley Christian High School — San Jose, CA **Verbally committed to Princeton**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.55
• 100 free: 43.34
• 200 free: 1:38.41
• 100 fly: 48.49

Kuzmenko is a fantastic sprint freestyler who will step up and contribute to Princeton’s relays right away, but he is still developing his events outside of the 50 and 100 free. He has dropped over a second in the first of those, however,  and a 22.43 in long course, set at the World Junior Championships this summer, indicates there could be even more for him in yards as well, despite already ranking 4th in the class. The 100 has seen a two-second drop from 45.28 to 43.34, and his 100 fly has also seen him take off a couple of seconds. His big drops this year came in May and June, which hints that a big fall could be in store.

The most exciting aspect of Kuzmenko, even more so than his improvements, has been his recent relay performances. After splitting between 19.2 and 19.5 four times at the CIF Central Coast Section Championship at the start of May, he blew those out of the water with splits of 18.88 and 18.92 a week later at the CIF State Championship, where he also set the CIF State record in the 50 free. Those would have been among Princeton’s fastest splits on any relay this year – in fact, Patrick Dinu (18.81) was the only current swimmer on the roster to be faster. If he can parlay that into a 19-low and drop a second or so in his 100, he’ll be much further up this time next year.

12. Liam Carrington (Previous Rank: BOTR) — Bolles School Sharks — Bolles School — Jacksonville, FL **Verbally committed to NC State**

Best Times:

• 200 free: 1:35.49
• 200 back: 1:44.46
• 200 IM: 1:46.30
• 100 back: 48.51
• 50 free: 20.60
• 100 free: 44.82

Carrington is a versatile mid-distance swimmer out of Bolles, who should fit in nicely at NC State. He has dropped a huge amount of time in some events – five seconds in the 200 IM, 5.5 in the 200 free – and his difficulty may come in choosing where best to focus. From his yards times, a 200 IM/200 free/200 back schedule looks the best bet right now, but his backstroke times are probably not fully representative, as he dropped a 54.54 in the long course 100 back at the World Junior Championships recently. It will be interesting to see if he dials in on the 100 back next year in light of that, and could probably drop more next year than the single second he did this time around.

Don’t be fooled by his sprint freestyle times either – he split 19.82/42.97 at Winter Juniors, and could vault up towards the top of the class in those events next year. Having a 50 back time of 22.37 is intriguing as well, especially as that came at the same meet where he was just 48.75 in the 100.

11. Drew Eubanks (Previous Rank: NR) — Dolphns Portland Swimming — Adrienne C. Nelson High School — Happy Valley, OR **Verbally committed to Tennessee**

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 52.98 (best in class)
• 200 breast: 1:54.82 (best in class)
• 200 IM: 1:50.40

Eubanks has hacked off a huge amount of time to become the top breaststroker in the class, but is still searching for an elite third event. That explains his ranking here- he is the top breaststroker in a class without a true star in yards, but his improvements this year bode well for his senior year. He has dropped from 55.56 in the 100 to 52.98, and, having not broken 2:00 in the 200 last season, dropped more than five seconds in that event to go from 2:00.19 to 1:54.82. That makes him the only swimmer under 53 seconds in the 100 and the only one under 1:55 in the 200.

The 200 IM is his best bet for a third event, and he has dropped three seconds this year. However, Eubanks’ projection looks to be a breaststroke specialist, and he is showing up in meters as well – he has hacked two seconds off his long course 100, qualifying himself for the World Junior Championships with a 1:00.85 at U.S. Nationals.

10. Whitaker Steward (Previous Rank: HM) — Tsunami Swim Team of KC — Kearney High School — Liberty, MO **Verbally committed to Tennessee**

Best Times:

• 200 free: 1:38.36
• 500 free: 4:20.09
• 1000 free: 8:52.64
• 1650 free: 14:51.63
• 400 IM: 3:50.20
• 200 IM: 1:49.89

Steward has had huge drops in the distance freestyle events this season, taking off a staggering 21 seconds in the mile, 18 in the 1000 and six in the 500. He is now the clear #2 distance free swimmer in the class behind Manteufel, and is actually closer to Manteufel than the rest of the class is to him. He swam 14:51.94 against the Indiana commit at Winter Juniors this year, where they were the only two under 15:05, and dropped another few tenths at Sectionals in March. That could indicate even more drops in store, as junior distance freestylers tend to swim their season bests at Nationals in December.

He looks to be settling into the classic 500 free/400 IM/ 1650 free lineup, having dropped five seconds in the 400 IM as well this year. He ranks 2nd in the class in the mile and 4th in the 500, and the fact that he has been dropping best times all year makes him an intriguing distance prospect, and potentially one who could challenge Manteufel next season.

9. Micah Davis (Previous Rank: #5) — Aquajets Swim Team — Tech High School — Clearwater, MN **Verbally committed to Virginia**

Best Times:

• 100 fly: 46.84
• 200 fly: 1:43.53 (best in class)
• 200 free: 1:36.74
• 50 free: 20.55

Davis has the best 200 fly in the class by half a second, and has hacked of more than three seconds this year. His 100 has only come down by a tenth, dropping him two places in the class rankings to 3rd, but he is still the only rival to Rowan Cox for the best two-distance fly swimmer in the class.

He doesn’t have too many top-tier events outside of fly right now, especially as his 200 free best time is from last year, but even as a two-distance flyer he has a lot of value. He’s dropped a second in the 100 in meters, going from 54.34 to 53.23, and if he can parlay that into 45-point speed in yards then will be even more of a threat on these rankings next year.

8. Maxwell Stanislaus (Previous Rank: #20) — Lakeside Aquatic Club (TX) — Keller High School — Keller, TX **Verbally committed to Stanford**

Best Times:

• 200 free: 1:34.97 (best in class)
• 100 free: 43.66
• 500 free: 4:18.89
• 100 fly: 47.22
• 200 fly: 1:45.65
• 50 free: 20.49

Stanislaus was the final swimmer in the top 20 last year, but has become a multi-event threat in addition to developing his mid-distance freestyle. He actually ranks top in an albeit weak 200 free group, having dropped 2.25 seconds from last year, and has hacked off more than a second in the 100 free as well to rank 8th in the class. A six-second drop in the 500 ranks him 3rd there, and he has range from the 50 all the way up to the 500. That alone would see him move up, but he has developed his fly speed from 49.0/1:47.6 to 47.2/1:45.6, ranking in the top ten in the class in both.

With big drops and a big range, Stanislaus will be a great pickup for whichever college program he commits to. He looks to be focusing in on mid-distance free and fly, and will be a great relay swimmer – he has already split 19.7 on the 50 free and 43.3 on the 100 free. With the mid-distance free in this class looking weaker than other areas, really dialing in on his strengths could see another jump next year.

7. Albert Smelzer (Previous Rank: #10) — Greensboro Swimming Association — Page High School — Greensboro, NC **Verbally committed to Cal**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.51
• 100 free: 43.04
• 200 free: 1:36.28
• 100 fly: 47.68
• 100 back: 48.34

Smelzer has dropped time in all five of his main events this year, and now has the 2nd-fastest 50 free in the class. He is hundredths away from Austin Carpenter in the 100 as well, hacking off 0.83 seconds, and has gone from 1:38.15 to 1:36.28 in the 200. His lineup is the most valuable in the NCAA, and the improvement he’s shown makes this placing fully deserved. If he can turn one of the 200 free or 100 fly into an elite third event, there’s no reason to think he couldn’t be higher next year.

He should also be a great relay swimmer, and has 50 free splits of 19.2 and 19.4 from this season in addition to a 22.29 50 back leadoff. As a pure sprinter who can stretch to the 200 and dabble in the stroke 100s, Smelzer has a lot going for him.

6. Mike Rice (Previous Rank: #7) — Mecklenburg Swim Association  — Marvin Ridge High School — Waxhaw, NC **Verbally committed to Auburn**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.62
• 100 free: 43.16
• 200 free: 1:35.85
• 100 fly: 47.46
• 200 IM: 1:46.54

Rice has lost his best in class crown in the 50 free, but is only a tenth away from Porter and has seen some nice drops in his other events. He has hacked a second off his 100 free to rank 3rd in the class, up from 5th last year, and despite shaving off less than two-tenths in the 50, the fact that he kept improving after his second-plus drop last year is a great sign. His 200 free and 100 fly have both come down by more than a second to rank 6th and 9th respectively, while a 1:46.5 200 IM is a great time for a freestyle sprinter.

Rice will be a great pickup for Auburn’s relays, and may well be a five-relay swimmer for them. He is already only just of scoring at the SEC level in the 50 and 100 free, and with another year of improvement, could be a weapon as a freshman. He has had a good season in meters too, dropping from 50.52 to 49.41 in the 100 free and making the World Junior Championships team.

5. Tim Wu (Previous Rank: #6) — Pleasanton Seahawks — Dougherty Valley High School — San Ramon, CA **Verbally committed to Cal**

Best Times:

• 200 IM: 1:44.55
• 100 back: 47.20
• 100 fly: 47.26
• 200 back: 1:43.46
• 200 free: 1:36.01
• 100 free: 43.86
• 50 free: 20.48
• 500 free: 4:22.38
• 400 IM: 3:50.75

Wu has a very similar profile to Stanton, a jack-of-all-trades who ranks right near the top of the class in multiple events. He does not quite have the 400 IM prowess of his future teammate, but is only just behind in freestyle and fly. He has made some big leaps this season, most notably in backstroke. In the 200, he has gone from 1:50 to a 1:43.46 that ranks 2nd in the class behind Stanton, and he’s dropped 2.5 seconds in the 200 IM to also rank 2nd.

Going 47-low in both the 100 back and fly, along with 43.8/1:36.0 freestyle speed, means he should be able to slot onto almost any relay. Like last year, he does not have a class-leading time, but is in the top ten in seven different events. Add that to the improvements he’s made this year, and he’s nailed on for a top-five spot here. He is knocked down slightly by the similarity of his profile to Stanton’s, but Cal is getting a real prospect with Wu.

4. Austin Carpenter (Previous Rank: #3) — Central Ohio Aquatics — St. Charles Preparatory School — Dublin, OH **Verbally committed to Texas**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.79
• 100 free: 42.99 (best in class)
• 200 free: 1:36.21
• 100 breast: 53.54
• 100 fly: 46.79
• 200 IM: 1:48.52

Carpenter does not quite hold onto his 1 rank in the 100 breaststroke this year, but is still a top-ten swimmer in the event to go alongside his sprint freestyle prowess.  However, he has made huge strides in fly this year, dropping from 50.09 to 46.79, ranking 3rd in the class and giving him a perfect third event. He has not dropped time in his 200 IM, but holds the best time in the class, and only one under 43 seconds, in the 100 free having dropped eight tenths this year.

He has the freestyle chops to be on all three free relays, ranking 8th, 1st and 10th in the class on the 50, 100 and 200 respectively. His strength on fly and breaststroke make him intriguing options for the medleys – his breaststroke splits of 23.94/53.03 from Winter Juniors East are impressive. Carpenter has shown this year that he is much, much more than just a sprint freestyler.

3. Rowan Cox (Previous Rank: #4) — Longhorn Aquatics — James Bowie High School — Austin, TX **Verbally committed to Texas**

Best Times:

• 100 fly: 45.74 (best in class)
• 200 fly: 1:44.46
• 50 free: 20.14
• 100 free: 43.70
• 200 free: 1:35.37
• 100 back: 47.23
• 200 back: 1:45.03
• 200 IM: 1:45.80

Cox looks to be on a similar trajectory to his future teammate Campbell McKean from the class of 2025, a versatile swimmer across three strokes and IM who has shown their true specialty this year. For Cox that is fly, where he has dropped nearly two seconds to go 45.74, the fastest in the class and the only swimmer under 46 seconds. He’s dropped two in the 200 fly as well to rank 3rd in the class, and also ranks in the top four in the 200 IM (3rd), 200 free (2nd), and 100 back (4th). That 200 IM is particularly impressive, as he has dropped nearly six seconds this year.

He is also very nearly under the 1:45 barrier in the 200 back, ranking in the top ten, and is 9th in the 100 free. Similar to Wu earlier, Cox has a host of lineup choices he could go for, although the 200 IM/100 fly/200 fly schedule is beginning to look like his best bet. He’s versatile enough, and improving quickly enough, that he may end up with a different orientation, but in a class where versatility is beginning the come through for a lot of swimmers, Cox is ahead of the curve.

A 52.59 in the long course 100 fly – a time that he has now swum on three occasions – shows that he is the real deal in meters too.

2. Gabriel Manteufel (Previous Rank: #2) — Sandpipers of Nevada — Las Vegas, NV **Verbally committed to Indiana**

Best Times:

• 1650 free: 14:41.11 (best in class)
• 1000 free: 8:46.56 (best in class)
• 500 free: 4:13.55 (best in class)
• 200 free: 1:36.17
• 200 IM: 1:49.90
• 400 IM: 3:48.29

Now we come onto the two recruits who could slot straight into their college teams and qualify for the NCAA championships already. While Manteufel hasn’t quite managed to hit the 14:41.11 he managed last year in the mile, he has two swims of 14:45 or better this year and still leads the class by over five seconds in the event. Both his PB and his season best (14:43.69) would have qualified him for the NCAA championships, and his best would have scored this year in 16th.

He has also dropped a chunk of time in the 500 free, going from good to great. His time of 4:13.55 would have been just four-tenths of a second off scoring at NCAAs this year, placing him 18th in the heats, and is the fastest in this class by over four seconds. a three-second drop in the 400 IM gives him a nice third event as well, and his 200 free is coming along as well.

He can provide some relay value with that 200, but has slipped from 5th last year to outside the top ten. His calling card is still the mile, and he will hope to avoid stagnating in that event as clubmate Luke Ellis seemed to do this year. His 500 speed is a good sign for that not being the case, and already being competitive at the NCAA level in two events is big for a high school junior

1. Baylor Stanton (Previous Rank: #1) — Gwinnett Aquatics — Brookwood High School — Lawrenceville, GA **Verbally committed to Cal**

Best Times:

• 200 back: 1:40.58 (best in class)
• 100 back: 46.57 (best in class)
• 200 IM: 1:44.04 (best in class)
• 400 IM: 3:41.50 (best in class)
• 50 free: 20.32
• 100 free: 44.23
• 200 free: 1:35.87
• 500 free: 4:17.92
• 1000 free: 9:05.98
• 1650 free: 15:13.99
• 100 fly: 47.60
• 200 fly: 1:45.02
• 200 breast: 1:56.77

With Manteufel not dropping any time in the mile, Stanton’s four-second drop in the 400 IM, along with continued improvement across a range of events, is enough to keep him in top spot. He ranks in the top ten in a staggering nine events, with class-leading times in four of them. Although he has not dropped time in three of those four this year, he has been within 0.13 seconds of his best in all of those three.

He has the versatility to pick pretty much any event lineup he chooses, but he seems to be settling into a a 200 IM/400 IM/200 back schedule. He would have qualified for NCAAs in the 400 IM this year, and been just half a second away in the 200 back, so is already primed to make some noise with a year of high school still to go.

He has a top-ten ranking on every stroke, and that kind of versatility is unique in this class – even Tim Wu has a relatively weak breaststroke. He made the final in the 200 IM at World Juniors recently, placing 6th, and has some strong times in meters as well as yards. Cal have a phenomenal swimmer here, and one who takes this #1 ranking on merit.

BONUS LOOKBACK:

Feeling nostalgic? Here’s a look back at our historic recruiting class rankings, plus our retrospectives of those classes after four NCAA seasons: