2026 NCAA Pre-Conference Review: Women’s Breakout Freshmen Swimmers

Having looked at the breakout swimmers of the NCAA excluding freshman earlier in the week, we now take a look at which freshmen have surpassed expectations so far this year.

There can be a big jump for swimmers going from their hometown clubs to a big college program, and while there are challenges associated with that, the change also brings opportunity.

Some of these swimmers may fully grasp that opportunity at the first chance over the next few weeks, but have already had themselves a fantastic first season in the NCAA.

A swimmer’s first season can never be measured in conference or NCAA points alone, but they can be an unexpected bonus that outlines a year of phenomenal progress.

We’ve highlighted six swimmers who look primed to make some noise after some big drops already this season.

There will be freshmen who have made a leap this year who are not included here – if you have any others, let us know in the comments.

International Recruits Who Deserve A Mention

Nina Jazy (GER) – Virginia

• 50 FR – 21.74, 100 FR – 47.90, 200 FR – 1:45.93

Martina Bukvic (SRB) – LSU

• 100 BR – 59.54, 200 BR – 2:08.81

Inez Miller (AUS) – Texas

• 200 FR – 1:44.40, 500 FR – 4:42.70

Harriet Rogers (GBR) – Arkansas

• 50 FR – 21.85, 100 FR – 47.96, 100 fly – 52.45

Silje Slyngstadli (NOR) – Cal

• 100 BR – 58.21, 200 BR – 2:09.54

Liberty Clark – Indiana

Liberty Clark has been the top freshman in this year’s class so far, and it isn’t particularly close. She has set huge personal bests in the 50/100/200 free, 100 fly, 100 back, and 200 IM, and looks set to be a big points scorer at both Big Tens and NCAAs.

She came into the year with best times of 22.30 in the 50 free, 48.48 in the 100 free, and 1:45.76 in the 200 free, all very solid times entering college. Since then she has dropped nearly a second on the 50, two seconds on the 100, and over four seconds on the 200. She ranks in the top seven in the NCAA in all three events this year; the only woman ranked higher in all three is Virginia’s Anna Moesch. While that will clearly be her championship lineup, her exploits this season do not stop at sprint freestyle.

Huge drops in both the 100 back (52.40) and 100 fly (51.26) came in a dual with Purdue in January, as did a 1:55.86 in the 200 IM. Her previous best times stood at 57.44, 54.72, and 2:03.03 respectively, and both the fly and IM times would have scored at NCAAs last year. Those events likely won’t be needed for her – now one of the top freestyle swimmers in the country, Clark is a bona fide star for the Hoosiers.

Jada Duncan – UCLA

UCLA has proved a solid proving ground for NCAA talent recently, but Duncan may be the most exciting prospect they have had in the last few years. She came in as a conference-level scorer in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 fly, but has progressed enough in her first few months with the Bruins that she may come away from Big Tens having notched at least one ‘A’ final appearance.

Duncan has dropped a full second on the 100 fly, going 51.06 in mid-January – a scoring time at NCAAs last year. She has also sliced four tenths off her 100 free to go 48.29, and dipped below 22 seconds on the 50 free for the first time with a 21.98 she swam in a dual with USC.

Her strong relay splits – 21.53/47.47 on free, 22.43/51.22 on fly – make her all-around performances even more impressive. She has dropped time at multiple meets this year, and could end up as UCLA’s top scorer at Big Tens.

Sophia Umstead – Virginia

Virginia has so many stars that it could be easy for some of their freshmen to slip under the radar, but Umstead has been making a case which is hard to ignore so far this year. She had one main event coming into the year in the 200 IM (1:57.50), but hadn’t particularly stretched up to the 400 (4:16.04).

That 200 IM has not deserted her, as she finally cracked 1:57 this season after being stuck at 1:57-mid for three years. However, it is her 400 IM which now looks most exciting after she hacked six seconds off at midseason. She lowered her time further still at the Cavalier invite to go 4:07.49, which should be enough to make a stacked Virginia squad for ACCs. She has also sliced two seconds off her 200 breast time, going 2:09.14 in a dual meet with NC State in January.

That 400 IM time ranks her 17th in the NCAA, and her 200 IM time of 1:56.51 puts her in 21st. Sitting as the fastest freshman 400 IM swimmer and #3 in the 200, Umstead has smashed past any expectations so far this year.

Ella Jablonski – Stanford

Jablonski was a 52-flat 100 fly swimmer coming into the season, but had no clear secondary event and hadn’t set a best time in her primary event since 2022. Fast forward a few months, and she has reset expectations on both of those points. She sliced three tenths off her best in the 100 fly to go 51.77, dipping under 52 seconds in the 100 fly for the first time, and knocked nearly four seconds off her best in the 200 fly in a January dual with San Jose State. A 1.5 second PB in the 200 IM at that same meet to go 1:58.76 appears to lock in her championship lineup.

She also sliced a second off her best in the 100 breast, notching 1:00.83 in a dual with Cal. Caroline Bricker has excelled for the Cardinal as a fly/breast/IM swimmer – Jablonski could be of the same mould.

Brooke Corrigan – Wisconsin

Wisconsin has not been a natural home for breaststrokers in the Big Ten – that honour often falls to Indiana – but Corrigan currently sits second in the conference in the 200 breast heading into championship season.

That comes thanks to a drop of nearly four seconds this year, culminating in a 2:07.97 at her home invite last weekend. She sliced two hundredths off her 100 breast there as well to go 59.71, and now has four swims apiece under the 2:10 barrier in the 200 and the 1:00 barrier in the 100.

A much improved second 100 has been key to her success in the 200, but she has also had some solid relay splits of 27.17/59.18. Already the #2 swimmer in Wisconsin history in the 200 breast and #4 in the 100, she has had a fantastic season so far.

Elizabeth Nawrocki – Georgia

Nawrocki is a 200 breast specialist, but her improvements on that one event this season are enough to make this list. Her best time coming into the season was a 2:12.76 set in March 2024, but she has now been under that mark on seven occasions over the last four months.

She hacked nearly three seconds off at the dual meet tournament clash with Auburn, notching her first swim under 2:10 with a time of 2:09.96. She was faster again at midseason, where she set her best time of 2:08.44.

That ranks her 16th in the NCAA this season, and as high as 5th in the SEC. She looks a good bet to qualify for the national championships in March right now.