Georgia Bulldogs Jump Into Class of 2026 Recruiting with Verbal from #10 Virginia Hinds

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The University of Georgia Womenā€™s Swimming and Diving team has landed a big verbal commitment for the 2026-27 school year: #10 Virginia Hinds from Chevy Chase, Maryland.

ā€œIā€™m super excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue to swim and study at the University of Georgia!!! I would like to thank my coaches, family, and friends who have all helped make this possible. Also, a big thank you to Coach Stef, Fernando, and Jerry for this opportunity!! GO DAWGS ā¤ļøšŸ¾ā€

Hinds is a junior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. She swims year-round with All Star Aquatics and specializes in backstroke. An Olympic Trials qualifier in the 200 back, we ranked her #10 on our Way Too Early list of top recruits from the high school class of 2026.

Hinds is only the 2nd ranked commitment for the UGA women in the last five recruiting classes. After 43 seasons at the helm of the combined menā€™s and womenā€™s program, Jack Bauerle retired in June 2022 and the Bulldogs hired Neil Versfeld and Stefanie Williams Moreno to head the menā€™s and womenā€™s teams, respectively. There was a dearth of top-20 commits as the Bauerle era wound down and Georgia made the transition to the split program, but the momentum has picked up for 2025 and 2026.

The high school class of 2018 was the apex of recruiting for the Georgia women, with 4 top 20 commitments. They scored one each in 2019-2021 before being shut out from 2022-24. Now, the Bulldogs have commitments from #10 Kennedi Dobson and four more ā€œBest of the Restā€ recruits in the class of 2025 and theyā€™ve kicked of 2026 with #10 Virginia Hinds.

High school class Top 20 Recruits
Class of 2026 #10 Virginia Hinds
Class of 2025 #10 Kennedi Dobson
Class of 2024 no top 20
Class of 2023 no top 20
Class of 2022 no top 20
Class of 2021 #10 Rachel Stege
Class of 2020 #20 Maxine Parker
Class of 2019 #2 Zoie Hartman
Class of 2018 #7 Eva Merrell, #9 Olivia Carter, #13 Dakota Luther, #18 Maddie Homovich
Class of 2017 #1 Courtney Harnish
Class of 2016 #7 Veronica Burchill

As a sophomore in high school, Hinds won the 100 free (49.93) and 100 back (53.35) at the 2024 MPSSAA 4A3A State Championship last February. Two months earlier, she had notched PBs in the 100 back and 200 back at Winter Juniors East, placing 4th and 18th in the respective events.

Hinds swam at U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June and wrapped up her long course season a month later at Richmond Future. All told, she improved her LCM times this summer in the 50 free (26.77), 100 free (58.35), 200 free (2:03.80), 200 back (2:13.14), 100 fly (1:01.65), and 200 fly (2:22.63).

She is one of only two backstrokers in the cohort with a SCY 52/1:55 combination, and her 23.5/49.7/1:47.6 in the sprint free events give her the flexibility to contribute to a number of Georgia relays.

Best SCY times:

  • 100 back ā€“ 52.87
  • 200 back ā€“ 1:55.95
  • 200 free ā€“ 1:47.61
  • 100 free ā€“ 49.78
  • 50 free ā€“ 23.50

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].

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Human Ambition
1 month ago

Quite a place to come from. #fletch

Diehard
1 month ago

I thought Eva Merrell was much higher ranked recruit?

I miss the ISL (go dawgs)
Reply to  Diehard
1 month ago

I thought so too. I thought she was #1. What a shame her career never panned out because of illness. Hope she is doing well.

Admin
Reply to  Diehard
1 month ago

She was #1 at the time of commitment, but in the final ranks she slipped a few spots to #7.

Taylor Ruck wound up being #1: https://swimswam.com/re-rank-top-20-girls-ncaa-swimming-recruits-class-of-2018/

I miss the ISL (Go dawgs)
1 month ago

Love to see it! Go Dawgs!

Guy
1 month ago

Any relation to former ABSC pro, Natalie Hinds?

Admin
Reply to  Guy
1 month ago

No close relation.

Breezeway
Reply to  Braden Keith
1 month ago

šŸ˜‚šŸ¤£šŸ˜‚šŸ¤£

Hswimmer
Reply to  Breezeway
1 month ago

Lol u never know!

Ellyons
1 month ago

GO Dawgs!

About Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant is the mother of four daughters, all of whom swam in college. With an undergraduate degree from Princeton (where she was an all-Ivy tennis player) and an MBA from INSEAD, she worked for many years in the financial industry, both in France and the U.S. Anne is currently ā€¦

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