Men’s Recruiting Class Rankings Revisited: Top 12 Schools For 2018-2022

Every summer, we rank down the top recruiting classes snagged by each team. But what do those rankings look like four years later, when each swimmer has had an opportunity to complete a full NCAA career of competing and scoring?

We’ve already looked back at our top 20 individual athletes in the high school graduating class of 2018, re-ranked when they were high school seniors in the summer of 2018. Now it’s time to look back at our team-by-team recruiting class rankings to see which teams got most from their recruiting hauls.

• Revisiting Recruiting Ranks: Top 20 Athletes From High School Class of 2018

Back in September of 2018, we ranked out the top 12 recruiting classes nationwide. You can look back on our ranks here:

• #9-12
• #5-8
• #1-4

We’ve re-published each of the 12 classes below, verbatim from how they were listed in our 2018 post. Then we tracked down some stats on each class, plus a short analysis of each class along with any extra swimmers who wound up being part of the class.

Bear in mind that international swimmers throw a wrinkle into this sort of analysis, given the difficulty in projecting ahead of time when an international recruit will join an NCAA program and officially start their eligibility.

Note: The ‘number of NCAA Scorers’ section refers only to individual scorers, and only among athletes included in our original recruiting class rankings. Late additions to the classes are noted when we can find them.

*Special 2022 note: with the 2020 NCAA Championships canceled, any 2020 references below refer to psych sheet scoring, including the team finish, marked with an asterisk.

#12: MISSOURI TIGERS

Top-tier additions: #17 Danny Kovac (CO- Fly/IM), HM Jack Dahlgren (MN – back/free), Kyle Leach (CO – free), Ike Khamis (IN – diving)
The rest: Garrett Clasen (IL – breast/IM), Dane Florea (MO – distance), Jack Dubois (GA – distance)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 11th, *15th*, 16th, 25th
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 2 (Danny Kovac, Jack Dahlgren)

Danny Kovac turned out to be a huge get for Mizzou, scoring 43 NCAA points, all coming from the last two seasons. 33 of those came in 2021, when Kovac earned a pair of ‘A’ final berths in the 100 fly (fifth) and 200 IM (seventh).

Jack Dahlgren also turned into a consistent scorer for the Tigers, putting up 12 points as a junior, 17 as a senior, and he was also seeded for 11 in 2020.

#11: NC STATE WOLFPACK

Top-tier additions: HM Zach Brown (NC – fly), Nyls Korstanje (Netherlands – free/fly), Rafal Kusto (Poland – breast)
The rest: Jack Moranetz (CO – breast), John Healy (NC – back/fly), Curtis Wiltsey (NC – distance), Nate Mullens (OH – sprint free)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 4th, *8th*, 8th, 4th
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 1 (Nyls Korstanje)

Relative to what they’ve done recently, this class was a bit of a lull for NC State, with Dutchman Nyls Korstanje the only swimmer listed above who has scored at the NCAA Championships.

However, Korstanje was a huge addition, and he’s already scored 38 points across just two NCAA Championship appearances, having taken a redshirt year for the Olympics in 2021. That included a fourth-place finish in the 100 fly and a fifth-place showing in the 50 free this past season.

Other highly-ranked recruits coming in Zach Brown and Rafal Kusto were both multi-time NCAA qualifiers but never quite scored.

But the Wolfpack did get a nice addition to this class in the form of Kacper Stokowski, who we’ll find later on in this list with the Florida Gators.

Stokowski committed to U of F but transferred to join the ‘Pack after his freshman year, combining for 44 points in two NCAA appearances at NC State. This culminated with him winning the NCAA title this past season in the 100 back.

#10: TEXAS A&M AGGIES

Top-tier additions: HM Shaine Casas (TX – back/fly/free), Clayton Bobo (TX – free), Coco Bratanov (TX – breast/IM), Peter Simmons (TX – back)
The rest: Alberto Gomez (TX – back), Ethan Gogulski (TX – back), Jake Schababerle (TX – breast), Luke Stuart (TX – distance), Mark Schnippenkoetter (AZ – free)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 17th, *6th*, 10th, 19th
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 1 (Shaine Casas)

It’s hard to call this class a letdown for Texas A&M given that they got Shaine Casas, who wasn’t even in our top 20 U.S. rankings and he ended up turning into arguably the best swimmer in the NCAA in his junior year.

Casas only raced at NCAAs twice, having turned pro and opting out of his senior year, but still ranks as the sixth-highest scorer in the class. In fact, his perfect 60-point effort in 2021 (winning all three of his individual events) alone would rank sixth overall. He was also seeded for 57 points before the 2020 cancelation and would likely rank as the top scorer if he competed this year.

Beyond Casas, Clayton Bobo and Coco Bratanov never quite broke through and became NCAA scorers, though Bratanov came extremely close on a few occasions, including a 24th-place finish in the 200 free last month.

Ethan Gogulski, featured in the ‘The Rest’ section back in 2018, notably came back from a cancer diagnosis to place second in both the 100 and 200 back this season at SECs, producing a time in the 200 that would’ve scored at NCAAs.

#9: MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

Top-tier additions: #8 Patrick Callan (OK – free), Will Chan (NC – breast), Spencer Carl (Louisville transfer – fly)
The rest: AJ Bornstein (CT – breast), Andrew Babyak (NY – distance), Bora Unalmis (TX –  distance), Ian Miskelley (MI – back/fly), Jared Daigle (MA – back), Mason Hunter (GA – breast), Michael MacGillivray (MI – breast), Leo Zabudkin (Wingate transfer – breast), David Cleason (MI – IM), Eric Storms (WI – back/breast), Jeremie Luong (Vietnam – fly/free), Dylan Boyd (Arizona State transfer – free)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 13th, *5th*, 12th, 22nd
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 3 (Patrick Callan, Will Chan Jared Daigle)

Given his long course performances, Patrick Callan‘s NCAA point totals leave something to be desired, having scored 15 points through three championship appearances, including zero this past season.

Out of the swimmers ranked in the top 10 domestically in 2018, the eighth-ranked Callan’s point total sits eighth, only ahead of #7 Cody Bybee and #9 Jack LeVant, who have a combined one NCAA appearance between them.

Will Chan and Jared Daigle both turned into solid performers for the Wolverines, with Chan putting up four points as a freshman and junior and Daigle scoring three as a senior.

Louisville transfer Spencer Carl only qualified for NCAAs in the year of the pandemic.

#8: CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS

Top-tier additions: #1 Reece Whitley (PA – breast/IM), Christopher Jhong (CA – IM)
The rest: Daniel O’Connell (CA – fly), Kyle Millis (WA – back), Galen Penvenne (CA – free)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 1st, *2nd*, 2nd, 1st
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 2* (Reece Whitley, *Christopher Jhong*)

Although he’s yet to win an individual title, #1 ranked Reece Whitley has had a very consistent four-year career at Cal, scoring 29, 36 and 27 NCAA points in his three championship appearances (also seeded for 37 in 2020). Whitley has also played a crucial role in helping the Bears win two team championship titles.

Chris Jhong was seeded to score in 2020 and almost did at the 2021 NCAAs, placing 21st in the 400 IM.

He wasn’t a part of this Cal class (or the high school class of 2018), but the Bears also ended up getting Hugo Gonzalez the following season, who is mentioned below in Virginia Tech’s class as a transfer (he never ended up competing for the Hokies and took a redshirt season in 2018-19 before joining Cal the following fall).  Gonzalez played an important role in helping Cal win the national title this past season, highlighted by his win in the 400 IM.

#7: VIRGINIA TECH H2OKIES

Top-tier additions: Hugo Gonzalez (Auburn transfer – IM/back), Keith Myburgh (VA – IM/breast), Blake Manoff (VA – fly/free), Antani Ivanov (Bulgaria – fly)
The rest: Brennen Doss (VA – distance), Dylan Eichberg (VA – breast/fly), Henry Claesson (IL – free/fly), Justin Rich (Ohio State transfer – free), Ethan Apisa (Old Dominion transfer – distance), Noah Zawadzki (NC – diving), Alex Wright (WA – back/distance), Ben Hicks (MD – IM/back)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 35th, *17th*, 11th, 11th
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 3* (Antani Ivanov, Dylan Eichberg, *Blake Manoff*)

As mentioned above, Hugo Gonzalez was a huge reason for Virginia Tech’s ranking here and it never panned out.

Antani Ivanov was far and away the top performer in this class, scoring 44.5 NCAA points including 29 in 2021. That included the Bulgarian native placing third in the 200 fly and sixth in the 100 fly.

Dylan Eichberg didn’t qualify this season but did earn a second swim in 2021, taking 15th in the 200 fly.

Blake Manoff was the 2020 ACC runner-up in the 200 fly, earning him the #4 seed coming into NCAAs before they were canceled. He narrowly missed scoring in 2021, placing 17th in the 100 fly.

#6: USC TROJANS

Top-tier additions: #3 Alexei Sancov (CA – free), Nikola Miljenic (Indiana transfer – fly/free), Ariel Spektor (FL – IM/fly), Victor Johansson (Sweden – distance), Owen Kao (CA – distance)
The rest: Sean Ward (CA – breast), Thomas Finello (CA – sprint free)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 20th, *30th*, 27th, 26th
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 3 (Alexei Sancov, Nikola Miljenic, Victor Johansson)

Highly-touted coming in, #3 Alexei Sancov put up 18 NCAA points, also as a junior, which falls shy of the lofty expectations he had four years ago.

Health issues got in the way of Victor Johansson‘s collegiate career, with his best season coming as a freshman in 2019 (winning the Pac-12 title in the 500 free),while Indiana transfer Nikola Miljenic was a relay asset for three seasons and scored three points in 2021 in the 100 fly.

Ariel Spektor and Owen Kao never earned NCAA invites.

#5: ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS

Top-tier additions: #7 Cody Bybee (OH – fly/free), #15 Noah Henry (TX – back/fly), #18 Khalil Fonder (VA – fly/back), Jack Kucharczyk (Indiana transfer – breast), Carter Swift (Eastern Michigan transfer – free)
The rest: Elijah Warren (CO – breast), Luke Otto (Buffalo transfer – breast), Ethan Luc (OR – free), Liam Bresette (MO – free), Gage Kohner (Northwestern transfer – free), Nick Carlson (Indiana transfer – free), Eddie Michael (OH – free), Jack Edgemond (VA – fly), Jack Little (AR – distance), Jakob Icimsoy (AL – free/fly), Noah Desman (VA – free), Jackson Etter (Indiana transfer – distance free/IM), Cole Kilburn (TX – free)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 21st, *7th*, redshirt, 6th
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 1* (*Cody Bybee*)

Things get extra messy when revisiting Arizona State’s class, as they only got two NCAA Championship opportunities over the last four seasons. After the 2020 NCAAs were canceled due to the pandemic, ASU went ahead and redshirted their entire roster for the 2021 season.

As a result, no swimmers listed above have scored any individual NCAA points up to this point, though that’s a little misleading.

#7 Cody Bybee was forced to withdraw from the 2019 NCAAs due to mono, then was seeded to score in 2020 before the meet was canceled, and then the redshirt. So his first NCAA Championships opportunity came last month, and played a critical role in leading the Sun Devils to top-eight finishes in four relays. Individually, he narrowly missed getting on the board, placing 20th in the 50 free, 25th in the 100 fly and 30th in the 100 free.

The only other swimmer listed above who was at NCAAs for ASU in 2022 is Carter Swift, who contributed on the runner-up 400 free relay and neared scoring in the 100 free individually (18th place).

#4: INDIANA HOOSIERS

Top-tier additions: Zach Apple (Auburn transfer – free), #13 Michael Brinegar (CA – distance), HM Jack Franzman (IN – free), Mikey Calvillo (TX – distance), Zane Backes (NV – breast/IM), Van Mathias (OR – fly/IM), Jakub Karl (Czech Republic – free)
The rest: Brandon Hamblin (VA – sprint free), Paul Gabhart (IN – IM), Ben McDade (WI – distance), Andrew Couchon (IN – sprint free), Michael Draves (WI – distance), Zach Cook (IN – fly), Cole VanDevender (IN – diving), Logan Brown (IN – diving)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 3rd, *4th*, 6th, 5th
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 5 (Zach Apple, Michael Brinegar, Jack Franzman, Zane Backes, Mikey Calvillo)

Indiana has remained in the upper echelon of the NCAA hierarchy over the last four seasons, due in part to diving, but they’ve also consistently picked up high-end recruits.

This recruiting class was bolstered by Auburn transfer Zach Apple, who joined the Hoosiers for his final season of eligibility and put up 47 individual points while also playing a critical role on relays.

In terms of recruits coming out of high school, Michael Brinegar was Indiana’s top pick-up, as he came in ranked 13th in the U.S. class rankings. He scored 37 points across three NCAA meets, including 17 as a freshman, and also made the 2021 U.S. Olympic team during his time in Bloomington.

Honorable Mention Jack Franzman scored five points as a junior, while a pair of unranked American recruits in Zane Backes and Mikey Calvillo both immediately took to the IU training program and scored as freshmen.

Backes earned back-to-back ‘A’ final appearances at NCAAs in the 100 breast (2019 and 2021), combining for 26 points, and was also seeded third in 2020. Backes retired midway through his senior year and thus only raced at two national championships.

#3: STANFORD CARDINAL

Top-tier additions: #9 Jack LeVant (TX – free/fly/IM), #10 Daniel Roy (WA – breast), #20 Mason Gonzalez (PA – sprint free/fly), David Madej (OH – fly/free), Jonathan Cook (WA – breast), Conor Casey (VA – diving), Noah Vigran (OH – diving),
The rest: Alessandro Boratto (PA – back), Will Roberts (CA – IM)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 15th, *27th*, 14th, 7th
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 3 (Daniel Roy, Conor Casey, Noah Vigran)

Three top-20 ranked recruits didn’t turn out to be as fruitful as Stanford might’ve hoped in this class, due in part to circumstances outside of their control, as #9 Jack LeVant pulled out of the 2019 NCAAs in his freshman year due to medical complications and never ended up representing the Cardinal at the nationals.

#10 Daniel Roy flourished as one of the nation’s top 200 breaststrokers, making the championship final in both 2021 and 2022 and scoring 30 points across three NCAAs. #20 Mason Gonzalez was a four-time Pac-12 ‘A’ finalists in the freestyle events but never broke through at NCAAs.

Divers Conor Casey and Noah Vigran both turned into valuable scorers, putting up 22 and 17 NCAA points, respectively.

#2: FLORIDA GATORS

Top-tier additions: #6 Trey Freeman (TN – free), #11 Kieran Smith (CT – IM), #12 Robert Finke (FL – distance), HM Will Davis (FL – sprint free/fly), Kacper Stokowski (Poland – back/free), Dillon Hillis (NY – breast/IM), Isaac Davis (FL – sprint free/fly)
The rest: Miguel Cancel (FL – back/IM), Nick Hackett (FL – fly), Lyle Hayes-Macaluso (FL – diving), Nicholas Lydon (NY – diving), Santiago Morales (GA – diving), Timothy Marski (NY – free/fly), Jake Adcock (FL – fly), Jorge Depassier (FL – free)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 6th, *3rd*, 3rd, 3rd
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 6 (Kieran Smith, Bobby Finke, Kacper Stokowski, Dillon Hillis, Trey Freeman, Will Davis)

Florida has asserted itself as the #3 team in the nation over the past three seasons, and this recruiting class is the major reason for it.

In Caeleb Dressel‘s senior year, 2018, the Gators placed fifth, and then after a sixth-place showing the following season, they’ve rattled off back-to-back third-place finishes while also being seeded for that position in 2020.

They’ve got the classes’ leading scorer in Kieran Smith, who was ranked 11th as a recruit in 2018 and has scored 119 points in three NCAA meets, not to mention he was seeded for 47 in 2020 (and has played a crucial part in a ton of relay points).

Bobby Finke, ranked 12th as a recruit, has 100 NCAA points despite only scoring five as a freshman, winning three individual titles over the last two seasons.

#6 Trey Freeman has scored 22, while Honorable Mention Will Davis got on the board in his senior year and also helped the Gators to a pair of relay titles in the 200 free and 200 medley at NCAAs.

In addition to the top scorer overall, Florida also picked up the leading scorer among unranked U.S. recruits, as Dillon Hillis scored 18 last season and 16 more this year, not to mention contributing on the national title-winning 200 medley relay.

The Gators also got one season and nine individual points out of Kacper Stokowski, who moved on to NC State after his freshman year.

#1: TEXAS LONGHORNS

Top-tier additions: #2 Drew Kibler (IN – free/fly/back), #5 Daniel Krueger (WI – free), #14 Matthew Willenbring (TX – IM/free), #16 Jason Park (TX – back/fly), HM Andrew Koustik (CA – fly/breast), Alex Zettle (TX – distance), Braden Vines (TX – breast/IM), Charlie Scheinfeld (IL – breast), Jake Sannem (USC transfer – free)
The rest: Aitor Fungairino (TX – free), Alex Margherio (MI – fly/back)

• NCAA finishes over 3* years: 2nd, *1st*, 1st, 2nd
• Number of NCAA scorers in class: 7 (Drew Kibler, Daniel Krueger, Braden Vines, Alex Zettle, Charlie Scheinfeld, *Matthew Willenbring*, Jake Sannem)

Similar to how Florida’s recruiting class in 2018 helped lead them to back-to-back third-place finishes, Texas’ class played a major role in earning them the 2021 NCAA title and giving Cal a good run in 2019 and 2022.

Leading the charge was the #2 ranked Drew Kibler, who was consistently a top scorer throughout the four years and finishes just half a point shy of Kieran Smith for the overall lead with 118.5. That included Kibler breaking through and winning the 200 free national title this season, and he was also the team’s leading scorer among swimmers in 2021 when the Longhorns won the overall crown.

Daniel Krueger probably swam better than his 55.5 points indicate, given his relay performances and some of the mid-season swims he’s produced, but he also played a pivotal part in that 2021 title victory with 29.5 individual points.

Matthew Willenbring was seeded for 16 points in 2020 and also qualified for NCAAs as a freshman, but has been out of the pool for a while with a lingering health issue, still hoping to make a return. Jason Park and Andrew Koustik were both left on the outside looking in on Texas’ NCAA rosters in various seasons, due to the team’s unmatched depth.

Medley swimmer Braden Vines scored 25 points for his career, 23 coming in 2021, while Alex Zettle and Charlie Scheinfeld also got on the board.

USC transfer Jake Sannem came over beginning in 2018-19 and scored in the 200 free at both the 2019 and 2021 NCAAs, finishing fourth overall in the latter.

RE-RANKING THE CLASSES

Certainly, individual points don’t encapsulate everything a recruiting class brings to a program over four years. But they are the easiest way to rank the classes against each other four years later. Here’s a look at all the classes represented, ranked by individual points from all swimmers in this graduating class:

Two notes to factor in.

1: 2020 psych sheets points aren’t accounted for.

2: In the case of a transfer who was part of these recruiting class rankings (but not in this high school class), their points for that respective team are accounted for (example: Zach Apple for Indiana), as are the points a swimmer in this high school class scored for a team they transferred to midway through their career (example: Kacper Stokowski for NC State). Someone like Stokowski could come into play in this article in the future (in NC State’s recruiting class ranking for the year of his transfer), but we felt this was the best way to display each team’s strength from this class, which is the purpose of this article. And given that transfers factor into the yearly recruit class rankings, those are included as well.

And our new top 12, purely in terms of individual NCAA points:

The far left column tracks each swimmer’s final rank within the class. The next column tracks their individual ranking in our top 20 recruits post. HM means “honorable mention.” NR means “unranked” and INTL means “international”, as we don’t rank international swimmers in our top 20 post. “DIVE” refers to divers, also not ranked in our top 20 lists.

#1 FLORIDA (+1)

#2 TEXAS (-1)

#3 INDIANA (+1)

#4 MINNESOTA (+)

#5 CAL (+3)

#6 NC STATE (+5)

#7 MISSOURI (+5)

#8 TEXAS A&M (+2)

#9 STANFORD (-6)

#10 TENNESSEE (+)

#11 OHIO STATE (+)

#12 ARIZONA (+)