Ranking the 2024 Women’s NCAA Recruiting Classes: #13-16

With many schools going back to campus in a few weeks, it is time for NCAA preview season. Here are the #13-16 ranked recruiting classes for this fall on the women’s side.

A few important notes on our rankings:

• The rankings listed are based on our Class of 2024 Re-Rank. “HM” refers to our honorable mentions and “BOTR” refers to our Best of the Rest section for top-tier recruits.
• Like most of our rankings, these placements are subjective. We base our team ranks on a number of factors: prospects’ incoming times are by far the main factor, but we also consider potential upside in the class, class size, relay impact and team needs being filled. Greater weight is placed on known success in short course yards, so foreign swimmers are slightly devalued based on the difficulty in converting long course times to short course production.
• Transfers are included, though weighed less than recruits who came in with four seasons of eligibility.
• For the full list of all verbally committed athletes, click here. A big thank you to SwimSwam’s own Anne Lepesant for compiling that index – without it, rankings like these would be far less comprehensive.
• Some teams had not released a finalized 2024-25 team roster at the time these articles were published, meaning it’s possible we missed some names. Let us know in the comments below.

BEST NCAA SWIMMING & DIVING RECRUITING CLASSES: WOMEN’S CLASS OF 2024

Previously Ranked: N/A

#16 Georgia

• Top Tier Additions: HM Katie Belle Sikes (sprint free/fly), Marie Landreneau (free), Ieva Maluka (Arizona State transfer- free)
• The “Rest”: Helena Lopes (Brazil, free), Elle Noecker (breast), Simany Lee (free), Sami Rydzewski (free/back)

Katie Belle Sikes leads the way for the small class. She has great 50 free speed, being as fast as a 21.90 in the event which is already on the border of scoring at NCAAs. That also is a huge relay boost, as the team’s fastest split with a flying start this past season was a 21.70. She also dropped a 48.73 in the 100 free, a time that with more improvement will also be on the border of scoring at NCAAs. She also has been as fast as 53.52 in the 100 fly.

Landreneau also highlights the class and threw down a 1:46.32 in the 200 free last December. She still looks to improve in the other freestyle events, with a best time of a 49.86 in the 100 free but coming in as a sub-50 100 freestyler is still something to note. Lee also boosts the free group with a 50.29 in the 100 and 1:49.52 in the 200.

Noecker is a key pick up as a breaststroke specialist, especially as the team loses Zoie Hartman who was the fastest 100 breaststroker by over three seconds (58.56). Noecker enters with a best time of a 1:01.89 which she swam in March, showing good momentum into college.

Maluka has 2 years left but is an instant boost in the sprint free events as well as the 200 IM, especially with the departure of Hartman. She made NCAAs this past season and has a best time of a 1:43.94 in the 200 free and a 1:54.43 in the 200 IM.

#15 Virginia Tech

• Top Tier Additions: BOTR Emily Santos (breast), BOTR Amanda Barnard (distance free), BOTR Christine Datovech (fly), Julia Murphy (fly)
• The “Rest”: Lexi Sawwa (free), Maxine Egner (Sweden, sprint free), Sofia Salvato (Italy, back), Riley Morgan (fly), Michayla Eisenberg (diving), Aleena Stukus (breast/free), Esther Park (breast), Amanda Aidar (IM/free)

This is a big class for Virginia Tech, which helps boost its rankings ahead of Georgia, despite Georgia having an “HM” ranked recruit.

Santos represents Panama at the international level but trains out of Florida so she has SCY experience. Her best times in the breaststroke events stand at 1:00.74 in the 100 and 2:12.42 in the 200.

Her 100 breast time in the LCM pool is a 1:08.68 that she swam in June, so she seems primed to break the 1:00 mark once she is back in a SCY pool. The team did not have anyone under 1:03 this past season so Santos is a huge get for the program.

Barnard enters as a 1:48.38 200 freestyler along with a 4:46.12 in the 500, times that are still off of making NCAAs but have the potential to get there.

Christine Datovech and Julia Murphy are solid butterflyers. Datovech has been as fast as 53.66 in the 100 while Murphy has been as fast as a 53.79. The team only had one sub-54 butterflyer this past season so both bring depth and speed to the group.

#14 Auburn

• Top Tier Additions: BOTR Olivia Stewart (breast), BOTR Taylor Grimley (fly/back/free), Julia Strojnowska (Canada, free), Bella Ekk (sprint free),
• The “Rest”: Avery Mehok (free/back), Sarah Bush (sprint free), Kate Murray (sprint free), Annika Finzen (breast/free), Ashlyn Morr (sprint free), Audrey Crawford (fly), Izzy Iwasyk (sprint free), Carly Bixby (fly), Georgia Colborn (fly/back), Audrey Olen (free/back), Amie Perna (back)

A huge incoming class helps boost the class in the rankings and it’s loaded with sprint freestylers.

Stewart is just off of breaking the 1:00 mark in the 100 breast coming out of high school with a 1:00.24. She also has been as fast as 2:12.52 in the 200. Both times are from her senior year, which shows solid improvement before college.

Grimley is versatile but seems to have her biggest strengths in the fly events, with best times of 52.98 in the 100 and 1:59.58 in the 200. That 100 fly time is not far off of making NCAAs, but she still will need about a second drop to make the cutline. She also has been as fast as 53.69 in the 100 back and a 22.84 in the 50 free gives her relay potential.

Strojnowska arrives with a huge range in the freestyle events, although the mid-distance and distance events seem to be her strength. Her 200 free converts to a 1:47.65, her 500 free a 4:43.69, and 1650 a 16:23.24.

Bella Ekk had a solid senior year, swimming best times in all three sprint free events. She was as fast as a 22.84 in the 50, 49.53 in the 100, and 1:46.64 in the 200. Kate Murray also brings in a solid sprint free times, especially with a 1:47.51 in the 200 free.

#13 Northwestern

• Top Tier Additions: Zoe Nordmann (mid-d free), Grey Davis (IM/back/fly), Luiza Lima (Brazil, distance free), Sophie Martin (Australia, fly/breast/IM/sprint free), Nikki Venema (Princeton 5th year transfer, sprint free/fly), Ekaterina Nikonova (Florida transfer, sprint free)
• The “Rest”: Lily Mehok (fly), Claire Mehok (back), Brianna Deierlein (back/free), Olivia Detter (sprint free), Isabelle Chen (Diving), Teya Nikolova (Bulgaria, breast), Lila Bleakney (Canada, fly), Caroline Li (Cal diving transfer)

This is a huge class and two NCAA-qualifying fifth years give it a boost. It’s international-heavy which makes it a little harder to see the potential it has under second-year head coach Rachel Stratton-Mills.

Zoe Nordmann and Grey Davis highlight the domestic part of the class. Nordmann, the younger sister of Lillie and Lucie Nordmann who swam at Stanford, has best times of 1:47.5 in the 200 and 4:44.8 in the 500. The team graduated its top 200 and 500 freestyler Ayla Spitz from this past season so Nordmann’s arrival is key to combat the loss.

Davis is primarily an IMer with best times of 1:59.3 in the 200 and 4:15.4 in the 400 but also has range into the backstrokes (53.5 and 1:57.8) as well as 53.0 in the 100 fly. Her best times would have been the fastest on the roster this past season in both IM events.

Beginning with their international heavy class, Sophie Martin has a lot of versatility. She recently swam a 1:00.41 in the LCM 100 fly in April, a time that converts to a 53.16. She also has been as fast as 1:09.74 in the 100 breast, a time that converts to a 1:01.02.

Luiza Lima also brings international success and has LCM best times of 4:17.83 in the 400 and 16:43.53 in the 1500 free. Those convert to 4:48.88 in the 500 and 16:23.85 in the 1650. Although those are not NCAA-qualifying times yet, they boost the team at the Big Ten level.

A pair of transfers are also boosts to the program Nikki Venema adds strength to the sprint free and fly group. She would have led the team in the 50 and 100 freestyles this past season and been the fastest 100 flyer by about two seconds as her best time is a 51.95. Ekaterina Nikonova arrives from Florida and would have also led the team in the 50 and 100 freestyles this past season and her 200 free time (1:43.83) would have scored at NCAAs, helping fill the loss of Spitz.