SwimSwam’s Comprehensive 2019-2020 College Swimming Preview Index

It’s September, and that means the start of the college swimming season.

We’ve spent the past few weeks dissecting every possible aspect of the coming NCAA season. You can check out any coverage you missed here, with links back to all of our preseason coverage, plus a few hints at what’s still to come.

TEAM-BY-TEAM COLLEGE SWIMMING PREVIEWS

As we do every year, we previewed each of the top 12 men’s and women’s teams in the nation in-depth. You can find all our previews here, or on our College Swimming Previews channel.

WOMEN MEN
Louisville Cardinals #12
Kentucky Wildcats #11
USC Trojans #10
Michigan Wolverines #9
Minnesota Golden Gophers #8
Georgia Bulldogs #7 Florida Gators
Texas Longhorns #6
Tennessee Volunteers #5
NC State Wolfpack #4
Virginia Cavaliers #3 Indiana Hoosiers
Cal Golden Bears #2 Texas Longhorns
Stanford Cardinal #1 Cal Golden Bears

NCAA Division I Preseason Event Winner Picks

We got 8 staff members to pick each event winner half a year out. See our picks here:

RANKING THE NCAA RECRUITING CLASSES

We also ranked out the incoming freshman classes, pulling out the 12 best recruiting classes nationwide for both men and women:

COMING SOON:

In addition, we’ll be rounding out our preseason coverage with an updated set of our traditional Power Rankings, as voted on by a panel of SwimSwam writers and updated to include newly-revealed redshirts and surprise roster additions. Stay tuned to our College channel to keep an eye out for those rankings.

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RolyPoly
4 years ago

I’m confused where Alabama is going to fall? They’re not listed yet and still have IU, NC State, Texas, and Cal? Or is IU out with all their Srs gone and no Brinegar for the year?

DBSwims
Reply to  RolyPoly
4 years ago

I’m also confused, I initially thought that Alabama would be 6th behind Louisville, Michigan, NC state, Cal, and Texas but I don’t think Alabama is going to be 4th. Hard to imagine any other team besides Alabama or IU in the top 6 but I didn’t think one of those teams will end up 4th.

Sanholo
Reply to  DBSwims
4 years ago

Agreed. Where is Alabama? Not in top 12? They have Liam Bell, Sesvold, and Wadell, and still have enough depth to be in A finals in medley relays and B in free relays.

Admin
Reply to  Sanholo
4 years ago

When our first power rankings come out, Alabama will probably be just outside of the top 12. They have exactly 1 returning individual scorer from NCAAs last year, Waddell, graduated 3 legs of their 9th-place 400 medley relay, graduated 3 legs of their winning 200 medley relay, 3 legs of their 9th-place 400 free relay, and return 3 legs of their 6th place 200 medley relay (though are losing the fastest leg of that relay, Robert Howard).

Best case, Bell picks up 20 points, Sesvold adds a couple, Waddell adds 40 or so, that puts them right around 100 points, which will be 12th/13th ish.

Could flip them with our #12 A&M, but after the summer Casas had, and that… Read more »

DBSwims
Reply to  Braden Keith
4 years ago

I’m just confused how IU (if they are 4th) will be 4th. IU graduates 3 swimmers worth 147 individual points, graduates 3 legs of their 4th place 800 free relay, graduates apple from their 4th place 200 free relay, graduates 3 legs of their winning 400 medley relay, graduates 2 legs of their 9th place 200 medley relay, and graduates apple from their 4th place 400 free relay. I just don’t know how much the incomming class can replace all that

Admin
Reply to  DBSwims
4 years ago

Who said they were 4th ;-).

Here’s an analysis of how much each team returns and doesn’t return next season: https://swimswam.com/who-return-the-most-points-looking-ahead-to-2020-d1-mens-champs/

DBSwims
Reply to  Braden Keith
4 years ago

Well, Guess I’m finding out tomorrow 🙂

Johnnyboi
Reply to  DBSwims
4 years ago

Or not :/

Benedict Arnold Schwarzenegger
Reply to  DBSwims
4 years ago

If you’re wondering who’s out… It’s probably the team that only returns 5 points and 6/16 relay legs

swimmerTX
Reply to  RolyPoly
4 years ago

Where’d you hear about no Brinegar?

IUfan
Reply to  swimmerTX
4 years ago

Heard on the grapevine Brinegar is redshirting to get more training hours for Olympics. Not sure if it has been confirmed? Interesting to see if he goes back after his coach was fired.

Zippitydooda
4 years ago

How about a review of the mid-majors?

Phil_Swimmer
4 years ago

I think everybody can have his own opinion and be “pro” or “con” some previews, but you just have to notice the great job done by Jared and the Swimswam team to provide us with these hyper-detailed articles. I am a French swimmer (and a Michigan fan) and here in Europe we do not have any single magazine dealing with the US College sports, so you can imagine the level of interest of NCAA Swimming in France… GREAT JOB JARED !
And I hope Michigan is in the Top5 !
#GoBlue

Snarky
4 years ago

The suspense is killing me!

SwimParent
4 years ago

This is a free plug at this point…unless Braden wants to pay me, but if y’all would subscribe to SwimSwam magazine and help these guys keep this going you would already know the answers to all your speculation. They’ve already published their top teams and top swimmers in the magazine…and it is awesome.

Admin
Reply to  SwimParent
4 years ago

Thanks SwimParent! I’ve extended your subscription by one issue just as a ‘thank you’ for bringing some positivity to the comments sections, which so often lack it. 🙂

ItJustMeansMore
4 years ago

Will any SEC team be ranked ahead of the UF guys?

Landrew
Reply to  ItJustMeansMore
4 years ago

Doubt it. Next 6 should be Cal, Texas, Michigan, Indiana, NC State and Louisville (In no order). Might be a bit of a down year for the SEC as Alabama, Missouri and Tennessee all lost pretty key contributors

danggg
Reply to  Landrew
4 years ago

so Did florida with transfers

Silent Observer
4 years ago

Everyone talking about the #1&2 teams… Which is pretty much set in stone. 😂 😂 😂

I’m here to see the ranked #3-5 teams and how the early evaluations think this year will go!

Where do the UVA women, IU men and women, NCState men and women, Louisville women, USC men & GA men to fall? 🤔🤔🤔

Silent Observer
Reply to  Silent Observer
4 years ago

*missed seeing the Louisville women at #12…. So we know how they rank 🙈

Greg
Reply to  Silent Observer
4 years ago

I’ll predict women’s #6-#3 will likely be (in order) Texas, Tenn, NC State, Virginia. Texas and Tenn could be flipped, it’s a tough call. IU is out of the top 12. That is not a tough call.

DBSwims
Reply to  Silent Observer
4 years ago

On the men’s side, IU, with the loss of Zapple, Finnerty, and Lanza, loses 147 points just from those three for individually and more for relays and I dont think Brendan Burns can pull that up. NC state mainly loses Ress and Vazaios (66 points), but gain a lot of good freshmen. Louisville lose Harting and Marcelo (which was only 26 points) and wasn’t even ranked in honorable mentions in swimswams rankings of recruiting groups. Alabama loses Howard and Laurent but mainly gains Bell. Harvard loses Brennan to graduation and Farris to redshirt but not much else for relay legs. Missouri loses all their individual points. Im really bad a ranking but the only things I know is that IU… Read more »

Backstrokebro
Reply to  Silent Observer
4 years ago

Top 5 for men will be Cal, Texas, IU, NC state, Michigan

Top 5 for women is Stanford, Cal, Virginia, Tennessee, NC state

EDIT* I’ll put IU in 5th, moving NC state and Michigan up

Dave
4 years ago

Will the women of Cal or Stanford be #1 & #2 or #2 and #1?

Chaitha D.
Reply to  Dave
4 years ago

Is that really a question? Stanford had them by a significant amount

DeSorbo Effect
Reply to  Chaitha D.
4 years ago

Nope Hoos should be #1. No grad pts. The #1 freshman class by miles. Stanford looses Eastin & Ruck.
But betcha Swimswam will show there bias and put DeSorbo’s team in #2. They like Meehan a lot here.

Admin
Reply to  DeSorbo Effect
4 years ago

Nonono. You’ve got it wrong. We currently have a PRO-Virginia bias, not an ANTI-Virginia bias. We haven’t had an ANTI-Virginia bias in at least 3 years. I know it can be hard to keep up with, since we have biases both pro and against every team in the country, but don’t worry, we’re here to help keep you organized!

coach
Reply to  DeSorbo Effect
4 years ago

da desorbo fans showin lack of class as usual
always full of loud self praise hyping their no 1

go watch Coach Meehan prep his team minus all da trash talk n fireworks
no hype needed gonna keep dominatin ncs over da upstarts n everybodys

good response Braden
#fearthetree

Old Swimmer
Reply to  DeSorbo Effect
4 years ago

I agree. Virginia should be numero uno. They have the best freshmen class by far. Hard to say if they will beat Stanford of Cal at NCAAs but they sure are looking good for the next few years

swimmerTX
Reply to  Dave
4 years ago

I think Stanford has this one, though Cal has a great and very developmental freshman class, along with some current swimmers on the rise.

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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