We are still two weeks away from Early Signing Day for the class of 2021, yet we have already written over 100 articles on verbal commitments from the high school class of 2022. With the changes to the recruiting schedule instituted by the NCAA over the last several years, prospective student-athletes are making verbal commitments much earlier than in years past. In normal years, students are now able to take official visits to campuses beginning in September of their junior year. To be sure, the recruiting in 2020 has been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. The NCAA first declared a recruiting dead in March, prohibiting all in-person recruiting meetings between high school student-athletes and coaches, including campus visits and meetings between athletes and coaches elsewhere. They have since extended the dead period several times; it now runs through January 1, 2021. Nevertheless, swimmers and divers have been able to get to know coaches and future teammates via video calls and, even without physical visits to see the campuses, have made their verbal commitments even earlier than in the past.
With 106 names in our database so far, we have written about 11 of the girls and six of the boys from our Way Too Early lists of top-20 recruits from the class of 2022.
By comparison, last year, it took another month to get to the 100th verbal commit in the class of 2021, and by this point of the year we were at about 44 announced commitments. This shows that the pandemic and its effects haven’t done much to slow the early tide of commitments.
This month is significant because it moves the “first 100” to before the class of 2021 signing day. The top teams have shifted to 2022 much earlier in the cycle, as the shifts in recruiting are almost self-perpetuating.
The ACC’s general swimming momentum is mirrored in these numbers. Virginia (9), Florida State (7), Louisville (6), and Virginia Tech (5) are among the early leaders in commitments.
Mega-rivals Alabama and Auburn have 5 and 7, respectively, along with the split-gender Florida program. Florida has more commitments so far than any other program that has separate coaching staffs for each gender.
Indiana is the other team to sprint out of the gate, with the Big Ten in general lagging other big-time swim conferences, with Michigan at 5 being the other top scorer there.
And, finally, 11 women and 6 men of the class of 2020 top 20 are committed so far. While swimmers in general are committing earlier, the top 20 is committing more slowly than last year, indicating that these super-early commitments are shifting away from being an opportunity just for the mega-fast.
You can read more about these athletes here:
- Way Too Early List of Girls from the Class of 2022
- Way Too Early List of Boys from the Class of 2022
Here are all the colleges that have received early pledges:
2022 Verbal Commitments (M&W combined)
- Alabama – 5
- Arizona – 1
- Arizona State – 5
- Army West Point – 1
- Auburn – 7
- Duke – 2
- Florida – 7
- Florida State – 7
- Georgia – 2
- Georgia Tech – 1
- Indiana – 7
- Kentucky – 3
- Liberty – 1
- Louisville – 6
- LSU – 1
- Miami (OH) – 1
- Michigan – 5
- Missouri – 1
- NC State – 7
- North Carolina – 2
- Northwestern – 1
- Notre Dame – 4
- Ohio State – 2
- Tennessee – 4
- Texas – 1
- UCLA – 3
- USC – 2
- Virginia – 9
- Virginia Tech – 5
- Wisconsin – 3
Below you will find all the articles we have published to date about verbal commitments from the high school class of 2022. As always, you can sort by club team, college, conference, home state, school, LSC, etc. We are updating the database constantly, so remember to refresh it regularly.
(NOTE: 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]. Do not leave it in the comments below.)
High School Class of 2022 Verbal Commitments
High School Class of 2021 Verbal Commitments
High School Class of 2020 Verbal Commitments
Hi Anne–several of the earliest commitments aren’t showing up on the counterpart “way too early” lists, and it needs a once over to get caught up–it would be nice for it to be complete/accurate. Very recent commits are on there so there was just a lapse early on that left some of the first kids off.
Somewhat ironically perhaps, it’s likely the prohibition on official visits that is driving the faster/earlier commitments since none of these high end kids needs to free up several weekends in the fall of their junior year to make visits.
Ryan Weaver also committed to NC State at the same time as Lance Norris and Michael Cotter.
Official visits (if anyone remembers such things) could actually begin in August (in a non-COVID year) of junior year, not September, as of 2019.
I thought someone has committed to Harvard as well?
Yes – Sydney Lu from Pleasanton Seahawks, I believe
Compared to last year:
-Last year, the first 100 2021 verbals article was written on Nov. 27. This year it was written about a month earlier https://swimswam.com/the-first-100-verbal-commitments-from-the-high-school-class-of-2021/
-Less of the top 20 are committed. This year 11 women/6 men in the top 20 are committed, but by Nov. 27 of last year 16 women/14 men in the top 20 were committed.
-Early recruiting hotspots (most ’22 commitments so far): UVA (9), NC State, Auburn, IU, UF, Florida State (7 ea). Many of these also had plenty of early commits last year.