The top uncommitted recruits in the girls’ high school class of 2027

The academic school year is coming to a close across the country, and the high school class of 2027 is approaching their senior year. Last July, SwimSwam ranked the top recruits of the class, and since then a majority of them, along with hundreds of other juniors, have chosen a school to spend their college years at.

There remains a small handful of athletes who haven’t, however, and that includes #18 Ava Jochims, the sole top 20 recruit who hasn’t verbally committed to a school. The only other ranked recruit who is still on the market is Angelina Lista, who was committed to LSU but has since reopened her recruiting process.

The reason for these swimmers not being committed yet could be any one of a number of things, including:

1. They haven’t made a decision yet
2. They’ve committed privately but haven’t made it public yet
3. They’ve chosen a school with special entrance requirements. These schools, like the Ivies and U.S. Military Academies, have long eschewed earlier commitments.
4. We’ve missed their commitment announcement
5. They’ve decided to skip college and go pro.
6. They’ve decided to go to college and not swim.

Note that this doesn’t include international recruits.

RANKED SWIMMERS REMAINING

18. Ava Jochims – Racer X Aquatics (Gibsonia, PA)

Best Times:

• 400 IM: 4:13.89
• 200 IM: 2:00.09
• 200 breast: 2:13.12
• 200 fly: 2:00.41
• 1650 free: 16:29.24
• 500 free: 4:50.44
• 200 free: 1:49.94

While Jochims hasn’t dropped time in most of her events over the past year, she has improved her 400 IM — which is arguably her strongest event. Her PB stood at 4:16.42 when SwimSwam’s rankings initially came out, and she’s since lowered that standard by over 2 seconds. Jochims was also right on her PBs this year, setting season bests of 2:00.91 in the 200 IM and 2:13.22 in the 200 breast.

BEST OF THE REST

Angelina Lista – Sarasota Tsunami Swim Team (Sarasota, FL)

Best times:

• 50 fly: 24.63
• 100 fly: 54.01
• 200 fly: 2:01.41

Lista has been remarkably consistent, now swimming 54.0 in the 100 fly on three separate occasions. This season, she dropped 0.04 seconds from her PB in the 100 fly and lowered her 50 fly PB by 0.01 seconds.

OTHER NOTABLES

Katherine Warkentin – Sandpipers of Nevada (Las Vegas, NV)

Best times:

• 500 free: 4:53.23
• 1000 free: 9:49.53
• 1650 free: 16:34.86
• 100 breast: 1:02.59
• 200 breast: 2:16.00

Warkentin is another Sandpiper talent who specializes in the distance events. Despite swimming the 500 just four times in her career, the first of which came in October 2025, Warkentin has already dropped down to a 4:53.23 in the event. Her mile is a similar story, as the 2nd time she swam it, she posted a 16:34.86 to shave nearly 20 seconds off her previous best of 16:53.72.

Warkentin is also impressively versatile, excelling in the breaststrokes as well. Despite only swimming the 100 breast and 200 breast four times each, she’s already notched times of 1:02/2:16. She’s progressed rapidly this season and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, making her a valuable recruit for any team.

Jayla Kuzak – Livonia Community Swim Club (Plymouth, MI)

Best times:

• 200 IM: 2:02.13
• 400 IM: 4:15.69
• 200 free: 1:49.26
• 200 fly: 2:00.11

Kuzak has made huge strides as a junior, dropping time in all of her main events. Her progress is highlighted by her 400 IM, where she’s dropped over 6 seconds from the personal best of 4:21.44 that she had entering the season. She’s also improved immensely in her 200 IM, 200 free, and 200 fly, as her bests stood at 2:04.43 /2:03.06/1:52.01 prior to this year.

• Jane Wheeler – Crimson Aquatics (Boxford, MA): 1:47.9/4:47.6 frees, 1:59.2 fly
• Jane Kavanagh – Fanwood Scotch Plains YMCA (Westfield, NJ): 50.4/1:47.8 frees, 1:58.3 back
• Logan Jones – Hill Country Aquatics (Austin, TX): 24.4/54.4 fly
• Brielle Mullikin – Pleasanton Seahawks (Tracy, CA): 4:53.94/16:50.49 frees, 4:18.4 IM
• Zoey Aydin – Phoenix Aquatic Club (Harrington Park, NJ): 23.1/50.0 free, 24.9/54.9 fly, 1:02.6 breast
• Madeline Webb – Excel Aquatics (Brentwood, TN): 23.2/50.1/1:48.9 free, 1:03.0 breast
• Naomi Bowland – Fort Wayne Swim Team (Fort Wayne, IN): 1:01.6/2:16.2 breast