Way Too Early Recruit Rankings: Boys’ High School Class of 2027

We continue our traditional recruiting coverage with our “Way Too Early” ranks of the upcoming season’s high school junior class. Since top recruits have started giving their verbal commitments earlier and earlier, we’ve moved up our rankings to help give better context to big recruiting announcements.

Before we run over our traditional ranking methodology, we should head off a few counterarguments at the pass:

• Isn’t this too early to have a good read on talent? Aren’t 16-year-old kids still improving? Maybe. On the other hand, coaches are clearly finding roster spots for kids who verbally commit this early. And if we and our readership want to have the most accurate picture of how the recruiting season is playing out, it’ll be useful to have some sort of ranking – even one still very much in flux – to refer to as big-name swimmers commit.
• But recruiting ranks don’t matter. It’s the fast-dropping swimmers and diamonds in the rough that really have the biggest NCAA impact. Not true. There are always fast-rising swimmers who quickly develop into NCAA stars. But there are far less of them than there are elite high school prospects who become high-impact NCAA swimmers. We all love the Cinderella stories, the unranked recruits who flourish into dominators. But even those rags-to-riches stories aren’t as fleshed out if they don’t have a clearly defined setup. These ranks help show us who is most likely to become NCAA standouts… but also contextualize where the eventual breakout stars originally rated compared to peers. If you, your favorite swimmer, or your son/daughter isn’t ranked, don’t get mad – see it as the starting point for your/their rise to stardom.
• How accurate can these be with two-plus years of development to go before any of these swimmers compete in the NCAA? Who knows? Predicting the future never has a 100% hit rate. For these ranks, we’re a little less concerned with actual NCAA scoring times than we are in our junior/senior ranks, and probably marginally more interested in “ceilings” – wide event ranges, versatility, etc. But as with any ranking, these are ultimately nothing more than a snapshot in time: what the top of this recruiting class looks like in the moment, with full admission that a lot of these ranks can and will change by the time they finish their senior years.

THE METHODOLOGY

Our goal in these rankings is to reflect what college coaches look for in recruits, based on many years of conversations and coverage.

We focus only on American-based athletes, simply because there is so much uncertainty with international recruits – if they’ll come to the United States, when they’ll come to the States and with what graduating class they should be ranked. Projecting international recruits often becomes more of a discussion of when they’ll first join a college program and not which program they’ll join.

A few other factors that weigh heavily in our rankings:

• Relay Value – Relay points count double in college swimming, and any program needs a strong stable of quality sprinters to fill out all 5 relays with stars. Obviously, a special distance swimmer can easily rank ahead of a very good 100 freestyler, but college swimming generally values a sprint freestyler over a distance swimmer, all other factors being equal.
• Improvements – Actual times carry the most weight by a longshot. But we also keep an eye on a swimmer’s trajectory, especially in deciding between two swimmers with relatively even times.
• Short Course over Long Course – while every club and every swimmer will have a different balance of focus between short course and long course swimming, the NCAA competes in short course yards, and that’s going to be the main factor considered in these rankings. Long course times are another data point for consideration, but we mainly view them through the lens of what a big long course swim could mean for an athlete’s future in short course.
• NCAA scoring ability – NCAAs are the big show for college teams, so we’ve weighted NCAA scoring potential very highly. Swimmers who already have NCAA scoring times wind up mostly filling out the top of our of rankings. Since college athletic directors – and by extension coaches – also place high value on conference championships, scoring ability at conference meets is also a factor in our rankings.
• Relative depth in the NCAA and recruiting class – a wealth of elite depth nationwide in one stroke discipline makes a big difference in what times are considered more valuable in that event. Events rise at different rates in the NCAA, but when one event gets extremely deep and fast at the college level, it makes high school prospects in those events a little less valuable, relatively, with lots of other veteran options. In the same way, a recruiting class stacked with swimmers in butterfly, for example, would make each butterflyer a little less sought-after in the market, with lots of other recruiting options able to provide similar production.

Of course, there’s no way to predict the future, and the most concrete data we have to go on are cold, hard times. These rankings in no way mean that all of these 20 swimmers will be NCAA standouts, and they certainly don’t mean that no swimmer left off this list will make big contributions at the NCAA level.

THIS CLASS

• A clear #1 swimmer way ahead of the field.
• A lot of good three-distance sprint freestylers, but without an absolute blue-chip recruit in this area yet
• Strength in distance at the very top, but shaky depth behind.
• Depth in the stroke events slightly stronger than in the 200, but neither is a weakness
• Versatility is the name of the game – almost every swimmer here has strengths across multiple strokes, and IM is strong.

After a slightly lower profile class of 2026, we’re back to another huge star being present in these way-too-early rankings. Luka Mijatovic is the clear #1 in the class of 2027, with the fastest 500 time we’ve seen by a high school sophomore by some distance, merely a single star in the constellation of his phenomenal swims. Having made the top eight in four different events at this year’s U.S. Nationals and qualified for the 2025 World Championships in the 400 freestyle, he’s already in the upper echelons of American swimming.

Behind him is some more firepower, with No. 2-ranked Luke Vatev on a tear so far this year, and he will also be competing for Team USA internationally this summer at the World Junior Championships. In yards, though, he is a fantastic sprinter who could already slot onto some college teams’ relays, and he’s versatile enough to do so in several places.

Versatility is a bit of a theme throughout the class – Collin Holgerson is a phenomenal backstroke swimmer but also holds the class’s top time in the 100 breast, and the IM depth is fantastic. There are a lot of swimmers who can swim multiple strokes to a high standard, and there are very few single-stroke specialists in these rankings. Depth gets a little shaky in breaststroke and distance freestyle, but is more than made up for elsewhere

Without further ado, let’s get started with these rankings.

TOP TIMES IN THE CLASS OF 2025

**The 1000 free isn’t an event at the Division I NCAA Championships, but is swum instead of the 1650 in many Division I dual meets and is part of the NCAA program in Division II.

With that out of the way, let’s get to our rankings.

Disclaimer: there are a lot of high school juniors in the country, and no really good, complete, 100% accurate listing of them all. If you don’t see your favorite swimmer on the list, feel free to politely point them out in the comments. There’s a chance that we disagree with your assessment of their spot in the top 20, and so long as it’s done civilly, there’s no problem with differences of opinions. There’s also a chance that we’ve simply missed a no-brainer (we’ve taken every precaution to avoid that), and if that happens, we want to make sure we correct it.

Sprint Free:

• Langston Lindsey (20.1/44.8, 48.5 1BK) **Tennessee**
• Cale TeBeest (20.1/44.9, 48.4 1FL) **Louisville**
• Isaac Litwiller (20.6/44.1/1:36.4) **Louisville**
• Yuri Plaskin (20.5/44.2/1:37.7) **Harvard**
• Micah Tennison (20.7/44.4/1:37.4) **Texas A&M**
• Andrew Malaj (20.8/44.8/1:36.9) **Indiana**

Distance Free:

• Alex Barone (1:38.0/4:26.2) **Texas A&M**
• Allen Gyang (44.1/1:37.4/4:25.6) **Michigan**
• Jackson Irwin (4:29.5/15:19.0) **Texas A&M**
• Liam Drake (4:26.5/15:14.1) **Georgia Tech**
• Kaden Wong (1:38.1/4:24.8)

Backstroke:

• Evan Pan-Wang (49.2/1:47.6, 47.9 1FL)
• Ben Jaggers (47.9/1:47.7) **Arizona State**
• Brody Reber (49.1/1:46.4)
• Jonny Palamar (49.7/1:45.9) **Princeton**

Breaststroke:

• Issac Adanin (55.9/2:01.6, 1:48.2 2IM) **North Carolina**
• Seth Morgan (54.1/1:58.9) **NC State**
• Yehor Maistruk (54.3/2:01.5) **South Carolina**
• Landon Hall (54.8/2:01.6) **Arizona State**
• Luc Dionne (55.3/1:59.6) **Virginia**
• Max Laine (54.6/2:01.0)

Butterfly:

• Alex Goodman (48.0/1:46.4) **Georgia**
• Ewan Dalrymple (49.1/1:46.0) **Ohio State**
• Boone Wilcox (48.7/1:47.4) **Michigan**
• Ethan Xu (49.6/1:47.2)
• Daniel Branon (48.4/1:46.7, 1:49.2/3:52.8 IM) **Virginia**
• Gavin Halusic (48.0/1:47.1) **Arizona State**

IM:

• William Shoesmith (1:51.2/3:56.8) **Virginia**
• Jackson Hartzler (1:47.3/3:53.1, 54.9 1BR) **Ohio State**
• Mark Cecco (1:49.3) **Alabama**

Honorable Mentions

Ian Call — Memphis Thunder Aquatic Club — Collierville High School — Collierville, TN **Verbally committed to Texas**

Best Times: 

• 50 breast (LC): 27.96
• 100 breast (LC): 1:01.09
• 200 breast (SCY): 55.51
• 200 breast (SCY): 2:01.21

Call is on here mainly for his long course times, where he’s the top sprint breaststroker in the class. He’s two seconds clear of Shareef Elaydi and Collin Holgerson in the 100 with the 1:01.09 he went to win the ‘C’ final at U.S. Nationals, and broke 28 seconds with a time of 27.96 to take 12th in the 50.

He’s solid in yards with bests of 55.51 in the 100 and 2:01.21 in the 200, but his best in both distances come from the 2023-24 season. His long course times indicate he’s a fantastic breaststroker, but he’ll need to convert them into strong yards swims to move up in our rankings here.

Trent Allen — Carmel Swim Club — Carmel High School — Carmel, IN **Verbally committed to Florida**

Best Times:

• 200 free: 1:37.07
• 500 free: 4:20.88
• 200 back: 1:47.78
• 400 IM: 3:53.83

Allen is a great mid-distance swimmer, strong in multiple strokes between 200 and 500 yards. He’s best in freestyle, where he has dropped a ton of time in the 500, going from 4:39 to 4:20. His gains in the 200 are more modest, but he’s still gone from 1:40.8 to 1:37.0 this season. Developing some sprint speed could go a long way towards vaulting him up these lists. While he’s knocked off nearly five seconds in the 200 back to go 1:47.7, he’s still yet to break 50 in the 100, and he has only shaved off half a second in the 100 free.

Juan Vallmitjana — South Florida Aquatic Club — NSU University School — Fort Lauderdale, FL **Verbally committed to UVA**

Best Times:

• 1650 free: 15:08.02
• 500 free: 4:22.96
• 200 free: 1:37.61

Vallmitjana is a pure distance freestyle specialist, but comes all the way down to the 200 to add some relay value as well. His primary event is the mile, where he’s dropped 13 seconds this year to go 15:08, which ranks third in the class, and is not too shabby in long course either, where he is a Spanish age group record holder. He’s had some serious drops in the shorter distances too, going from 4:29.4 to 4:22.9 in the 500 and 1:42.6 to 1:37.6 in the 200.

Jacob Bougaieff — Dad’s Club Swim Team — Strake Jesuit College Prep — Houston, TX **Verbally committed to Stanford**

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 54.36
• 200 breast: 1:57.88
• 200 IM: 1:49.69
• 400 IM: 3:55.07

Bougaieff is one of the best breaststrokers in the class, but is not quite as well-rounded as some of the others. He’s had some big drops in the breaststroke events, from 57.2 to 54.3 in the 100 and 2:02.4 to 1:57.9 in the 200, and brings some solid IM times to the table after dropping from 1:55 to 1:49 in the 200 this season.

A drop of nearly six seconds in the 200 IM is impressive, and he swam between 1:49.6 and 1:49.9 on four occasions during February and March. His best came in the heats at the UIL 6A State Championships, but he turned heads in the final with a breaststroke split of 29.53, indicating there could be even more to come for him in the stroke next season.

Ty Thomas — River City Aquatics — Cape Girardeau, MO **Verbally committed to Louisville**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 20.36
• 100 free: 44.20
• 200 free: 1:38.93
• 100 back: 48.58
• 100 fly: 48.39
• 200 IM: 1:49.16

Thomas is one of several sub-21/45/1:39 sprinters in the class, but what elevates him to Honorable Mention status is his versatility. He brings 48-point speed in both the 100 back and 100 fly, dropping time in both this season, and has a sneaky good 1:49.1 200 IM. He’s dropped that significantly from 1:53.6 this season, and has made big improvements in his primary events too – one second in the 50 and 2.7 seconds in the 100. Another year like he’s just had, and he’ll be even further up the rankings.

Alex Pletcher — Sea to Desert Swim Association — Point Loma High School— San Diego, CA **Verbally committed to Stanford**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 20.64
• 100 free: 44.19
• 200 free: 1:35.63

Pletcher is a three-distance freestyler who holds the class’s third fastest 200 freestyle time to go along with strong marks of 20.6/44.1 in the 50 and 100. He’s gone from 1:39.2 in the 200 to 1:35.6 and dropped just over a second in the 100, but his 50 is only a tenth faster than last season. He doesn’t have a ton of other events on a similar footing to his sprint freestyles, with butterfly being closest where he is 49.2/1:49.0. He should be a valuable recruit, especially on relays, but he may need to develop his drop-dead sprint speed to avoid stagnation – he was out 21.1 in his 100 PB, just half a second off his 50 time.

TOP 20 SWIMMERS FROM THE CLASS OF 2027

20. Ellis Crisci — Tsunami Swim Team of KC — Homeschooled— Lawrence, KS **Verbally committed to Texas**

Best Times:

• 1650 free: 15:12.83
• 500 free: 4:20.75
• 200 free: 1:38.61
• 200 fly: 1:49.05
• 400 IM: 3:54.06

Crisci is certainly a distance freestyler, but he’s varied enough that he could branch out into IM or fly, much like Brooks Fail or Grant Shoults. A combo of 4:20.7/8:55.2/15:12.8 is more than solid, with his 500 time ranking 2nd in the class and the mile ranking 4th, but he’s also 1:49 in the 200 fly and 3:54 in the 400 IM.

He’s dropped a ton of time in pretty much all his events: 12 seconds in the mile, 11 in the 500, 5.6 in the 200 free, and 7.7 in the 400 IM. Long course times of 8:01/15:20 in the distance freestyles are fantastic to boot, ranking 2nd in the class in both. The mile is his standout event right now, but he’s got the potential to have three or four of those next year.

19. Yi Zheng — Carmel Swim Club — Carmel High School — Carmel, IN **Verbally committed to Stanford**

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 55.08
• 200 breast: 1:58.54
• 200 fly: 1:48.71
• 200 IM: 1:47.64
• 400 IM: 3:51.22

It has been a year of huge improvements for Zheng, as he’s dropped multiple seconds in his four main events. In breaststroke, he’s gone from times of 58.2/2:01.7 to 55.0/1:58.5, and has dropped big in the IMs as well. There he’s knocked off 5.3 seconds in the 200 and nine seconds in the 400, jumping into the top 10 in the class in both.

That is one of the steepest improvement curves of anyone here, and it’s the same story in long course. Zheng has set best times in every event he’s competed in this season, including a couple that could prove interesting for him in yards next year, the 200 free and 200 fly. In the former, he’s gone from 2:03 to 1:53, with potential for some big improvements on his time of 1:41.79 in yards and some additional relay value.

18. Colin Jacobs — Sarasota Sharks — Sarasota High School — Bradenton, FL

Best Times:

• 1650 free: 15:01.34
• 500 free 4:22.39
• 200 free: 1:40.24
• 200 back: 1:47.88
• 400 IM: 3:55.06

Jacobs’ mile time is overshadowed by Mijatovic’s, but 15:01 as a high school sophomore is phenomenally fast. That is a solid scoring time at conference level already, and marks a 28-second drop from last season. He placed 3rd at Winter Juniors – East with that time, only beaten by a pair of swimmers from the 2025 recruiting class, and he can come down to the 500 as well, where he is 4:22.3 after dropping 7.2 seconds this year. He hasn’t got too many events outside those two that are near the same level, but a near-sub-15 miler as a sophomore who’s had the kind of drops, Jacobs cannot be ignored.

17. Cohen Barron Chiam — Bolles School Sharks — Bolles School — Jacksonville, FL

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 54.62
• 200 breast: 1:57.14
• 200 IM: 1:48.03
• 400 IM: 3:54.07

Chiam is one of the most well-rounded breaststrokers in the class, and adds a solid IM combo to the mix as well. He hasn’t dropped a ton of time in the breaststrokers this year, though, especially compared to the swimmers around him. He’s gone from 54.9 to 54.6 in the 100 and 1:58.0 to 1:57.1 in the 200, but that 200 still ranks 2nd in the class.

His IM times have dropped slightly more, just over a second in the 200 and 2.9 in the 400, and there’s some cause for serious optimism in his breaststroke split in the 200, where he was 29.3. A similar level of improvement in the breaststroke events next season could see him move up the rankings.

16. Anthony Dornoff — La Mirada Armada — Cerritos High School — Cerritos, CA **Verbally commits to Michigan**

Best Times:

• 200 IM: 1:47.94
• 400 IM: 3:47.54
• 200 fly: 1:47.66
• 200 breast: 2:00.87

Dornoff is one of the best two-distance IM swimmers in this class and holds the 2nd-fastest best time in the 400 IM after dropping 6.6 seconds this season. He’s not dropped the same amount in the 200 IM, but his time of 1:47.66 is still top-10 in the class.

With his progression in the 400, he should have more drops in store in the shorter distance. His breaststroke could also be an area he dials in on, as he has bests of 56.2 in the 100 and 2:00.87 in the 200, but he split 30.5 on breast in his 200 IM PB, which indicates he’s on the come-up in that stroke. As a comparison, that’s only just off what Campbell McKean was splitting as a sophomore. Dornoff’s 200 fly is also looking strong after a 2.3-second drop, and although he’s yet to develop his freestyle times to relay level, his long course times (1:55.98 in the 200) certainly indicate that he could.

15. Connor Christopherson — SwimAtlanta — Westminster School — Atlanta, GA **Verbally committed to Stanford**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 20.11
• 10 free: 44.24
• 200 free: 1:35.55
• 500 free: 4:23.91

Christopherson may only have three top-tier events, but they are the three most valuable, and he’s one of the best three-distance freestylers in the class.

He’s nearly sub-20 in the 50 to rank 4th in the class, having dropped eight-tenths last season, and has the 2nd-quickest 200 free to go along with it, where he’s dropped 2.6 seconds. There’s a lot of relay value and some hefty drops there. A 1:48.78 200 fly and the ability to go all the way up to the 500, where he is 4:23.9 after dropping 12 seconds this year, indicate that he could branch out, but at the moment, he has some clear strengths and is sticking to them.

14. Brayden Capen — Academy Bullets Swim Club — Marmion Academy — Lisle, IL **Verbally committed to Tennessee**

Best Times:

• 100 back: 48.47
• 200 back: 1:43.89
• 200 IM: 1:47.01
• 400 IM: 3:49.38
• 500 free: 4:26.60

Capen is a versatile swimmer who earns his place here thanks to his strong times in back, fly and IM. He has 1:47.0/3:49.3 IM times that make him one of the best medley swimmers in the field, and adds a quality 1:43.89 200 backstroke that ranks in the top five. A 48.47 100 backstroke shows some sprinting chops, and he has a more than solid 500 where he’s been 4:26.6.

In long course, Capen’s backstroke comes to the fore as he’s been 56.4/1:59.4. The 200 time is fastest in the class, and could indicate that he has some more to give in yards after dropping 1.6 seconds in the shorter pool this year.

13. Griffin Oehler — Rockville Montgomery Swim Club — Georgetown Preparatory School — Rockville, MD **Verbally committed to Florida**

Best Times:

• 100 back: 48.41
• 200 back:1:43.03
• 50 free: 20.91
• 200 free: 1:36.93
• 100 breast: 55.41
• 100 fly: 48.86
• 200 IM: 1:47.22

Despite backstroke being his primary stroke, Oehler is something of a jack of all trades. He’s dropped 3.6 seconds in the 200 back to go along with his half-second drop in the 100, and the former ranks 5th in the class. That 1:43.0 ranks 3rd in the class is a very solid time for a high school sophomore, and he adds some good sprint speed in the other stroke 100s to complement his backstroke.

A 1:36 200 freestyle is useful for relays, and indicates a well-rounded swimmer, as does his 1:47.2 200 IM. He’s dropped 3.1 and 2.1 seconds in those events, respectively, this season, in a year where he seems to have really figured out mid-distance. Adding some extra sprint speed could take him even higher.

12. Luke Zardavets — Bolles School Sharks — Allen D. Nease Senior High School — Ponte Vedra, FL **verbally committed to Florida**

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 53.84
• 200 breast: 1:56.96 (best in class)
• 50 free: 20.96
• 100 fly: 48.10
• 200 IM: 1:48.92

Zardavets is the best two-distance breaststroke in the class, marrying 53-high speed in the 100 with the only sub-1:57 200 in the class. As a sophomore, 1:56.96 is fast – it’s faster than Josh Bey was for the class of 2025 and one of only two to be sub-1:57 since Matt Fallon back in 2021

He’s been 48.1 in the 100 fly as well, and has a 1:48.9 200 IM. After dropping one second in the 100 breaststroke and three in the 200, he can almost certainly be faster in the medleys as well. If he can maintain his progress in breaststroke and strengthen one of his tertiary events further, he could jump up the rankings next year.

11. Joey Campagnola — West Florida Lightning Aquatics — Seminole High School — Seminole, FL **Verbally committed to UVA**

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 54.81
• 200 breast: 1:59.06
• 200 IM: 1:45.90
• 400 IM: 3:49.91
• 50 free: 20.57
• 100 back: 48.24
• 200 back: 1:46.67

Campagnola has some strong breaststroke times, but he’s even better at the IMs. In breaststroke, he’s in the top five in the class at the 100 and top 10 in the 200, and that without having dropped time in the 200 this season. In the IMs, however, he’s dropped three seconds in the 200 and 7.6 in the 400, ranking 3rd in the class in the shorter distance.

He adds an intriguing 48.2 in the 100 back that could be handy for relays, and has already been 20.5 in the 50 free after dropping seven-tenths of a second. He’s got some clear areas that he’s dialed in on, but like so many in class, he displays a level of versatility that gives him multiple avenues to pursue.

10. Owen Ekk — Area Tallahassee Aquatic Club — Lawton Chiles High School — Tallahassee, FL **Verbally committed to Stanford**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 20.38
• 100 free: 43.91
• 200 free: 1:37.08
• 200 IM: 1:46.51
• 100 breast: 55.26

The younger brother of Stanford-bound Ethan Ekk, Owen is himself an accomplished freestyle and IM swimmer. He’s a strong three-distance freestyler, holding best times of 20.38/43.91/1:37.07, which should allow him to be utilized on multiple relays. A sub-44 100 free also ranks 4th in the class, and he adds a top-five ranking in the 200 IM after a 1.2-second drop this year. He hasn’t dropped a ton of time in freestyle this year, but has taken off at least half a second in all three. A sneaky good 55.26 100 breast, a three-second drop from last year, gives him yet another top-10 event and some more versatility.

9. Blake TeBeest — McFarland Spartan Sharks — McFarland High School — McFarland, WI **Verbally committed to Indiana**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.99
• 100 free: 43.65
• 200 free: 1:39.36
• 100 back: 48.05

TeBeest is that most valuable of college swimmer archetypes – a drop-dead freestyle sprinter. He’s seen big drops in both events to get to his current top-three rankings in both events, going from 20.79 to 19.99 in the 50 and 45.80 to 43.65 in the 100 – a 2.15-second drop.

He adds a solid 100 backstroke after dropping one second this year to go 48.05, and has been 22.4 in the 50. That looks the most likely avenue for him to add another top-tier event, but he did drop nearly two seconds in the 200 free this year as well.

8. Brady Campbell — Mason Manta Rays — Milford High School — Milford, OH **Verbally committed to Indiana**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.73 (best in class)
• 100 free: 44.26
• 200 free: 1:38.14
• 100 fly: 48.50

Campbell owns the fastest 50 freestyle in the class after dropping half a second this year, and has strong times all the way up to the 200. He set his best times in all three sprint freestyle distances at Winter Juniors last December, but added some serious flying splits at the OHSAA State Championships in February – 19.35 in the 50 free and 42.90 in the 100 free, nearly a second and a half under his flat start best in the latter. He set a new best of 48.50 in the 100 fly there as well.

Campbell is one of the top sprinters in the class in long course as well, dropping from 51.8 to 50.4 in the 100 and, possibly more interestingly for his development next year, from 1:56.6 to 1:52.5 in the 200. With his focus on the two most valuable events in college swimming, he’s one of the most valuable swimmers in the class.

7. Hayden Vicknair — Baylor Swim Club — Baylor School — Signal Mountain, TN **Verbally committed to Tennessee**

Best Times:

• 50 free: 20.53
• 100 free: 44.04
• 200 free: 1:37.26
• 100 fly: 47.54
• 200 fly: 1:45.18
• 100 back: 48.62
• 200 back: 1:45.41

Vicknair is a supremely versatile swimmer, with strong sprint freestyle times supplemented by speed in both backstroke and fly. As a relay piece he’s one of the best in the class, able to slot onto pretty much any of the five, and he’s had some pretty significant drops this season across a whole host of events – five seconds in the 200 free, 1.7 in the 100 free and a massive 6.8 in the 100 back.

His best stroke is probably fly at the moment, where 47.5/1:45.1 both rank in the top five after drops of 1.8 seconds and 3.7 seconds, respectively. In the long course 200 fly, he dropped 4.5 seconds en route to breaking the 2:00 barrier in 1:59.83 at U.S. Nationals – fastest in the class this season. He’s not too far away from what Thomas Mercer was in the class of 2025 – formidable at the 100/200 distances across multiple strokes, albeit without the same strength in IM.

6. Thomas McMillan — St. Charles Swim Team — St. Charles North High School — St. Charles, IL **Verbally committed to NC State**

Best Times:

• 100 fly: 46.52 (best in class)
• 200 fly: 1:45.58
• 100 back: 47.45
• 200 back: 1:47.49
• 50 free: 20.92

McMillan is the best back/fly sprinter in the class after some big drops this year. He’s had a massive drop from 49.08 to his class-leading 46.52 in the 100 fly, and dropped 4.6 seconds in the 200 fly to boot. Fly is his standout stroke, but his backstroke is incredibly strong as well, with his 100 ranking top-five in the class and some intriguing potential in the 200. His freestyle is not quite at the same level yet, but he dropped eight-tenths in the 50 free to break 21 seconds and  from 48.99 to 45.22 in the 100. Even without the same freestyle times his relay value is immense, notably with a very strong 22.15 50 back as well.

5. Davis Jackson — TAC Titans— Leesville Road High School — Raleigh, NC **Verbally committed to Cal**

Best Times:

• 100 back: 47.15
• 200 back 1:41.91 (best in class)
• 200 IM: 1:46.56
• 400 IM 3:49.79
• 100 fly: 48.89

Davis holds the top time in the class in the 200 backstroke and the third-fastest time in the 100 backstroke, and has had by far the biggest improvement curve of his competitors in the stroke. He’s hacked off 5.3 seconds in the 200 to join his 1.4-second drop in the 100, and has set big personal bests in long course as well. In the 200, he’s the only swimmer in the class under 1:42 and one of only two sub-1:43, outlining just how clear he is in the event. A 47.15 in the 100 also ranks third in the class.

However, Jackson is not just a backstroke specialist and brings some top-tier IM times, dropping nearly three seconds in the 200 and more than ten in the 400 this season, ranking inside the top-10 in the class on both. With a solid time in the 100 fly of 48.89 as well, he’s got a lot to supplement his top-of-the-class backstroke.

4. Collin Holgerson — SwimAtlanta — McCallie High School — Chattanooga, TN **Verbally committed to Tennessee**

Best Times:

• 100 breast: 52.94 (best in class)
• 100 back: 46.87
• 200 back 1:43.34
• 200 breast: 1:59.44
• 100 fly: 47.58
• 200 IM: 1:46.13
• 50 free: 20.62

Holgerson is the epitome of this class’s versatility, a backstroke specialist with a strong 100 fly who also leads the class in the 100 breast. He’s already sub-47 in the 100 backstroke, which was a drop of 1.86 seconds from last year and makes him second fastest in the class, and hacked off 1.9 in the 100 breast to take the top spot there. 

He brings strong 200 times as well, 1:43.3 in backstroke and 1:46.1 in IM. In the latter, he’s knocked off four seconds this year and was only 26.98 on his backstroke split – for someone with his speed, there’s some easy gains to be made there. What is most exciting is his long course form – since the start of May, he’s gone from 57.78 to 55.19 in the 100 back, and hacked 3.34 seconds off his 200 backstroke in just 18 days to set his best of 2:00.88.

3. Shareef Elaydi — Santa Clara Swim Club — Archbishop Mitty High School — Santa Clara, CA

Best Times:

• 200 fly: 1:42.80 (best in class)
• 100 fly: 46.78
• 200 IM: 1:44.79 (best in class)
• 100 breast: 53.18
• 200 breast: 1:58.81
• 400IM: 3:50.95
• 50 free: 20.64

Elaydi is a phenomenal butterfly swimmer, ranking 6th all-time in the 15-16 age group in the 200 and first in this class, and is pretty fantastic in the IMs and breaststrokes as well. He ranks first in the 200 IM by nearly a second, and is top-five in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke – an unusual level of versatility between two strokes that often don’t overlap at the top level.

His 100 fly time of 46.78 is second in the class and already good enough to provide some relay value, as is his 53.81 100 breaststroke (on both counts). Elaydi’s 100 and 200 freestyle times are a little bit off what would be competitive for relays, but with his butterfly times, he’s almost certainly got more in the tank than 45.6/1:40.9, and his 20.6 in the 50 is a welcome surprise – more so considering it comes from May last year. Finally, despite not showing much in the 100 backstroke, he popped a 21.97 in the 50 this February.  He’s versatile, improving, and already shockingly quick.

2. Luke Vatev— Hornet Swim Club — Hinsdale Central High School — Clarendon Hills, IL **Verbally committed to Stanford**

Best Times:

• 100 free: 43.50 (best in class)
• 100 back: 46.52 (best in class)
• 50 free: 19.95
• 200 free: 1:35.83
• 500 free 4:27.49
• 200 back: 1:42.72
• 100 fly: 47.49
• 200 fly: 1:45.75

Vatev brings a versatility across freestyle, fly and backstroke that pushes him ahead of Elaydi, with class-leading times across two strokes and a whole host of lineup options. He brings immense relay value, with the ability to slot into any of the five relays in almost any position. He’s the second-fastest 50 freestyler in the class and one of only three sub-20, he leads the class in the 100 and ranks fourth in the 200, and his backstroke times could realistically slot him onto several college teams’ relays already – he’s been 21.53 in the 50 backstroke as well, fastest in the class by nearly half a second.

His 100 backstroke is one of only two in the class under 47 seconds, and his butterfly times are top-five. Vatev may well develop a strong 200 IM as well down the line, but his strengths are so numerous that he doesn’t need to. He’s been dropping time almost everywhere as well – a second in his 50 free, 1.2 in the 100 free, and 2.7 in his 100 back. He has been on a tear in long course as well, dropping 1.2 seconds in the 100 free and 1.6  in the 200, and will compete for Team USA at the World Junior Swimming Championships this summer in the 50 back, 100 back, and 50 free. Back in yards, his 200 fly went from 1:54.13 in October to 1:45.75 by March, having not swum it since 2020 prior to this season, and his 200 IM saw a 5.75-second drop over the same time period. He’s a multi-event threat and is showing no signs of slowing down.

1. Luka Mijatovic — Pleasanton Seahawks — Foothill High School — Pleasanton, CA **Verbally committed to Texas**

Best Times:

• 500 free: 4:10.96 (best in class)
• 1650 free: 14:37.63 (best in class)
• 1000 free: 8:42.45 (best in class)
• 200 free: 1:33.52 (best in class)
• 100 free: 43.65
• 50 free: 20.66
• 200 IM: 1:45.67
• 400 IM: 3:41.76 (best in class)
• 200 back: 1:45.77
• 200 fly: 1:43.57
• 100 fly: 48.62
• 100 breast: 55.46

Would it have been anyone else? Mijatovic is already a World Championship Qualifier, a two-time U.S. Nationals finalist and is faster in the 200/400 free than Michael Phelps was when he was two years older. In short course, he displays an unmatched versatility, and he just went 1:45.9/3:45.7 in the 200/400 free in long course, times that are beyond phenomenal, even more so for a high school sophomore.

Mijatovic would have scored in the 500 and 1650 freestyles at this year’s NCAAs, two events where we rarely see high schoolers with scoring times. He’s the fastest 500 freestyler by more than eight seconds and the fastest in the mile by 24, owning the national age group records in both. He also owns the fastest 200 free time, the only one under 1:35, and the fastest 400 IM by six seconds. In a fairly deep IM class already, that is beyond impressive, and it’s easy to forget that he isn’t just a freestyler – he was 4th in the 400 IM at U.S. Nationals as well. He owns top-five times in the class in every stroke and can come down all the way to the 50 free (20.66). His 43.65 100 free is second to Luke Vatev by just 0.15 seconds, and he’s quick enough in the 100 fly to be a potential relay contributor down the line. The biggest question for most distance freestylers is whether they can add value on relays – Mijatovic can in spades. He is the biggest name in this class, but for good reason.

BONUS LOOKBACK:

Feeling nostalgic? Here’s a look back at our historic recruiting class rankings, plus our retrospectives of those classes after four NCAA seasons: