RollOnYouAll said:
Taking a quick peek beyond 2025, my way too early hopes are for prospective top recruits Rylee Erisman (brother Ryan's coming to Cal in 2025) & Kayla Han (used to swim for Alex's swim club, Carmel). Molly Sweeney (also from Carmel) would also be an invaluable asset. Charlotte Crush from Lakeside Swim will surely be on every recruiter's wishlist.
Way Too Early Recruit Rankings: Girls High School Class of 20261. Charlotte Crush Lakeside Swim Team Sacred Heart Academy Louisville, KY The undisputed top swimmer in the class, Crush is already fast enough to be an NCAA 'A' finalist in three events and score in a fourth.
Last season, only
Katharine Berkoff was faster than Crush' 100 back PB at the NCAA Championships, and Crush's PBs also would've placed 3rd in the 100 fly, 6th in the 200 back and 14th in the 50 free.
2. Kayla Han La Mirada Armada La Mirada, CAAlready fast enough to score in the NCAA in the 500 free, 400 IM and 1650 free, those three races figure to make up her future NCAA postseason schedule, and her versatility across every 200 makes her incredibly value for any program in dual meets. She's also a future member on the 800 free relay.
3. Molly Sweeney Carmel Swim Club Carmel High School Carmel, INAn
integral piece of Carmel High School's continued dominance in the IHSAA, Sweeney boasts NCAA scoring times in the 200 IM (1:54.58) and 200 breast (2:07.49)
She also set her elite best time in the 100 fly (52.24) there, and produced notable freestyle relay splits of 22.57/49.39/1:46.55. Sweeney is also the top 100 breaststroker in the class at 59.47
As a scoring breaststroker who can also contribute to the free relays, Sweeney's NCAA value can't be overstated.
4. Ava De Anda Riverside Aquatics Association Riverside Poly-tech High School Riverside, CADe Anda is one of just two swimmers under the 49-second threshold in the 100 free, the most valuable event in college swimming, and will be flirting with the 48 barrier this season after ripping a 48.27 en route to winning the CIF state title in May. This class only has eight swimmers who have an NCAA cut from 2024, and De Anda's comes in the 100 free. The Riverside product won the 200 free with a PB at the same meet, going 1:45.98 to make her also one of two sub-1:46 swimmers in the class. She owns a blistering best time of 22.44 in the 50 free, and has split as fast as 22.06 with a flying startdrop-dead speed given she still has two seasons of high school left.
5. Kelsey Zhang Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics Saratoga High School Saratoga, CAAt this point in her young career, Zhang is faster in the 200 fly than the top-ranked recruit in the class of 2025,
Alex Shackell, was last year. Shackell of course is coming off making the Olympic final in the event, so you can say Zhang is in good company. The reasoning behind the comparison is to illustrate how strong Zhang is in the event relative to most swimmers coming out of their sophomore year of high school. She's at 1:53.51, and the next-fastest in this class is…1:56-high. Zhang is more than a second quicker than the cut-off for the NCAA consolation final in 2024, and within striking distance of making the 'A' final. She's got three strong events with the 100 fly (52.08) and 200 IM (1:57.26) both just shy of the NCAA cutline, and her versatility is on full display with competitive bests in the 200 and 500 free and 100 breast.