In another thread we started to discuss potential 2018 recruits for the men. Recognizing it is way to early, the recently concluded Winter Junior Championships featured a number of emerging young stars in both men's and women's swimming. I thought I would offer some early thoughts for the men and leave it to others much more knowledgeable for the ladies.
In 2018 we will be looking to replace 8 seniors including Lynch (fly/sprint), Josa (fly/sprint/IM), Hoppe (breast), Green (IM/back) and Kao (distance).
In the 2018 class there are several A level program changers:
-Drew Kibler hails from Carmel, Ind. and swims for the same club as did Amy Bilquist. He will obviously be targeted by all the usual suspects but don't sleep on the hometown Hoosiers who are building a solid sprint and mid-distance program. Drew has tremendous free range as he already has times that would have earned points in the 2016 NCAAs in the 200 and 500 free, while his 50 and 100 times are just outside top 16. He is my choice as #1 recruit in the class.
-Trey Freeman who swims for the Baylor Swim Club (Kristin Vredeveld also swam for Baylor) in Chattanooga is another swimmer with great free range in the 2018 class. Whereas Kibler has a bit more sprint speed, Freeman projects as scorer in the 1650 and 500 free. He would fit the bill for the distance stud requested by Longseeker, but his profile makes him a natural target for Stanford's impressive distance group (recognizing the Card's have a very unbalanced roster).
-My personal first choice for a 2018 Bear recruit is Reece Whitley. Reece is the best young breastroker in the country with times that would have scored in both individual breast events at 2016 NCAAs, with his 200 time the 3rd best time. His 200 IM time is just outside last year's top 16 and projects Reece as a three event scorer and medley relay beast .Think of a Josh Prenot with more sprint speed.
Beyond the "Big Three" there are several other swimmers of interst where I can see Cal having a possible connection/recruiting angle. First, let's look at the swimmers from the Golden State:
-Could James Brinegar be the next distance recruit from the Mission Viejo Nadadores? Shane Forker, Nick Norman, Ken Takahashi and Janardan Burns are all ex- Nadadores, and Jame's 14:53.52 in the 1650 swam this November would put him just outside 2016 NCAAs scoring and 6th all-time best for Cal in the event.
- Christopher Jhong from nearby Pleasanton is a distance/swimmer who has made an impressive time drop in his 400 IM time.
- Daniel Kim a teammate of James Brinegar at Mission Viejo is one of the better butterfliers in the 2018 class, as we look to replace Lynch and Josa's talents.
-Staying with butterfly, Andrew Koustik from Costa Mesa, had a nice 200 yard fly at the 2016 U.S. Winter finishing with the 4th best combined event time of 1:45.04, and second best of the class of 2018.
- Zander Minano, a teammate of Cal legacy commit Nate Biondi at Canyons Aquatic Club is a promising sprint free/flyer.
-Other California high schoolers to keep an eye on include Truckee's Coop de Ryk (sprint free/fly) and Owen Kao (mid to long free) from Laguna Niguel (I do not believe he is related to Ryan).
In the earlier posts we discussed two Polish international sprinters with high end sprint prowess, sprinters Kacper Stokowski and Bartosz Piszczorowicz. I know it's difficult to allocate scholly dollars to foreign swimmers (who are not eligible for other financial aid), but either of these two would be an interesting addition to our free/fly sprint groups.
Bolles swimmer Willie Davis also had a couple of fast swims at Winter Juniors with a 19.92 in the 50 free and 44.19 in the 100.
-If we miss on Mr. Whitley, perhaps Daniel Roy from Spokane is worth an offer. He finished 2nd to Reece in the 200 breast and 3rd in the 100 breast at Winter Juniors (combined times).
Happy to learn of any other recruits of interest, especially where Cal has a potential recruiting edge.
In 2018 we will be looking to replace 8 seniors including Lynch (fly/sprint), Josa (fly/sprint/IM), Hoppe (breast), Green (IM/back) and Kao (distance).
In the 2018 class there are several A level program changers:
-Drew Kibler hails from Carmel, Ind. and swims for the same club as did Amy Bilquist. He will obviously be targeted by all the usual suspects but don't sleep on the hometown Hoosiers who are building a solid sprint and mid-distance program. Drew has tremendous free range as he already has times that would have earned points in the 2016 NCAAs in the 200 and 500 free, while his 50 and 100 times are just outside top 16. He is my choice as #1 recruit in the class.
-Trey Freeman who swims for the Baylor Swim Club (Kristin Vredeveld also swam for Baylor) in Chattanooga is another swimmer with great free range in the 2018 class. Whereas Kibler has a bit more sprint speed, Freeman projects as scorer in the 1650 and 500 free. He would fit the bill for the distance stud requested by Longseeker, but his profile makes him a natural target for Stanford's impressive distance group (recognizing the Card's have a very unbalanced roster).
-My personal first choice for a 2018 Bear recruit is Reece Whitley. Reece is the best young breastroker in the country with times that would have scored in both individual breast events at 2016 NCAAs, with his 200 time the 3rd best time. His 200 IM time is just outside last year's top 16 and projects Reece as a three event scorer and medley relay beast .Think of a Josh Prenot with more sprint speed.
Beyond the "Big Three" there are several other swimmers of interst where I can see Cal having a possible connection/recruiting angle. First, let's look at the swimmers from the Golden State:
-Could James Brinegar be the next distance recruit from the Mission Viejo Nadadores? Shane Forker, Nick Norman, Ken Takahashi and Janardan Burns are all ex- Nadadores, and Jame's 14:53.52 in the 1650 swam this November would put him just outside 2016 NCAAs scoring and 6th all-time best for Cal in the event.
- Christopher Jhong from nearby Pleasanton is a distance/swimmer who has made an impressive time drop in his 400 IM time.
- Daniel Kim a teammate of James Brinegar at Mission Viejo is one of the better butterfliers in the 2018 class, as we look to replace Lynch and Josa's talents.
-Staying with butterfly, Andrew Koustik from Costa Mesa, had a nice 200 yard fly at the 2016 U.S. Winter finishing with the 4th best combined event time of 1:45.04, and second best of the class of 2018.
- Zander Minano, a teammate of Cal legacy commit Nate Biondi at Canyons Aquatic Club is a promising sprint free/flyer.
-Other California high schoolers to keep an eye on include Truckee's Coop de Ryk (sprint free/fly) and Owen Kao (mid to long free) from Laguna Niguel (I do not believe he is related to Ryan).
In the earlier posts we discussed two Polish international sprinters with high end sprint prowess, sprinters Kacper Stokowski and Bartosz Piszczorowicz. I know it's difficult to allocate scholly dollars to foreign swimmers (who are not eligible for other financial aid), but either of these two would be an interesting addition to our free/fly sprint groups.
Bolles swimmer Willie Davis also had a couple of fast swims at Winter Juniors with a 19.92 in the 50 free and 44.19 in the 100.
-If we miss on Mr. Whitley, perhaps Daniel Roy from Spokane is worth an offer. He finished 2nd to Reece in the 200 breast and 3rd in the 100 breast at Winter Juniors (combined times).
Happy to learn of any other recruits of interest, especially where Cal has a potential recruiting edge.