Alright, here's a rough overview of where the 2019 recruiting presently stands for a few of the major programmes (Cal, Texas & Virginia), culled from some earlier posts on this thread.
Not loudly complaining at my end over all these distance, mid-distance & IM recruits becoming unavailable to LSJU so early on (well, unless they decommit later on in favour of the Farm that is lol).
Have a feeling that Salo & co. aren't smiling all that much either over these 2019 verbals, as distance/open water used to be one of their niche areas on top of their breasts!
Aggies prob not too happy with their arch-rival Horns monopolising the IMs here, traditionally one of their programme's strengths & depth, along with their breasts...
Anyway IMO it's about time that the talent wealth is distributed a mite more evenly all around, bit tired of watching helplessly as the Furd kept hogging 40%+ of the Top 10, recruiting class after recruiting class...
As BD commented, given greater parity between the academic+swim powerhouses (Cal, LSJU, Texas, Michigan, and UVa), reckon most of us here would take our chances with the most proven winner from those five schools - i.e. McKeever...though Meehan does have the more recent momentum there. Also - "Durden crushed LSJU at PACs in fly cluster points and survived in distance. Teri's won titles via back and fly clusters with next to nothing in distance and breast".
UPDATE => Did take the liberty of merging & reformatting several comments...
Not loudly complaining at my end over all these distance, mid-distance & IM recruits becoming unavailable to LSJU so early on (well, unless they decommit later on in favour of the Farm that is lol).
Have a feeling that Salo & co. aren't smiling all that much either over these 2019 verbals, as distance/open water used to be one of their niche areas on top of their breasts!
Aggies prob not too happy with their arch-rival Horns monopolising the IMs here, traditionally one of their programme's strengths & depth, along with their breasts...
Anyway IMO it's about time that the talent wealth is distributed a mite more evenly all around, bit tired of watching helplessly as the Furd kept hogging 40%+ of the Top 10, recruiting class after recruiting class...
As BD commented, given greater parity between the academic+swim powerhouses (Cal, LSJU, Texas, Michigan, and UVa), reckon most of us here would take our chances with the most proven winner from those five schools - i.e. McKeever...though Meehan does have the more recent momentum there. Also - "Durden crushed LSJU at PACs in fly cluster points and survived in distance. Teri's won titles via back and fly clusters with next to nothing in distance and breast".
UPDATE => Did take the liberty of merging & reformatting several comments...
bearz012 said:
The class of 2019 is nowhere as strong as the 2018 class, but still has some solid prospects. I'm thinking that if we land 6 solid recruits, it'll be solid.
Needs:
- Back (we're pretty weak beyond Kathleen & Amy)
- Fly (esp. 200 fly)
- Sprint free (to replace Amy on relays)
- IM (Keaton seems to be the only one apart from Kathleen who can make NCAAs)
- Mid-distance free (Katie was a huge help w/ the 500 free, and Kathleen, Amy, and Katie are a huge part of the 800 free relay)
- Of course, our usual weaknesses: Breast, distance free/IM, diving
Some quick notes:
- Florida (3), California (5), Virginia (3), Texas (3) have the most depth, with California having their #5 swimmer still being top 25 nationally.
- Not that many sprinters, but a considerable amount of distance swimmers
- Backstrokers in this class (Berkoff, Brooks) have high improvement curves from when I last went over backstrokers (both dropped time at Juniors)
- Lots of flyers, though none of the caliber of the fly-heavy 2018 class
====
2019 recruits - a breakdown
- *BEARS* -
Isabel Ivey (#1 Nat, #1 FL) - Gator Swim Club
All-Around: - esp. good at 100-200 free & 2IM, strong back, breast, fly
She's extremely versatile, with her best stroke being free, and her second best stroke being...uh...basically everything. Versatility is something Teri values, so I can easily see Teri targeting her as a recruit.
Chloe Clark (#17 Nat, #3 CA) - Sierra Marlins Swim Team
All-Around: - great IMs, great 100 back and free, 1:02 breast; only "weakness" is fly (55 sec 100 fly)
You might be wondering as to why I chose such a "lower-ranked" recruit, it's because of her versatility. I tried to find the most versatile recruits, and I think that a lot of the distance swimmers (Donohoe, Heckman, Sims) are ranked too high, especially when they can only swim 500/1000/1650 free (I'm a fan of distance freestylers, don't get me wrong.) However, Chloe is pretty versatile, with her weakest stroke being butterfly, in which she still has a solid time of 55.15, though her best event is IM.
I see her more of an Emma Muzzy (NC State commit)-like swimmer, with a good 200 IM (I'm pretty sure Emma had around the same time too) with backstroke being her strongest stroke. Think her lineup would be similar to Keaton's and Thleen's (if she were to come here haha), with 100/200 back, 200 IM.
====
- Horns -
Mary Smutny (#7 Nat, #2 FL) - AquaKids Sharks Swim Team
Fly: - best all-around flyer in this class, solid 100/200/500 frees as well
Miranda Heckman (#12 Nat, #2 CA) - Pleasanton Seahawks
Mid-Distance Free (200-500): - great 200 and 500, her 1650 is solid
I can't decide whether she'd swim 200/500/1650 or 500/1650/400 IM. Probably wouldn't be a relay player, and her times seem to be pretty much equal w/ Chenoa's.
(Miranda: 1:46.7/4:41.5/16:28.5/4:15.9 400 IM; Chenoa: 1:48.3/4:41.1/16:04.3/4:13.5)
I don't see Teri recruiting someone with the same times as Chenoa, but if she could drop more time (esp. in 200 free), it might add a lot more value to her.
Kelly Pash (#15 Nat, #2 IN) - Carmel Swim Club
IM: - slightly faster than Nelson in both IMs, but also has solid 50/100/200 frees
Cora Dupre (#27 Nat, #1 OH)
====
* Hoos *
Kate Douglass (#4 Nat, #1 NY) - Chelsea Piers Aquatic Club
Sprint Free (50-100): - great 50/100, some back/breast/IM as well
Madelyn Donohoe (#8 Nat, #1 VA) - The Fish
Distance Free (500-1650): - mostly just 500-1650, solid 200
Ella Nelson (#14 Nat, #1 TN) - Nashville Aquatic Club
IM: - also a sub 2:10 breaststroker, but better all-around IMer
Lexi Cuomo (#36 Nat, #4 VA)
====
TOP TIMES OF THE CLASS OF 2019:
50 free: Kate Douglass (#4 Nat, #1 NY): 22.04 **VERBALLY COMMITTED TO VIRGINIA**
100 free: Isabel Ivey (#1 Nat, #1 FL): 47.88 **VERBALLY COMMITTED TO CAL**
200 free: Isabel Ivey (#1 Nat, #1 FL): 1:43.64 **VERBALLY COMMITTED TO CAL**
500 free: Miranda Heckman (#15 Nat, #2 CA): 4:41.53 **VERBALLY COMMITTED TO TEXAS**
1000 free: Maddie Donohoe (#10 Nat, #1 VA): 9:41.46 **VERBALLY COMMITTED TO VIRGINIA**
1650 free: Maddie Donohoe (#10 Nat, #1 VA): 16:08.71 **VERBALLY COMMITTED TO VIRGINIA**
100 back: Katharine Berkoff (#11 Nat, #1 MT): 51.95
200 back: Katharine Berkoff (#11 Nat, #1 MT): 1:53.61
100 breast: Emily Weiss (#14 Nat, #2 IN): 58.77 **VERBALLY COMMITTED TO INDIANA**
200 breast: Zoie Hartman (#5 Nat, #1 CA): 2:08.60
100 fly: Coleen Gillilan (#7 Nat, #1 CO): 52.60
200 fly: Mary Smutny (#8 Nat, #2 FL): 1:56.58 **VERBALLY COMMITTED TO TEXAS**
200 IM: Isabel Ivey (#1 Nat, #1 FL): 1:55.77 **VERBALLY COMMITTED TO CAL**
400 IM: Kelly Pash (#6 Nat, #1 IN): 4:10.97 **VERBALLY COMMITTED TO TEXAS**
*times and rankings are as of Dec. 17, 2017*
BearDevil said:
Nice job, bear012. Thleen, Amy, and Katie scholly $s translates to more than three recruits, especially if two are in-state.
Losing both Thleen & Amy makes a high end backstroker a huge need.. Izzy's best value is as a sprinter, but her back times are solid which makes her the clear top priority. Maddie/Cassidy/Elise can hold down the fly legs.
swimmer19 said:
Chloe- She is the type of versatile swimmer that Teri is aiming for. Overall, she looks to be mostly a backstroker with PBs of 53.23/1:56.79, respectively, not to underestimate her breast/IM/sprint free capabilities.
Kate- The only part where I would see that we would need Kate D. is for sprint free and relay value. As you all know, she's gone almost sub-22 flat start, and with Amy being a big part of the 200 free relay, would be a nice substitute to that.
Miranda- Proficient distance swimmer extending in the ranges of 200-the mile. She holds times of 1:46.79/4:41.53/9:50.10/16:28.51 amongst her range of freestyle. Her backstroke (55.61/1:59.79) and 100 fly (55.88) are more than sufficient for a distance swimmer, and her 400 IM (4:15.91) is also very solid.
Kelly Pash: Boasts excellent free (22.9/48.5/1:45.2), 200 fly (1:57.9), and IM (1:58.0/4:10.9) times
Cora Dupre: Bearz012 and I have discussed her a bit ever since someone shared the Texas unofficial visit pic in the thread. We understand that Texas is on her radar, and probs the Furd (Ashley), Tennessee (Hannah Foster), and maybe some other sprint-inclined school that will cater to her needs, which is primarily sprint (22.51/49.53) and back/fly (54.83/55.92).