With 2019 recruits showing up in September, 2020 recruiting mostly complete, and with Swimswam having already posted their early rankings for this class (current high school rising juniors) I thought I would start a discussion about this recruit cycle.
A couple of opening observations:
1) The eastern seaboard states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia) have multiple top tier prospects, and relatively few in Texas, Florida and California. This is not particularly bad news for Cal as we have had notable recent success in luring top tier studs (Andrew Seliskar, Mike Thomas, Mike Jensen, Reece Whitley) to Cal. A common thread in their successful recruitment is families that place a high value on education. There are also several blue chip guys in the Heartland, where Texas (and other top programs) have more success.
2) Texas and Cal are head and shoulders ahead of the competition. Programs like Michigan, NC State, USC, Florida, Indiana have had fine years but have not been able to attain consistency. This won't change in the next couple of years.
3) But, Eddie Reese will be 78 in July 2019. Which means he will be 84 years old when the class 21 recruits are tapering for the final NCAAs in March 2025. Coaching a top tier D1 program takes a lot of energy. So, just what is Reese telling this recruiting class?
4) Swimswam does not list international guys as does Collegeswimming, and I don't have any insight as to potential non-US targets. But I do know that our staff highly values international athletes for athletic talent as well as intangibles they bring to the program. I think we will continue to see international guys on the roster, as long as they can live with relatively small amounts of financial aid.
5) The MO of the staff is to primarily focus on a handful (8-10) of top recruits with the times and grades to make an impact. Obviously if a great student and good swimmer is willing to walk-on, exceptions are made.
So, a couple of names we should look out for to see if we can get them on campus for official visits:
No.1 on my personal wish list is Anthony Grimm from Fairfax, VA., the same general area as Andrew Seliskar. Grimm currently holds the best time in the recruiting class in the 100 back, 100 breast and 50 free.
Another guy who I believe is on the radar is Aiden Hayes from Norman, OK, the best flyer in the class. I am hoping Sooner antipathy towards longhorns works in our favor.
Matthew Fallon from Warren, NJ is a 400 IM stud who also shows potential in the 200 breast.
Kamal Muhammad from Atlanta, GA is an interesting sprint prospect. His father is Sabir Muhammed who starred as a flyer and freestyler at Stanford in the 90s.
A local guy who has been noticed is local breaststroke stud Jacob Soderlund who attends Monte Vista High in Danville. Jacob finished 2nd in the 100 breast at the 2019 CIF championships this past May.
Happy to hear from anyone else.
A couple of opening observations:
1) The eastern seaboard states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia) have multiple top tier prospects, and relatively few in Texas, Florida and California. This is not particularly bad news for Cal as we have had notable recent success in luring top tier studs (Andrew Seliskar, Mike Thomas, Mike Jensen, Reece Whitley) to Cal. A common thread in their successful recruitment is families that place a high value on education. There are also several blue chip guys in the Heartland, where Texas (and other top programs) have more success.
2) Texas and Cal are head and shoulders ahead of the competition. Programs like Michigan, NC State, USC, Florida, Indiana have had fine years but have not been able to attain consistency. This won't change in the next couple of years.
3) But, Eddie Reese will be 78 in July 2019. Which means he will be 84 years old when the class 21 recruits are tapering for the final NCAAs in March 2025. Coaching a top tier D1 program takes a lot of energy. So, just what is Reese telling this recruiting class?
4) Swimswam does not list international guys as does Collegeswimming, and I don't have any insight as to potential non-US targets. But I do know that our staff highly values international athletes for athletic talent as well as intangibles they bring to the program. I think we will continue to see international guys on the roster, as long as they can live with relatively small amounts of financial aid.
5) The MO of the staff is to primarily focus on a handful (8-10) of top recruits with the times and grades to make an impact. Obviously if a great student and good swimmer is willing to walk-on, exceptions are made.
So, a couple of names we should look out for to see if we can get them on campus for official visits:
No.1 on my personal wish list is Anthony Grimm from Fairfax, VA., the same general area as Andrew Seliskar. Grimm currently holds the best time in the recruiting class in the 100 back, 100 breast and 50 free.
Another guy who I believe is on the radar is Aiden Hayes from Norman, OK, the best flyer in the class. I am hoping Sooner antipathy towards longhorns works in our favor.
Matthew Fallon from Warren, NJ is a 400 IM stud who also shows potential in the 200 breast.
Kamal Muhammad from Atlanta, GA is an interesting sprint prospect. His father is Sabir Muhammed who starred as a flyer and freestyler at Stanford in the 90s.
A local guy who has been noticed is local breaststroke stud Jacob Soderlund who attends Monte Vista High in Danville. Jacob finished 2nd in the 100 breast at the 2019 CIF championships this past May.
Happy to hear from anyone else.
