Finally, right here we’re: we’ve reached the highest 4 males’s NCAA Division I recruiting courses for the category of 2024. Two robust switch courses are exerting their affect and pushing their applications up the standings, however these colleges even have stable crews of freshmen beginning this fall too.
In case you missed any of our earlier rankings, you possibly can test them out beneath.
See Additionally:
First, some vital notes:
- The rankings listed are based mostly on our Class of 2024 Re-Rank. “HM” refers to our honorable mentions and “BOTR” refers to our Better of the Relaxation part for top-tier recruits.
- Like most of our rankings, these placements are subjective. We base our workforce ranks on a number of elements: prospects’ incoming occasions are by far the primary issue, however we additionally take into account potential upside within the class, class dimension, relay affect, and workforce wants. Better weight is positioned on recognized success briefly course yards, so international swimmers are barely devalued based mostly on the problem in changing lengthy course occasions to brief course manufacturing.
- Transfers are included, although they’re weighed lower than recruits who arrive with 4 seasons of eligibility.
- For the complete record of all verbally dedicated athletes, click on right here. An enormous thanks to SwimSwam’s personal Anne Lepesant for compiling that index – with out it, rankings like these could be far much less complete.
- Some groups had not launched a finalized 2024-25 workforce roster on the time these articles had been printed, which means it’s doable we missed some names. Tell us within the feedback beneath.
#4 Virginia Cavaliers
- High-Tier additions:#6 Spencer Nicholas (TN – fly/again/dash free), #8 David King (VA – again/free/IM), BOTR Dillon Wright (NC – free/IM)
- “The Relaxation”: Harry Belcher (VA – IM/free), Mitch Brown (MI – diving), Liam Miller (VA – diving), Nick Wanzer (VA – diving)
That is the smallest recruiting class we’ve bought in our high 4, and Virginia’s star-studded recruiting class remains to be a yr away from setting foot on campus, however this group kickstarts the Cavaliers’ momentum. Including Spencer Nicholas and David King, two high 10 recruits, goes a good distance towards filling within the gaps and serving to the Cavaliers reverse course after dropping to seventeenth at 2024 NCAAs.
Nicholas earned his #6 rating by being an all-around robust sprinter. He holds lifetime bests of 19.66/43.37 within the 50/100 freestyle, which makes his arrival on campus well timed as Virginia graduated their high 50 freestylers from final season, Matt Brownstead and August Lamb. However what makes him stand out is his 45.08 100 butterfly, which is the very best in his class and .06 seconds outdoors of NCAA scoring vary in an occasion Virginia earned zero factors in final season. It additionally doubtless offers the workforce a 44-point fly leg on their 400 medley relay, which they’ve been with out the previous couple of seasons. Nicholas’ lifetime bests make him a key piece for Virginia in his particular person and relay occasions.
King brings one other “finest at school” occasion to the Virginia roster with a 1:40.52 200 backstroke, an NCAA qualification-worthy time. That might’ve topped the 2023-24 roster within the occasion, although Jack Aikins returns to the NCAA roster with a 1:39.26 private finest. Along with his 46.76/1:40.52 backstroke bests King additionally brings distance freestyle prowess to the workforce with 4:17.02/15:02.76 bests within the 500/1650 free, Each of these occasions would’ve been the quickest on final yr’s roster, which means that like Nicholas, King immediately strengthens disciplines the place UVA doesn’t have loads of depth. The workforce additionally will get assist in distance freestyle with the arrival of Sandpipers’ Dillon Wright. He owns lifetime bests of 4:21.94/15:06.66 within the 500/1650 freestyle and three:48.09 within the 400 IM, all of which might’ve scored on the 2024 ACCs.
Harry Belcher provides his energy within the freestyle and IM teams, rounding out the incoming swimming recruits. Then, they’ve added three new divers to the boys’s roster. Final March, Lizzy Kaye earned the college’s first diving All-American and HM All-American honors for the ladies’s workforce. It appears Virginia is now trying to replicate that success with their males—one other tactic to assist them climb up the nationwide rankings forward of their 2025 recruiting class. As soon as they arrive on campus, the eye will flip in the direction of not simply climbing the NCAA standings however being on the high.
#3 Harvard Crimson
Harvard’s gained the Males’s Ivy League championship seven straight occasions and whilst the remainder of the Ivy League’s rosters get deeper, so does Harvard’s. And never simply compared to the remainder of the Ivy League, the Crimson have introduced in among the best first-year courses in the complete division.
Olympic 200 backstroke semifinalist Apostolos Siskos joins the backstroke group (1:55.42 PB); he’s by no means swum yards however has seen large enhancements this yr within the massive pool, making him an much more enticing recruit for the Crimson than he was when he first dedicated. They’ve introduced in #4 Adriano Arioti, a flexible backstroke/butterfly/IM swimmer went undefeated throughout his senior highschool season. He would have been high of the Harvard roster in two occasions final season: 200 backstroke (1:40.55) and 400 IM (3:49.49). He would’ve ranked 2nd within the 200 IM (1:43.58) and third in each the 100 again (46.97) and 200 fly (1:42.94). Arioti a
#16 Joshua Chen gained gold on the 2023 World Junior Championship and has proven he may carry out in yards. He owns lifetime bests of 52.59/1:53.71 within the breaststroke occasions, which might’ve made him the highest Harvard performer in each occasions final season.
Chen and BOTR Evan Crowley are the 2 massive specialists on this class as Arioti, Siskos, HM Marre Gattnar, Mert Iravul, Eric Lee, and Richard Poplawski can all cross into a number of disciplines. Gattnar, who took a niche yr in the course of the 2023-24 season, arrives on campus with a lifetime finest 19.53 50 freestyle, which might’ve gained the 2024 Ivy League Championship forward of Harvard’s personal Sonny Wang, giving the Crimson a stable 1-2 sprinting punch. He may put up 43.06 within the 100 free, 1:35.60 within the 200 free, 46.95 within the 100 again, and 47.08 within the 100 fly. Then there’s Crowley, who’s bringing bests of 19.8/43.2 to the dash group.
Turkey’s Aykut Mert Iravul provides velocity to the fly and IM teams. In the meantime, membership teammates Eric Lee and Richard Poplawski swim IM and may department out into 200s of stroke, with Lee extra centered on backstroke and Poplawski on butterfly.
It’s been a few seasons since we’ve seen Harvard make an actual affect on the nationwide stage however with this class arriving in Cambridge, the day they’re again doing simply that may come sooner slightly than later.
#2 Indiana Hoosiers
The transfers are the large story in Bloomington, because the Hoosiers have amassed one of many strongest switch crews that we’ve seen. U.S. Olympian Matt King is on campus at Indiana after stops at Alabama, Virginia, and an Olympic redshirt season. He’s a drop-dead sprinter with 18.96/41.34 bests, that might’ve scored at 2024 NCAAs. King hasn’t raced at NCAAs since 2022, the place he scored 17 factors however as soon as once more specializing in brief course yards, he’ll be an asset to Indiana’s relays in addition to a person level scorer. Owen McDonald scored 46 factors at 2024 NCAAs, the third-most on the ASU roster. He’s made three ‘A’ finals on the meet and swam lifetime bests in every occasion (44.25 100 again/1:36.63 200 again/1:39.23 200 IM). He helps offset the lack of three-time NCAA champion Brendan Burns within the backstrokes and brings new velocity to Indiana’s IM crew as their quickest 200 IMer was tenth final yr, whereas McDonald was second.
However we’re not executed with their transfers, as McDonald’s Solar Satan teammate Zalan Sarkany joins the roster. Sarkany, the 2024 NCAA champion within the 1650 free, was a late addition to the squad. Indiana didn’t rating within the occasion final yr, so though it’s far and away his finest occasion, he’s nonetheless including factors for Indiana, which was solely two factors out of third place final season. Lastly, mid-major standout Brian Benzing transferred to Indiana from Towson for his fifth yr of eligibility. After ending third within the 100 breast final season, Benzing brings velocity to an already deep breaststroke core —a self-discipline the place Indiana traditionally shines.
Outdoors of their spectacular switch class, their 2024-25 additions are highlighted by Paris Olympics semifinals Miroslav Knedla. Knedla completed twelfth within the 100 backstroke in Paris, about two-tenths off his 53.28 finest. He’s new to yards swimming, however like McDonald, he’ll shore up a backstroke group that’s graduated their lone 100 backstroke NCAA scorer. They’ve added 10x Guyanese nationwide file holder Raekwon Noel, now based mostly out of New Jersey, who brings depth to the space free and 200 fly/again teams.
Domestically, it is a quieter recruiting class as they solely snagged one swimmer from our re-ranks, #20 Cooper McDonald, Owen’s youthful brother. Whereas his brother is an IM/backstroke specialist, the youthful McDonald is concentrated on distance freestyle (1:34.82/4:17.99/15:14.31). Saadeddin Saadeddin is one other first-year distance specialist (4:24.81/15:18.62), giving the Hoosiers much more depth within the self-discipline. Alexei Avakov helps spherical out the breaststroke group, Wilson Tuttle brings extra free/IM velocity, and Ian Everett brings his abilities to the dash group.
It is a smaller freshman recruiting class and whereas proficient, they doubtless wouldn’t rank so excessive if it weren’t for the star energy they bring about in from their transfers. However that energy is simply too onerous to disregard. Along with their undergraduates, Indiana has a core of returning fifth-years that, mixed with these transfers, make it clear that it is a workforce constructed to win now.
#1 Texas Longhorns
- High-Tier additions: #2 Cooper Lucas (TX – free/fly/IM), #11 Kyle Peck (VA – free/again), HM Landon D’Ariano (PA – fly/IM), BOTR Garrett Gould (NJ – free/again/fly), BOTR Jeremy Kelly (TX – free/IM), Hubert Kos (Arizona State switch – again/IM), Aaron Shackell (Cal switch – free), Rex Maurer (Stanford switch – again/free/IM), Michael Cotter (NC State switch – free/IM), Ben Sampson (Colorado Mesa switch – again/IM)
- “The Relaxation”: Max Hatcher (TX – free), Tyler Quarterman (ID – again/IM), Luke Stibrich (TX – IM), Luke Forester (MA – diving), Jacob Welsh (CA – diving)
Indiana’s switch class is rivaled solely by Texas’ switch contingent. Reigning Olympic 200 again champion Hubert Kos, U.S. Paris Olympian Aaron Shackell, 2023’s high recruit Rex Maurer, multi-time DII champion Ben Sampson, and 2022 #3 recruit Michael Cotter arrive on the Forty Acres and supply an instantaneous jolt to the Texas revitalization effort. Particular person NCAA ‘A’ ultimate potential in a number of occasions and relay splits that may convey Texas again to nationwide relevancy in additional than the 800 freestyle relay, this group brings a wealth of expertise to Austin.
There’s actually an argument available about which switch class will make extra of an affect for his or her program, Indiana or Texas, however we’ve gone with Texas. By our guidelines, remaining eligibility is a significant consideration in these rankings and the Texas transfers have a better remaining common eligibility than the Hoosier crew. That’s primarily due to the additions of Maurer and Shackell and their arrival offers Texas the primary, second, fifth, and sixth-ranked recruits from the highschool class of 2023.
They’ve gained all that energy and we haven’t even gotten to their first years but. That a part of their recruiting class can be deep. They’ve added in-state recruit #2 Cooper Lucas, a Swiss military knife swimmer with the quickest 400 IM time in his highschool class with an NCAA-scoring worthy 3:41.15. Lucas’ talent in IM, mid-distance free, and butterfly makes him look like the best recruit to take large strides underneath Bob Bowman. #11 Kyle Peck is simply off incomes an NCAA invite with 45.68/1:42.71 bests within the 100/200 backstroke and 19.74/43.66 within the 50/100 freestyle.
The Longhorns additionally added HM Landon D’Ariano (1:45.05 200 fly/3:44.36 400 IM), BOTR Garrett Gould (19.92 50 free/43.55 100 free), BOTR Jeremy Kelly (20.02 50 free/43.67 100 free), Max Hatcher (4:21.55 500 free/15:04.80 1650 free), Tyler Quarterman (1:44.73 200 again), and Luke Stibrich (4:24.34 500 free/3:47.68 400 IM).
The Bowman period in Texas is starting this season and there’s sufficient expertise left on the roster from final season that, mixed with the inflow of skilled transfers coming to Austin, the freshmen aren’t able the place they should make a direct affect—there are solely so many championship roster spots, in spite of everything. A few of them may progress sufficient this season that it’s not possible to depart them residence when SECs and NCAAs come round. However it is a deep recruiting class—transfers and freshmen—ready so as to add worth proper now and make an affect for the following few seasons, not simply this one.
