As July 1 has descended upon us, college coaches all across the nation are on their phones, communicating with the high school class of 2015 in hopes they can persuade them to be a part of their programs in the near future.
At collegeswimming.com, we have ranked the top 25 best recruiting classes from this past year by using the borda-count method. Who says you don't use math in everyday life? The way we did it is simple. We took the top 250 recruits on our database and matched them with their school. If you are in the top 50, you are considered a five star recruit. If you are ranked 51-100, you are a four star recruit, etc. We then determined who had the better class by taking the number of guys in each column and multiplying the sum by their star. (for example, if a school had two x five star recruits, then it would be simply two times five.) This was done in hopes of creating an accurate ranking system.
Now, these rankings really don't mean anything, because anything can happen to these athletes over the next four years. It doesn't matter how good you were in high school, you have to prove yourself in college. Athletes can get homesick, get injured, party too much, or may have already maxed out their potential in high school. Ultimately, these rankings don't mean anything. The athletes need to prove it themselves. But for now, enjoy this list, and look out for these guys and gals in the future.
16. Arizona 15
****Alexandra Martelle- Charlotte, North Carolina
****Cameron McHugh- Katy, Texas
****Laura Kurki- Vantaa, Finland
***Jenna Bauer- Santa Rosa, California
The Wildcats are losing a big class lead by multi-time sprint free national champion Margo Geer. With head coach Eric Hansen out the door as well, Arizona has started the Rick DeMont era with three recruits ranked in the top 100. Alexandra Martelle is a breaststroker from SwimMAC Carolina going 1:01 and 2:14. Cameron McHugh is an all-around specialist from Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club but specializes in the backstroke events going 55 in the 100 and 1:56 in the 200. She also has a strong 1:48 200 free from her sophomore year. Laura Kurki was a steal for Rick DeMont as the Finnish superstar swam at the 2012 European Short Course Championships. Her best long course times in the 50 and the 100 were 25 and 56 that she did in 2012. Arizona has not been known for producing many distance swimmers but Jenna Bauer could be the next one. She swam a 4:47 her junior year in the 500 as well as a 1:48 in the 200 free her sophomore year.
17. Yale 13
****Heidi VanderWel- Monroe, Washington
****Paulina Kaminski- Riverside, Illinois
**Cailley Silbert- Short Hills, New Jersey
**Amy Zhao- Guilford, Connecticut
*Danielle Liu- Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Out of the eight Ivy League schools, Yale graduates the least amount of conference points. Heidi VanderWel and Paulina Kaminski highlight this class as four-star recruits. Kaminski is a breaststroker going 1:02 and 2:13 in the 100 and 200 as well as a 2:03 200 IM. VanderWel is a backstroker from King Aquatics going 53 and 1:57 in the 100 and 200. Silbert is a distance swimmer to swim alongside world-ranked open water swimmer Eva Fabian going 9:41 in the 1000 and 16:24 in the 1650. Zhao is an in-state sprinter going 23 and 51 in the 50 and 100 and Danielle Liu is an IMer going 2:04 and 4:25. She also swims a 1:50 200 free. With this strong class, expect Yale to close the gap on Harvard and Princeton at the top of the Ivy League.
18. Harvard 13
*****Gabrielle Sims- Downers Grove, Illinois
*****Kristina Li- North Potomac, Maryland
***Geordie Enoch- Odenton, Maryland
The Crimson managed to ink two five star recruits with Gabrielle Sims and Kristina Li. Sims is a 53-secind 100 backstroker, 49 100 freestyler, and a 54 100 butterflyer. Li comes from Nation's Capital Swim Club where she was another accomplished sprinter going 50 in the 100 free, 53 in the 100 back, 1:55 in the 200 back, 55 in the 100 fly, and 1:50 in the 200 free. These two versatile swimmers are capable of qualifying for NCAAs as freshmen in numerous events and scoring huge points at the Ivy League. Geordie Enoch is another versatile swimmer from the Eagle Swim Team. The Crimson were Ivy League Champions in 2014, and have a tough freshman class coming in to extend that streak.
19. Louisville 12
***Hannah Magnuson- Louisville, Kentucky
***Lauren James- Adamstown, Maryland
***Rachel Grooms- Katy, Texas
**Marah Pugh- Macomb, Michigan
*Ashley LeClair- Louisville, Kentucky
With the Cardinals moving to the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference, Arthur Albierio has added a class that could be competitive immediately. Hannah Magnuson is a versatile swimmer in the 100 and 200 fly, 100 and 200 back, and 100 and 200 free and can be a factor in relays. Albierio is a well-known breaststroke coach, placing numerous breaststrokers as all-americans over the years and Lauren James could be the next one for the Cards. Rachel Grooms has been a breakout swimmer the past few years in the sprint events, and can have an immediate impact on relays. Pugh is a distance swimmer hailing from Club Wolverine and LeClair is a backstroker from the powerhouse Lakeside Seahawks. Overall, this class could be a huge asset when the Cardinals join the ACC this fall.
20. Ohio State 10
****Macie McNichols- Brecksville, Ohio
**Molly Washko- Strongsville, Ohio
**Alexandra Wittman- Clearwater Beach, Florida
*Cheyenne Meek- Port Clinton, Ohio
*Elizabeth Auckley- Bay Village, Ohio
The Buckeyes are losing eight total scorers from their Big Ten team. Macie McNichols is the headliner of this class as she adds sprint depth to the Buckeyes roster along with Molly Washko and Cheyenne Meek. Wittman is a pretty good distance swimmer from Florida that has the potential to score at Big Tens as a freshman. Auckley will add depth to the backstroke group at Ohio State. Another addition the Buckeyes have made is British IMer Zara Bailey. She is a 2:17 and 4:53 IMer long course which can make some noise in the Big Ten.
