By Andy Ross
With practices underway, Katie Ledecky and Stanford University lead the CollegeSwimming.com Top 25 Recruit Rankings for the Class of 2015. Though the World Record-holder won't be repping last year's 3rd-place NCAA finishers, the Cardinal could have positioned themselves as the team to beat in 2016.
The Pac-12 dominated this years rankings with four of the top five classes and six of eight conference teams in the Top 25. The ACC, bolstered by recent additions Louisville and Notre Dame, claimed three of the top ten spots while the SEC only had three.
Conference Pages: Pac-12 | SEC | B1G | ACC | Big XII | Ivy League
1 Stanford
| ***** | Katie Ledecky | Bethesda, MD | 1.00 |
| ***** | Leah Stevens | Louisville, KY | 1.00 |
| ***** | Ella Eastin | Irvine, CA | 1.00 |
| ***** | Kim Williams | Bellingham, WA | 1.15 |
| **** | Kaitlyn Abertoli | San Clemente, CA | 1.64 |
Having a world record holder doesn't hurt your recruiting class at all. They will have to deal without Ledecky for at least a year as she is deferring her enrollment to focus on training for the Olympic year. But a class led by Stevens, Eastin and Kim Williams is a class due for success. The Cardinal will definitely be a team to look for in the next few years.
2 California
| ***** | Abbey Weitzeil | Saugus, CA | 1.00 |
| ***** | Kathleen Baker | Winston-Salem, NC | 1.00 |
| ***** | Katie McLaughlin | Dana Point, CA | 1.02 |
| ***** | Amy Bilquist | Carmel, IN | 1.29 |
| **** | Jennifer Campbell | Palo Alto, CA | 2.15 |
| ** | Madi Hurst | Reno, NV | 4.29 |
The Golden Bears have a stacked coming in to help the defending national champions. They will have to wait at least a year though for Abbey Weitzeil as she is deffering her enrollment to focus on training for the Olympic year. Having two other national team members and another five star recruit doesn't hurt to have though coming onto the team.
3 Arizona
| ***** | Daniela Georges | Irvine, CA | 1.10 |
| ***** | Katrina Konopka | Greer, SC | 1.11 |
| ***** | Annie Ochitwa | Highlands Ranch, CO | 1.15 |
| ***** | Taylor Garcia | Zeeland, MI | 1.32 |
| **** | Ashley Sutherland | Bonney Lake, WA | 1.65 |
| **** | Samantha Senczszyn | Mequon, WI | 1.68 |
| **** | Mackenzie Rumrill | Salem, OR | 2.28 |
| *** | Karli Thuen | Vista, CA | 2.81 |
| *** | Sarah Shimomura | Santa Cruz, CA | 3.18 |
| * | Ali Powell | Goleta, CA | 4.43 |
The Wildcats have been struggling a little bit lately but with this huge and talented class coming in, expect a change of culture in Tucson. This huge class led by four five star recruits will be moving on up in the national rankings.
4 Harvard
| ***** | Sonia Wang | Upland, CA | 1.00 |
| **** | Brittany Usinger | Lafayette, CA | 1.98 |
| **** | Valerie Yoshimura | Gladwyne, PA | 2.07 |
| **** | Meagan Popp | Newport Beach, CA | 2.07 |
| *** | Holly Christensen | Whitehouse Station, NJ | 2.40 |
| ** | Claire Pinson | Gold River, CA | 3.80 |
A few west coast pickups propelled Harvard up to #4 in the rankings. Sonia Wang is the headliner here as a multiple event swimmer. She is as versatile as anyone in the class and could be a first year NCAA swimmer. Usinger is a butterfly specialist who could make some noise in the NCAA meet as well.
5 Southern California
| ***** | Kristen Vose | La Crescenta, CA | 1.25 |
| ***** | Sydney Lofquist | Cincinnati, OH | 1.31 |
| ***** | Riley Scott | Petaluma, CA | 1.35 |
| ***** | Madison Wright | Waterford, MI | 1.55 |
| **** | Victoria Toris | Scottsdale, AZ | 1.70 |
| **** | Hannah Leach | Missoula, MT | 1.73 |
| **** | Destiny Nelson | Prosper, TX | 2.08 |
| **** | Elizabeth Stinson | Nashville, TN | 2.09 |
| **** | Tamara Santoyo | Newhall, CA | 2.27 |
| *** | Lily Dubroff | Wilmington, DE | 2.30 |
| *** | Olivia Ontjes | Raleigh, NC | 2.58 |
| ** | Allie Wooden | Cincinnati, OH | 3.84 |
| Katie Christy | Atlanta, GA | 5.32 |
The Trojans have the biggest class out of everybody coming in. Will they be enough to pull them to national supremacy? Only time will tell.
6 Louisville
| ***** | Sophie Cattermole | Englewood, FL | 1.10 |
| ***** | Mallory Comerford | Kalamazoo, MI | 1.30 |
| **** | Grace Long | Columbus, OH | 1.68 |
| *** | Clara Baggett | Evansville, IN | 2.91 |
| *** | Manuela Sampaio | Elizabethtown, KY | 3.28 |
| ** | Rachel Bradford | Boca Raton, FL | 3.8 |
| Emily Moser | Fishers, IN | 5.89 | |
| Caitlin Ahern | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 13.93 | |
| Erin Duffey | Elizabethtown, KY |
The Cards have been a team on the rise the last few years with a sixth place finish at this year's NCAAs. With a class lead by two five stars, they could keep moving on up in the national rankings.
7 Virginia
| ***** | Megan Moroney | Deerfield Beach, FL | 1.02 |
| ***** | Eryn Eddy | Loveland, CO | 1.57 |
| ***** | Kasey Schmidt | Saint Augustine, FL | 1.62 |
| **** | Vivian Tafuto | Hummelstown, PA | 2.05 |
| ** | Sara Stranick | Charlotte, NC | 4.28 |
| * | Peyton Baldwin | Newport News, VA | 4.83 |
| Julia Durmer | Atlanta, GA | 6.33 | |
| Rachel Politi | Columbus, OH | 10.39 |
The Hoos had a huge season with a fifth place finish at NCAAs. Three more five star recruits will certainly help them crack into the top four. Megan Moroney, Eryn Eddy and Kasey Schmidt will all help on the freestyle relays for Virginia in the future.
8 Texas
| ***** | Quinn Carrozza | Austin, TX | 1.00 |
| ***** | Nora McCullagh | Charlotte, NC | 1.00 |
| ***** | Remedy Rule | Crozet, VA | 1.26 |
| ***** | Brooke Hansen | Loveland, CO | 1.53 |
| **** | Olivia Anderson | Edina, MN | 1.86 |
| * | Anelise Diener | San Antonio, TX | 4.39 |
| * | Alyssa Cook | Olympia, WA | 4.78 |
| Joanna Evans | Freeport, BAH | 5.4 |
The Texas women have been overshadowed by their male counterparts but with this class, they should definitely move up in the national rankings. Quinn Carrozza is a townie who will definitely help in the freestyle events for the Longhorns. Nora McCullagh is a very versatile swimmer who could be a good training partner for rising junior Madisyn Cox. Rule, Hansen, and Anderson will all add depth to the Longhorns in the next few years. Look out for Texas in the next few years with this dangerous class.
9 Notre Dame
| **** | Nicole Smith | Munster, IN | 1.77 |
| **** | Kyra Sarazen | North Hampton, NH | 2.20 |
| *** | Ellen Burdusco | Bradenton, FL | 2.74 |
| *** | Alice Treuth | Salisbury, MD | 2.86 |
| *** | Meaghan O'Donnell | Wayne, NJ | 2.86 |
| *** | Sofia Revilak | San Luis Potosi, MEX | 3.32 |
| ** | Ella Moynihan | Denver, CO | 3.79 |
| Paige Kaplan | Bellmore, NY | 6.36 |
The Fighting Irish finished their first year in the ACC and are looking good for the future with this new class. The only in-state signee is Nicole Smith from Munster. She is a versatile IMer and should contribute for the Irish right away. The other four star recruit is Kyra Sarazen from New Hampshire. She is a good freestyler and backstroker and also will be a big help for the Irish this season.
10 Texas A&M
| ***** | Sydney Pickrem | Oldsmar, FL | 1.11 |
| **** | Lexie Lupton | Kingwood, TX | 1.72 |
| **** | Raena Eldridge | Rockwall, TX | 2.23 |
| **** | Alexandra Buscher | Houston, TX | 2.26 |
| *** | Claire Rasmus | Jacksonville, FL | 2.76 |
| *** | Natasha Gvakharia | Mexico City, MEX | 2.78 |
| *** | Shayne Gregson | Cypress, TX | 2.86 |
| Tiffany Futscher | Irving, TX | 7.84 |
The biggest pickup for Steve Bultmann's crew is Canadian Sydney Pickrem. She was a finalist in the 200 IM at the recent world championships in Kazan. She will really bolster A&M's team after they had the number 1 recruiting class a year ago.
11 Auburn
| ***** | Bailey Nero | Fort Collins, CO | 1.24 |
| ***** | Aly Tetzloff | Crown Point, IN | 1.28 |
| ***** | Shannon McKernan | Landsdale, PA | 1.36 |
| **** | Erin Falconer | Mundelein, IL | 2.01 |
| *** | Haley Black | Western Kentucky | 2.67 |
| ** | Michelle Turek | Clearwater, FL | 3.77 |
Three five star recruits lead the way for Brett Hawke and the Tigers. Tetzloff and Nero are butterflyers who are big additions for Auburn. Shannon McKernan is a mid-distance freestyler and these three will be the nucleus for Auburn moving forward.
12 UCLA
| ***** | Emma Schanz | Colville, WA | 1.04 |
| ***** | Mary Pelton | Baltimore, MD | 1.16 |
| ***** | Caroline McTaggart | Potomac, MD | 1.30 |
| *** | Sandra Soe | San Jose, CA | 2.68 |
| *** | Alex Hubel | Boulder City, NV | 2.74 |
| Elena Escalas | Nashville, TN | 5.91 | |
| Sabrina Kwok | Hong Kong |
UCLA has been on the bottom half of the Pac-12 for a long time and with three five star recruits stepping on to campus, it looks like that won't last too much longer. Emma Schanz is a very versatile swimmer from Washington and she should contribute for the Bruins right away at the national level. Two east coast swimmers will also be moving into campus in Mary Pelton and Caroline McTaggart. Pelton will be joining her sister Elizabeth in the Pac-12 as an accomplished sprinter. McTaggart is another sprinter who will be looking to make waves in LA this year.
13 Florida
| ***** | Hannah Burns | Gainesville, FL | 1.24 |
| ***** | Sophia Batchelor | California | 1.36 |
| **** | Sydney Sell | Frankfort, KY | 1.77 |
| **** | Mollie Pulte | Troy, MI | 2.22 |
| *** | Georgia Marris | New Zealand | 3.30 |
| ** | Alexandria Donahue | Tampa, FL | 3.93 |
| * | Emma Spilman | Belleair, FL | 4.37 |
| Tyla Martin | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 7.88 |
The Gators have had a rough last few years but this class will be looking to turn that around in Gainesville with townie Hannah Burns leading the way. Burns is a solid distance swimmer and could thrive under Gregg Troy's distance-based program.
14 Minnesota
| ***** | Erin Emery | Las Vegas, NV | 1.02 |
| ***** | Zoe Avestruz | Chaska, MN | 1.14 |
| ***** | Kaia Grobe | Victoria, MN | 1.63 |
| *** | Rachel Munson | Shorewood, WI | 2.33 |
| Margaret Werba | Oshkosh, WI | 5.78 | |
| Danielle Bergeson | Bismarck, ND | 5.80 | |
| Katelyn Sauder | Bloomington, IL | 5.93 | |
| Chantal Nack | Mankato, MN | 6.37 | |
| Kaela Marcus | Placerville, CA | 8.92 | |
| Nicole Ciavarella | Valley Cottage, NY | 8.93 | |
| Olivia Johnston | Rosemount, MN | 15.43 | |
| Lauren Lalumiere | Oakville, CAN |
The four-time defending B1G champions keep getting stronger and stronger three five star recruits coming into Minneapolis. Erin Emery will be a solid contributor in the distance events while Zoe Avestruz and Kaia Grobe are solid sprinters.
15 Duke
| ***** | Lexy Aitchison | Clearwater, FL | 1.10 |
| ***** | Maddie Hess | Brandon, FL | 1.11 |
| **** | Mickayla Hinkle | Woodbury, MN | 2.13 |
| *** | Anna Quinn | UCLA | 3.30 |
| *** | Alyssa Arwood | Asheville, NC | 3.34 |
| * | Lindsey Trematerra | Gainesville, FL | 4.35 |
| * | Brittany Kahn | Carlsbad, CA | 4.80 |
| Susan Hynes | Chesapeake, VA | 7.37 |
You can see a tide rising here. Duke is one of the most favorited schools among recruits (more about that next week). Right now though, a couple sunshine state pickups will help Duke immediately. They are a team on the rise with two freshmen already at the NCAA level. They are a team to watch in the next few years.
16 Michigan
| ***** | Becca Postoll | Charlotte, NC | 1.23 |
| **** | Siobhan Haughey | Hong Kong | 1.95 |
| *** | Jamie Yeung | Hong Kong | 2.87 |
| *** | Katherine Duggan | Windermere, FL | 3.18 |
| ** | Astrid Swensen | Beverly, MA | 3.86 |
| ** | Catie DeLoof | Grosse Pointe, MI | 4.30 |
A year after getting one of the best classes in Michigan history, Mike Bottom is at it again with another five star recruit. Rebecca Postoll is a huge pickup for the Wolverines as she is a solid backstroker and freestyler. Two Hong Kong pickups were also big for the recruiting class with Haughey and Yeung coming from across the Pacific. Haughey was the gold medalist at the 2013 World Juniors in the 100 free and Yeung finished third at the Youth Asian Games in the 100 and 200 breast.
17 Yale
| ***** | Isabella Hindley | London, GBR | 1.51 |
| **** | Heidi Katter | Palo Alto, CA | 2.23 |
| *** | Jacquelyn Du | Marshall Township, PA | 2.35 |
| ** | Sophie Pilkinton | Nashville, TN | 3.78 |
| ** | Cassidy Richards | Fredericton, CAN | 3.86 |
| * | Carrie Heilbrun | Fairfax Station, VA | 4.82 |
| Elizabeth Felix | Hilton Head, SC | 7.88 |
The Ivy League is steadily improving with recruiting classes like these. Who says that the Ivy League can't recruit? Hindley is a huge international pickup for the Bulldogs as a sprinter and backstroker.
18 Indiana
| ***** | Miranda Tucker | Plymouth, MI | 1.02 |
| ***** | Lilly King | Evansville, IN | 1.41 |
| ** | Christine Jensen | Newburgh, IN | 3.38 |
| * | Shelly Drozda | Thornton, CO | 4.77 |
| Hannah Sakaluk | Normal, IL | 6.85 | |
| Allison Cunningham | Munster, IN | 7.90 | |
| Mackenzie Atencio | Arvada, CO | 13.91 | |
| Laura Morley | Bahamas |
Ray Looze has signed two of the best breaststrokers in high school history. Lilly King recently won silver at the World University Games and Miranda Tucker has been sub-1:00 in the 100. That is huge for the Hoosiers who were lacking in breaststroke this past season. But Indiana still has some work to do to catch four-time Big Ten Champs in Minnesota.
19 Wisconsin
| **** | Iris Brand | Pleasanton, CA | 1.72 |
| **** | Emily Kosten | Lansdale, PA | 1.84 |
| **** | Ariana Saghafi | Albany, CA | 2.37 |
| *** | Emmy Sehmann | Bowling Green, OH | 3.29 |
| * | Grace Tierney | Wilmette, IL | 4.79 |
| Maddi Tew | New Berlin, WI | 5.83 | |
| Elizabeth Brown | Iowa City, IA | 11.94 |
The Badgers had a phenomenal Big Ten Championships in 2015 winning four of the five relays. Although they had a large senior class, the good news for the Badgers is that they have a very good class coming in. Iris Brand is a versatile sprinter who highlights the class. Kosten and Saghafi are also four-star recruits along with Brand and they will be pushing the Badgers to break the top three at the Big Ten Championships next season.
20 Purdue
| **** | Hanna House | Duke | |
| **** | Breanna Robinson | North Webster, IN | 1.70 |
| **** | Haley Rowley | Lafayette, CO | 2.02 |
| **** | Taite Kitchel | Zionsville, IN | 2.20 |
| ** | Alex Clarke | Carmel, IN | 3.81 |
| Cady Farlow | Berne, IN | 6.42 | |
| Emily Meckstroth | Granger, IN | 6.84 | |
| Roxy Griffore | Milford, MI | 6.93 | |
| Danielle Auckley | Lafayette, IN | 8.42 | |
| Maddie Barta | Hartland, WI | 9.91 | |
| Jacklyn Smailis | Highland, IN | 11.45 |
The Boilermakers lost a big class this past season but they are adding a very impressive class to replace the departing one. Most of the class comes from the Midwest with a lot of in-state talent. John Klinge and the Boilers have a young team brewing in West Lafayette and they will be ones to watch at the Big Ten Championships next season.
21 Tennessee
| ***** | Kira Touissant | Florida Gulf Coast | |
| ***** | Emily Allen | Charlotte, NC | 1.37 |
| ***** | Maddy Banic | Midlothian, VA | 1.51 |
| ** | Christina Paspalas | Closter, NJ | 3.83 |
| ** | Hannah Holman | Phoenix, AZ | 4.24 |
| Carrie Johnson | Old Hickory, TN | 5.36 | |
| Leslie Cole | Dumfries, VA | 7.89 | |
| Meg Wiggins | Fort Mill, SC | 11.42 |
Two five-star recruits certainly helps but the biggest pick up that the Vols got this offseason was Dutch backstroke transfer Kira Toussaint. Emily Allen and Maddy Banic were good pick-ups for Tennessee also.
22 NC State
| ***** | Courtney Caldwell | Lawrence, KS | 1.58 |
| *** | Christine Kerr | Cary, NC | 3.30 |
| ** | Anna Jahns | Lilburn, GA | 3.72 |
| ** | Lindsay Morrow | Evergreen, CO | 4.29 |
| Morgan Carr | Charleston, WV | 5.81 | |
| Allie Fogleman | Moorpark, CA | 7.86 | |
| Emmie Barnhill | Greenville, NC | 8.39 | |
| Rozhina McClanahan | Charlotte, NC | 16.43 | |
| Elizabeth Underkoffler | Raleigh, NC | 27.92 |
The Wolfpack were fifth at the 2015 ACCs but with this new crop of ladies, they could make some noise in the rapidly improving ACC. Courtney Caldwell is the headliner here as a good Midwestern sprinter. With the tutelage of Braden Holloway and the defending ACC champions in the 200 and 400 free relay, she should really improve as a sprinter.
23 Florida State
| *** | Summer Finke | Clearwater, FL | 2.72 |
| *** | Caroline Nava | Sea Ranch Lakes, FL | 2.86 |
| *** | Meg Brown | Chelmsford, MA | 3.22 |
| * | Leila Johnston | Bar Harbor, ME | 4.35 |
| * | Natalie Purnell | Manassas, VA | 4.37 |
| Gracie Redding | Ocoee, FL | 5.31 | |
| Fabiana Ingram | Wellington, FL | 8.91 | |
| Lauren Peavy | Tallahassee, FL | 18.42 |
The 'Noles have a pretty good class coming in with three three-star recruits on board. They will be looking to improve on their seventh place finish at ACCs.
24 North Carolina
| *** | Kelsey Vetalice | Spring, TX | 2.58 |
| *** | Kate Boyer | Dallas, TX | 2.89 |
| *** | Zhada Fields | Toledo, OH | 3.37 |
| * | Robyn Dryer | Springfield, VA | 4.76 |
| Andi Mack | Ashburn, VA | 5.84 |
The Heels were close to dethroning Virginia atop the ACC standings this year. They have a small freshmen class but a good one coming in. They will be looking to dethrone the Hoos in 2016 after only three graduating seniors left the program.
25 Utah
| **** | Gillian St. John | Albuquerque, NM | 1.80 |
| ** | Genevieve Robertson | Guelph, CAN | 3.41 |
| ** | Julienne Tadena | Orangevale, CA | 3.82 |
| ** | Jordan Anderson | Granite Bay, CA | 4.30 |
| Darby Wayner | Savannah, GA | 5.34 | |
| Alex Stein | Maple Valley, WA | 18.42 |
Gillian St. John was a steal for the Utes as she will provide valuable sprint depth. The Utes have been gradually improving over the years and will continue to do so with this class.
