TOP HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITS Swimming World takes a look at the swimmers it considers to be the 10 best high school recruits—both male and female—from the Class of 2021 and where they’ll be attending college in the fall. (The number following each school’s name indicates this year’s NCAA finish.) BY CHANDLER BRANDES
GIRLS VIRGINIA (#1) For what the Class of 2021 lacks in breaststroke capabilities, it sure makes up for it in sprint freestyle, with none other than Gretchen Walsh leading the charge! Based on her best times, she could have scored 46 individual points at this season’s NCAA Championships last March—and we could write a novel on the relay value she brings. While Virginia may only have one recruit on this list, there is no shortage of talent as the program is on pace to have another standout season after clinching its first-ever NCAA title in 2021. The rise of the Cavaliers’ program proved there is something special going on in Charlottesville, and Walsh will aid in their continued prominence on the national stage. NC STATE (#2) If you have not heard of Grace Sheble, make sure to listen up. Last year’s national runner-up North Carolina State landed a big one in Sheble as the Wolfpack will aim to fight for that No. 1 spot in the future. Despite modest improvements as of late, the best 400 IMer and 200 butterflyer in this year’s class is already a threat at both the conference and national stage. Better yet, she is as versatile as any elite-level 400 IMer is, with a solid 200 freestyle that just might find a spot on a Wolfpack relay one day. MICHIGAN (#6) Lindsay Flynn is a straight-forward sprinter who can also piece together a decent 100 butterfly, but perhaps that is just what Michigan needs as Maggie MacNeil enters her senior season. Although Flynn lacks versatility compared to the other sprint freestylers in her class, what she does, she does well—really, really well. Her speed already puts her in position to score at the NCAA Championships, and she has the very real potential to be an immediate weapon on four of the Wolverines’ relays right from the get-go. GEORGIA (#8) As previously stated, this Class of 2021 does not lack freestyle depth, and Rachel Stege brings that—and more—to the Bulldogs. She has everything from fast-twitch 100-200 speed to her true speciality: the distance events. Stege has seen minimal improvements in the past few seasons, but her top times still would have made her a point contributor at NCAAs. She also has some stellar long course times, and there is nothing a little Georgia magic cannot do to carry that trajectory over to short course. STANFORD (#9) It is a tossup of who holds the No. 1 spot in this class between Walsh and Torri Huske. Huske would have scored a whopping 48 points at last year’s NCAA Championships, two more than Walsh, and that is not including the relay value she has. Butterfly, freestyle, backstroke, IM—you name it, Huske can swim it and excel at it. She first turned heads in 2019 as a sophomore with a national high school record, and she shows no indication of slowing down. Now 18
AUGUST 2021
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>> Gretchen Walsh, Virginia a member of the U.S. Olympic team, Huske will soon become a household name—if she hasn’t already. Truthfully, there is not much Samantha Tadder does not have in her repertoire. She has freestyle range, a strong breaststroke, and she can put it all together for a fierce NCAA-level scoring time in the 400 IM. Stanford has a history of producing top IM talent at the national meet—did someone say five-straight titles in the 400 IM since 2016 (Ella Eastin 4, Brooke Forde 1)?—so we think she will fit in quite nicely. Perhaps the dark horse in this group is Amy Tang. Her sprint freestyle abilities do not tell the whole story, as she will also bring some serious butterfly and backstroke speed to The Farm. She has seen massive time drops recently and already finds herself as an NCAA scorer. And armed with a strong 200 free, she has the very real possibility of swimming on all five of Stanford’s relays. NORTHWESTERN (#16) Arguably the most versatile freestyler in a group that is chock-full of them is Ashley Strouse, who will take her talents to Northwestern. She will provide the Wildcats with speed in the 100 all the way up to endurance in the mile, an event in which she would have placed seventh at the 2021 NCAAs. Northwestern has put together an impressive recruiting class for 2021 and 2022, and Strouse is just one of the many student-athletes who seem bound to take this program to new heights. FLORIDA (#17) The Gators are getting a good one in Micayla Cronk, who finds
