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 >> 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.

BOYS

>> Ashley Strouse, Northwestern

herself among the top-10 recruits with her big time drops over the past year. Another talented sprint freestyler in this cohort, her sweet spot is the 100-200 with times that bode well for Florida’s relays and are already in NCAA scoring range. It is still unclear what her third event will be, but Cronk could find herself with either the 50 or 500 added to her résumé, given her speed and rate of improvement.

WISCONSIN (#19)

The distance freestyle queen in the class will soon be a Badger, joining a program that aims to slide up in the team rankings in the future. It is pretty rare when someone gets faster as the distance gets longer, but that is exactly the case with Paige McKenna. Her best mile time would have earned bronze at NCAAs this past season, and her times in both the 1000 and 1650 are well under the program records. But lucky for Wisconsin, she will also bring some mid-distance speed to Madison with a stellar 200-500 combo.

TEXAS (#1) The future of the Longhorns’ program still looks bright— especially since Eddie Reese, who indicated in March he would retire following the Tokyo Olympics, announced in July that he will remain as head coach. Austin, home of this year’s national champions, will soon welcome two of the top recruits and most versatile talents from the Class of 2021: Tim Connery and Anthony Grimm.

Although both swimmers are just on the outskirt of scoring range at the NCAA level right now, they each boast some of the top times in various events in their class. Both also come with strong relay potential, with Grimm likely focusing more on the sprint and medley relays and Connery a strong candidate to carry on Texas’ long-standing 200 free dominance.

It is unclear what events these jack-of-all-trades will focus on once they get to college, but it’s certainly a “problem” the Longhorns know how to figure out. No matter what is on the lineup for Connery and Grimm over the next four years, all disciplines and distances at Texas just got that much deeper.

CONTINUED ON 20 >>

CLASS OF 2021 TOP HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITS

Name High School Club College* Stroke

GIRLS Gretchen Walsh Harpeth Hall, TN Nashville Virginia (1) Grace Sheble James River School, VA Nova of Virginia NC State (2) Lindsay Flynn Charlotte Latin, NC Mecklenburg Michigan (6) Rachel Stege Neuqua Valley, IL Fox Valley Georgia (8) Torri Huske Yorktown, VA Arlington Stanford (9) Samantha Tadder First Colonial, VA Tide Swimming Stanford (9) Amy Tang Lakeside, WA Pacific Dragons Stanford (9) FR/FL IM/FL FR/FL FR FL/FR/IM IM/FR FR/BK

Ashley Strouse Chaparral, AZ

Scottsdale Northwestern (16) FR Micayla Cronk Flagler Palm Coast, FL Blue Dolfins Florida (17) FR/IM

Paige McKenna Freedom, MD Nation’s Capital Wisconsin (19) FR NCAA Pts.**

46 23 17 12 48 17 11 22 13 27

BOYS Tim Connery Christ the King Catholic, NC SwimMAC Texas (1) Anthony Grimm Oakton, VA Mason Mako Texas (1) Jack Alexy The Delbarton School, NJ Somerset Hills Y Cal (2) Trent Frandson Ankeny Senior, IA Central Iowa Cal (2) Josh Matheny Upper Saint Clair, PA Team Pittsburgh Indiana (6 ) Aiden Hayes Norman North, OK Sooner NC State (8) David Curtiss Pennington School, NJ Hamilton Y NC State (8) Sam Hoover Chapel Hill Senior, NC North Carolina NC State (8) Jack Aikins West Forsyth, GA SwimAtlanta Virginia (9) Matt Fallon The Pingry School, NJ Somerset Valley Y Penn*** IM/BK/BR BK/BR/FL FR/FK FR 0 0 0 0

BR 20

FL/FR/BK 16

FR

4 FR/IM/FL/BR 0 BK/FR 12

BR/IM 15

* Number in parentheses indicates team’s finish at 2021 NCAAs ** NCAA points are based on the Top 10 recruits’ best high school times and where these swimmers might have scored individually at the 2021 Division I NCAAs. The points were calculated by assuming the swimmers would swim one event per day and based on the combination that would score the most individual points. However, in reality, a swimmer could double-up, or a coach could decide different events for their swimmers, based on team, individual or relay needs. *** Penn did not compete in 2020-21 due to the Ivy League’s decision not to hold athletic competition because of COVID-19. In 2019, Penn finished 28th.

>> Jack Aikins, Virginia

>> Matt Fallon, Penn

CAL (#2)

The Cal-Texas showdown is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon, as the Golden Bears also have two swimmers in Jack Alexy and Trent Frandson cracking the top-10. Similar to the Longhorns, both incoming freshmen would not have scored at last year’s NCAA Championships, but each has incredible range across all freestyle events.

Alexy, who recently made waves for breaking Caeleb Dressel’s national age group record in the 100 meter freestyle at Olympic Trials, has truly exploded onto the scene throughout his high school career. Frandson’s sweet spot seems to be in the 200-500 combo, while he can also extend his speed to the mile.

While the two are not necessarily versatile outside of freestyle, both will be major contributors on all relays and be immediate point scorers at the conference level. Cal could not have landed a better duo in Alexy and Frandson as the 2021 national runners-up look to rebuild their freestyle squad.

INDIANA (#6)

The Hoosiers landed a huge commitment in Josh Matheny, the best breaststroker in his class who would have scored 20 points at this year’s NCAAs. He will arrive in Bloomington with an impressive international résumé as well, winning the 200 meter breaststroke and earning silver in the 100 breast at the FINA World Junior Championships in 2019. Indiana certainly knows how to develop breaststroke talent—think Ian Finnerty and Cody Miller— and although Matheny has some work to do to nail down his third NC STATE (#8) Aiden Hayes, David Curtiss and Sam Hoover give the Wolfpack three of the top10 recruits, a good sign for the program that looks to reclaim their ACC title this upcoming season. What is even better is the range these athletes provide, as they each have talents that extend across all four strokes. With the exception of breaststroke, there is really not an event that Hayes—arguably the most soughtafter recruit due to his incredible versatility—cannot do. Regardless, he can still put together a respectable 200 IM and will surely be a viable relay option for NC State. He would have scored 16 points at the NCAA meet in 2021, but that total is sure to increase at the rate he has been dropping his times.

For what these three recruits lack in distance freestyle talent, they certainly make up for in the shorter events. Curtiss, a true sprinter who will arrive in Raleigh with the fastest 50 free time in high school history (after Hayes had set the national high school record a little more than a week earlier!), is also in scoring range at the national meet and will be a major asset on all relays.

Another stellar sprint freestyler, Hoover also brings a surprisingly strong breaststroke to the table with the potential for a decent IM, too. Like many in this class, he has continuously seen substantial time drops in recent years and will also be in the hunt for a coveted NC State relay spot as soon as he steps on campus.

VIRGINIA (#9)

Virginia finds itself on this list given the addition of Jack Aikins, a backstroke and sprint freestyle specialist who will bring with him to Charlottesville times that would have scored at NCAAs as well as undeniable relay potential. With no shortage of sprint freestylers in this class, Aikins has separated himself from the pack and increased his prospect value with massive improvements in both backstroke events. The Cavaliers are on a new wave of sprinters and backstrokers in Matt Brownstead and Will Cole, among others, and Aikins will fit in quite nicely.

PENN (#28 in 2019)

The Ivy League opted out of the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Penn will undoubtedly return this year with guns blazing. That is largely in part due to the stellar recruiting class they put together, which is led by Matt Fallon. The best 400 IMer of his class who would have topped Penn’s roster in three events in 2019 will join the Quakers as an NCAA point contributor right from the start. He also excels in breaststroke and is already faster than the school record in the longer of the two distances. Although the relay potential is not as high as others in his class, there is no denying the value Fallon presents. v

Chandler Brandes earned her bachelor’s degree in communication with a double minor in coaching and sport management in 2019 from the University of Vermont, where she also swam for the Catamounts. She received her master’s degree in sport administration from the University of Louisville in 2021 and has served as Swimming World’s high school content manager since 2018. A native of Burlington, Vt., she is currently the athletic communications assistant at the University of Kentucky.