See Where SwimSwam’s Top 20 HS Boys Recruits of 2017 Have Committed

Now that we’re getting close to November, many of the top high school swimmers in the class of 2017 have made their verbal commitments to college teams. Before we give the updated list on where everyone has given their commitments, we’ll remind you of our parameters for making the top 20 list:

Our goal in these rankings is to reflect what college coaches look for in recruits, based on many years of conversations and coverage. We focus only on American-based athletes, simply because there is so much uncertainty with international recruits – if they’ll come to the States, when they’ll come to the States and with what graduating class they should be ranked. Projecting international recruits often becomes more a discussion of when they’ll first join a college program and not which program they’ll join.

A few other factors that weigh heavily in our rankings:

• Sprints over distance – Relay points count double in college swimming, and any program needs a strong stable of quality sprinters to fill out all 5 relays with studs. Obviously, a special distance swimmer can easily rank ahead of a very good 100 freestyler, but college swimming generally values a sprint freestyler over a distance swimmer, all other factors being equal.
• Improvements – Actual times are the trump card, but any big improvements in quality can make a difference as well. For example, a swimmer who only took up year-round swimming as a junior in high school going the same time as a swimmer whose been swimming year-round since they were 8 will probably get the edge in our rankings. Think Breeja Larson.
• Short Course over Long Course – we recognize that some programs, many programs, put their focus with their high school aged swimmers on long course, especially depending on when the high school championships may fall. That said, college swimming is short course, so a swimmer who is great in short course but struggles in long course will have the advantage over the opposite.
• NCAA scoring ability – NCAAs are the big show for college teams, so we’ve weighted NCAA scoring potential very highly. Swimmers who already have NCAA scoring times wind up mostly filling out the top our of rankings. Since college athletic directors – and by extension coaches – also place high value on conference championships, scoring ability at conference meets is also a factor in our rankings.
• Relative depth in the NCAA and recruiting class – a wealth of elite depth nationwide in one stroke discipline makes a big difference in what times are considered more valuable in that event. For example, the women’s backstrokes have been loaded with stars in the NCAA the past few years. Though a 52-second backstroker is still valuable, that time won’t get you near as far as it would have in years past. In the same vein, if a recruiting class is loaded with swimmers in the same event, they all are devalued a little, relatively speaking. This year’s class of boys, for example, has a bunch of 100 freestylers stacked up in the 44-mids. That depth, plus the presence of a 41-second guy at the top of the class, makes each of the bunch a little less valuable individually compared to an event with less recruiting options.

TOP 10 SWIMMERS FROM THE CLASS OF 2017

1. Ryan Hoffer – Scottsdale Aquatic Club – Chaparral High School – Scottsdale, AZ  **Verbally committed to Cal**
Best Times: 50 free – 19.06, 100 free – 41.23, 100 back – 45.58, 100 fly – 45.46, 200 free – 1:37.00

2. Sean Grieshop – Nitro Swimming – St. Dominic Savio Catholic Sigh School – Austin, TX **Verbally committed to Cal**
Best Times: 1650 free – 14:45.40, 500 free – 4:15.53, 400 IM – 3:44.30, 200 IM – 1:46.58, 200 free – 1:36.52, 200 breast – 1:58.85

3. Matthew Hirschberger – Nation’s Capital Swim Club – Georgetown Prep – North Bethesda, MD **Verbally committed to Stanford**
Best Times: 1650 free – 14:51.81, 500 free – 4:16.43, 200 free – 1:37.13

4. Camden Murphy – Kingfish Aquatic Club of Waterford – Novi High School – Novi, MI **Verbally Committed to Georgia**
Best Times: 100 fly – 46.25, 200 fly – 1:44.31, 100 back – 49.67

5. Michael Taylor – Dynamo Swim Club – Johns Creek High School – Alpharetta, GA **Verbally committed to Florida**
Best Times: 200 back – 1:41.94, 100 back – 47.17, 200 free – 1:37.04, 100 free – 45.83, 50 free – 20.75, 100 fly – 48.50

6. Austin Katz – Sarasota YMCA Sharks – Riverview High School – Sarasota, FL **Verbally committed to Texas**
Best Times: 200 back – 1:41.48, 100 back – 47.23, 200 free – 1:36.67, 100 free – 44.89

7. Grant House – Countryside YMCA – St. Xavier High School – Cincinnati, OH **Verbally committed to Arizona State**
Best Times: 200 free – 1:35.28, 100 free – 44.26, 500 free – 4:22.96, 50 free – 20.96, 200 IM – 1:47.82, 400 IM – 3:53.08, 200 breast – 1:59.88

8. Jake Sannem – Upper Dublin Aquatic Club – La Salle College High School – Ambler, PA **Verbally committed to USC**
Best Times: 200 free – 1:35.44, 500 free – 4:19.64, 100 free – 44.45, 50 free – 20.78

9. Paul Delakis – Eau Claire YMCA Marlins – Eau Claire Memorial High School – Eau Claire, WI **Verbally committed to Ohio State**
Best Times: 200 IM – 1:46.36, 400 IM – 3:48.35, 200 free – 1:36.10, 200 breast – 1:58.37, 100 breast – 54.81

10. Christopher Yeager – Nitro Swimming – Fort Bend High School – Fort Bend, TX **Verbally committed to Texas**
Best Times: 1650 free – 14:55.04, 500 free – 4:24.39, 400 IM – 3:57.28

HONORABLE MENTION (#11-20)

11. Bryce Mefford –  Sierra Marlins Swim Team – Oak Ridge High School – El Dorado Hills, CA ** Verbally Committed to Cal**
Best Times: 200 back – 1:42.18, 100 back – 48.05, 200 free – 1:36.71, 100 free – 44.62, 200 IM – 1:48.59, 100 fly – 47.89

12. Sam Pomajevich –  Nation’s Capital Swim Club – Stonewall Jackson High School – Manassas, VA **Verbally committed to Texas**
Best Times: 200 fly – 1:44.65, 100 fly – 47.99, 200 free – 1:36.87, 100 free – 44.78, 400 IM – 3:53.14

13. Brennan Pastorek – Georgia Coastal Aquatic Team – Savannah Country Day – Savannah, GA **Verbally committed to Stanford**
Best Times: 100 breast – 54.29, 200 breast – 1:57.63, 200 IM – 1:47.98, 400 IM – 3:53.84

14. Alex Liang – Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics – Palo Alto High School – Palo Alto, CA **Verbally committed to Stanford**
Best Times:  200 IM – 1:47.41, 400 IM – 3:51.40, 200 free – 1:36.65, 200 fly – 1:44.64, 100 fly – 48.29

15. Trenton Julian – Rose Bowl Aquatics – Glendale High School – Glendale, CA  **Verbally committed to Cal**
Best Times: 200 free – 1:36.21, 100 fly – 47.88, 200 fly – 1:45.81, 200 IM – 1:48.71, 400 IM – 3:52.46

16. Daniel Carr – Pikes Peak Athletics – Cheyenne Mountain High School – Colorado Springs, CO **Verbally committed to Cal**
Best Times: 200 back – 1:43.38, 100 back – 48.10, 200 IM – 1:48.44, 400 IM – 3:53.36, 100 free – 44.67

17. Michael Zarian – Jeffco Hurricanes – Fairview High School – Boulder, CO **Verbally committed to Harvard**
Best Times: 400 IM – 3:49.34, 200 IM – 1:47.69, 200 back – 1:46.67, 200 fly – 1:47.72

18. Nicolas Albiero – Cardinal Aquatics – Christian Academy of Louisville – Louisville, KY **Verbally committed to Louisville**
Best Times: 200 back – 1:45.54, 100 back – 48.21, 200 fly – 1:46.35, 100 fly – 47.63, 100 free – 44.52, 200 IM – 1:49.09

19. Spencer Rowe – Nation’s Capital Swim Club – Patriot High School – Gainesville, VA **Verbally Committed to Auburn**
Best Times: 100 breast – 54.30, 200 breast – 1:57.79

20. Corban Rawls – Nitro Swim Club – Cedar Park, TX **Verbally committed to Harvard**
Best Times: 100 free – 44.15, 200 free – 1:37.02

**SWIMMERS IN THIS UPDATED COMMITMENT LIST ARE RANKED HERE IN THE EXACT ORDER AS THEY WERE WHEN THESE RANKINGS INITIALLY CAME OUT THIS JULY** 

There are 3 teams who have each landed 3 of the top 20 recruits so far: Cal, Stanford, and Texas.

#1 prospect Ryan Hoffer will be joining the Golden Bears next season, likely bringing valuable sprint free and fly points to the table. Back/IMers #11 Bryce Mefford and #16 Daniel Carr will play a big role in the Bears’ backstroke group after they graduate Ryan Murphy at the end of this season.

Cal may have picked up the #1 recruit, but the Texas Longhorns are the only team so far to have landed 2 of the top 10 recruits with verbals from #6 Austin Katz and #10 Chris Yeager. Because distance stud Clark Smith is now a senior, Yeager could be key to the Longhorns as they try to stay at the top of the NCAA. In addition to those two, they’ve got #12 Sam Pomajevich, who adds depth to their butterfly chart after Jack Conger graduates at the end of this season.

Stanford will bring in one of the top distance swimmers of this class now since they’ve received a verbal commitment from #3 Matt Hirschberger. They’ve also got a breast/IM specialist in #13 Brennan Pastorek and a fly/IMer in #14 Alex Liang.

The only other team to pick up verbals from multiple to 20 recruits up to this point is Harvard, as #17 Michael Zarian and #20 Corban Rawls will both be joining them next season.

AB