#11 – Ohio State
John Klinge – congratulations on the promotion, you deserve it. A quick run of the math shows 42 athletes on the roster last year. With two (valuable) seniors graduate and thirteen incoming freshmen you’re looking at over fifty athletes. Those are the numbers that give rise to Big Ten titles and this group brings the Buckeyes one step closer. Andrew Elliott the #2 backstroker in our book and Austin Mudd, #5 in the long IM cross the border from Indiana. German Markus Sievers’ LCM 100 free converts as second-best in this year’s class while Spencer Hewes gives OSU a big-time breaststroke pickup.
A rival coach’s perspective: “They almost had [Kyle] McNeilis, but even without him they have to be happy with these guys.”
#12 – Virginia TechOn draft day, NFL teams fall into two categories. The first draft the best available athletes while the second looks to fill their needs by position. When Ned Skinner looks at the draft board, you have to think he falls into the best available athlete group. How else can you explain the Hokies’ graduating five sprinters and picking up a pair of top-ten milers (#5 Caglar Gokbulut and #9 Phil LaRosa), and two top-twenty 400 IM’ers (#14 Daniel Flynn and #18 LaRosa)? Another explanation could be that VaTech has a well deserved reputation of developing sprinters. That makes Charlie Higgins even more valuable. Not only is he the #2 200 backstroker among the group, he’s also coming in on par with the outgoing sprinters.
A rival coach’s perspective: “These are solid ACC athletes but no stud. Higgins is the closest to an NCAA qualifier in the group. They’ll need time to develop.”
#13 – IndianaLike OSU, Indiana’s another team with a big roster. The Hoosiers, however, lose ten guys, none bigger than this year’s NCAA 100 backstroke champion Ben Hesen. Either Jim Barbiere or Eric Ress will be looked at as the future of the backstroke. Barbiere is better in the short back, while Ress (#39 overall) might be counted on in the mid-distance freestyles and IM’s to help account for the loss of JK Koehler. Tyler Sheldron is a top-sixteen flyer. After years of virtually having their pick of in-state kids, IU’s getting tremendous competition. Among Indiana’s top-ten recruits – the Hoosiers got only two – Cam Owen and Jon Hueni – same as OSU and one fewer than Purdue.
A rival coach’s perspective: “This isn’t the all-star class they had last year, but they went after and filled some needs.”
#14 – Hawaii Booyah! If recruits are like stocks, then Vic Wales is the Jim Cramer of the recruiting world (albeit with a much better head of hair). Like a Google IPO, each of Hawaii’s signees has been appreciating in value. Sean Reilly, #28 overall is en fuego, sitting in the top ten of the 50 and 100 freestyle. Recent state meets by have put Wales’ early investments in flyer Andrew Muller and backstroker/MD freestyler Matt Dentone at 52-week highs. About the only place Hawaii didn’t invest heavily was in overseas markets. Like Bolivia pinning its economy on the price of tin, Hawaii was over-reliant on foreign imports. This year only one (we’re not counting the Canadian) joins the class. It’s enough to make us bullish on the Rainbow Warriors.
A rival coach’s perspective: “He may not have won many meets at San Jose State, but those connections are beginning to pay dividends.” [Seriously, we didn’t think we could fit another financial reference in until we came across this comment.]
#15 – Southern Cal Most coaches agree that year two – because your expectations rise despite the fact you’ve still got someone else’s team – is more challenging that their first. That’s why that year-two class is so vital. “We are very excited about the incoming class of men for the Trojans,” assistant Jeremy Kipp explains. “We have really covered a few areas that we were not particularly strong in this season” and more than that, the Trojans, with over a dozen newcomers, are building their future. Their best pickups are Brent Hitchcock (#1 in the 400 IM) and Patrick White and Colin Heinrich (both top 25 200 and 500 freestyles). After that, stroke guys like backstroker TJ Auner and Will Orlady should develop nicely. Jon Leopold is a wildcard. The #11 breaststroker could be a big time player, but heads to SC as a polo player.
A rival coach’s perspective: “They got a solid class with Hitchcock and White. This class should provide a spark after what was a disappointing year.”
#16 – Minnesota Think of Dennis Dale as a thrifty vintner. Each year Minnesota spends a little on some of the world’s finest flavors while doing most of its work with homegrown vines. Then, with each passing year, the classes, like a fine wine, get better with age. This year’s group is much like that. Keith Yoho and Irishman Karl Burdis will compete to replace David Plummer and Russell Payne. year the Gophers had to fill the spots left by seven seniors. While Texas and Arizona poached a couple in-staters, Minnesota kept the top two – all-everything freestyler Paul Tierney and sprinter Matt Papenfuss – and a third (breaststroker Andy Knaak) with lots of room for improvement. Some more stars should emerge from a batch of 1:41-type freestylers that dot the roster.
A rival coach’s perspective: “It’s no use trying [to get kids out of Minnesota]. Those kids grow up going to that pool and never want to leave.”
#17 – Navy Navy picks up a very versatile group with this incoming class. Mark Meyer, is ranked in the top sixteen of the 200 Fly and both IM’s and could get the Midshipmen more NCAA representation. Joe Girani is the Navy’s top sprinter while flyer Charlie Hetzel should give the Navy more firepower against its rivals. Mac Anthony and Connor Handley are both ultra-versatile and able to score on the conference level in any number of events. When judged against the Patriot League, Navy sails ahead. Against stronger EISL classes from Princeton and Harvard, the Midshipmen, keep their head above water.
A rival coach’s perspective: “Mark Meyer is the headliner with a couple more sprinters. They will continue to be the king of the service academies for the foreseeable future.”
#18 – New OrleansImpressive: In their inaugural year of men’s competition New Orleans will feature twenty-one athletes. More impressive: A couple (or three even) could qualify for the big meet. Unbelievable: Randy Horner put it together with just 4.5 scholarships. Ukrainian Sergiy Bilov highlights a class that features eight different countries. The Russian Rocket Redux can give UNO a sub-45 leadoff. Iceland’s Birkir Mar Jonsson is more than capable of keeping pace, but after that the talent, while spread across events, drops off. Briton Ashley Dougan and Iowan Jake Van Roekel can address needs while guys like breaststrokers Carlos Araque and Ben Solari add much needed depth to this young team.
A rival coach’s perspective: [No coaches commented about the UNO team].
#19 – Purdue New assistant J Agnew had an immediate impact in the area of in-state recruiting. The Boilermakers made gains with two of the state’s most important club programs when they signed Ben Watchel (#89 overall) and Albert Miller (#15 100 breaststroke). They didn’t stop there. The Purdue recruiting footprint also expanded into neighboring Illinois with the pickups of sprinter Daniel Jung and flyer Jimmy Brooks. Miler Logan Wetzel and sprint flyer Kyle House are both in-staters and top-25 in their respective events. One native Dan Ross didn’t sign? His own son Eric who will swim for Carthage in the fall.
A rival coach’s perspective: “Credit to Dan. This class makes a big statement.”
#20 - ClemsonYou can understand if the Clemson staff went over their cell phone minutes this year. With ten seniors among a roster of twenty-six, the Tigers had some recruiting to do and recruiting they did. Clemson secured commitments from four of South Carolina’s top five, and kid you not, at least three are legitimate Division I contributors. Backstroker/IMer Chris Dart will arrive, ranked 51st in the country. While we’re on the number fifty-one, its worthy of note that Lee Groseclose, Seth Broster, Harry Foster have all been under that mark in the 100 fly. Not to be confused with the former Giants’ first baseman, Will Clark arrives top-sixteen in the sixteen-fifty. Sprinter Myles Oliver is an up-and-comer
A rival coach’s perspective: “They suffered considerable losses. Dart is the jewel of Coach Ip's class and there are some solid prospects who should develop over the course of their career.”
#21 - Penn StateThe first order of business for the new Penn State coach should be a note thanking Bill Dorrenkott for the gift of Brian Alden. The Illinois sprinter is ranked 6th in the 50 free and 12th in the 100. Interestingly enough, the 14th-best recruit is ranked highest in the 100 breaststroke where he’s #5. While that might emerge as his third event, don’t look for him on the medley relays, not with Scott Marino, Mitch Scherer or Brent Sandersonin the same class. Each of the three has times in the top sixteen of one or both breaststrokes. Tim Wingert is a solid sprinter who, with Alden, are as good as any freshman front-half sprint relay.
A rival coach’s perspective: “Not a huge class but Alden’s a great sprinter. Marino and Scherer filled a huge need in the breaststroke. Their new coach will have young talent on the men's side to work with and develop.”
#22 – HarvardFor most programs the replacement of seven seniors would be an insurmountable challenge, but with thirty-three returners, Harvard was able to zero in an look to fill specific needs. Chief among those was making up for the graduation of Geoff Rathgerber. Ian Mirasola and David Lynch won’t immediately fit the bill, but flyer Nicholas Tan could have the same impact. Matthew McClean and Niall Janney give Harvard two more front-line flyers. Keep an eye on Graham Frankel. The sprinter virtually grew up in Harvard’s (Back) Yard and has made big strides of late.
A rival coach’s perspective: “This isn’t a big class, but every one is a league scorer and Tan could be a NCAA scorer.”
#23 – MissouriFor the second year in a row, Missouri lands the best recruit in program history and for the second year in a row it’s Florida transfer Max Jaben. Jaben is back after a year of training for Beijing where he’ll represent Israel. Of course, come March he’ll be representing the Tigers at the NCAA championships. Jaben has been swimming well since leaving the Gators and among available athletes ranks second in the mile, fourth in the 500 and 21st overall. Michael Lopresti is top-25 in the 200 breaststroke while sprinters Scott Martin and Jack Dwyer give Mizzou some quality depth.
A rival coach’s perspective: “[Assistant Coach] Chris Peters incredible. If I was an AD looking for a head coach, he’d be on my short list.”
#24 – CaliforniaA year ago Cal was a den of bears in disrepair. The sudden and unceremonious retirement of of Nort Thornton could have set Cal’s recruiting on its heels. A late hiring didn’t help the Bears build a large class. A year later, the ship's headed in the right direction. Thornton's staying on board as Head Coach Emeritus and Dave Durden worked quickly to pieced together a small but impressive group. Miller Douglass is an upper-echelon IMer/Flyer while Nolan Koon gives Cal its best breaststroke recruit since NCAA Champ Henrique Barbosa. Isaac Howell’s lethal from the 200 to the 1650 and the return of sprinter Nathan Adrian make Cal’s future Golden.
A rival coach’s perspective: “They very quietly covered all the events and distances. I am sure they will add a couple foreign athletes at mid-year to further bolster their team.”
#25 – PittsburghNot content to watch Notre Dame claim conference titles or Louisville claim the top recruiting classes, Chuck Knoles’ Panthers are on the prow. For the upcoming year Pitt signed a small, but very talented class that will have an immediate effect at the conference meet, and a longer-term presence at NCAA’s. Alex Navarro’s recent swims at the CIF Championships make Pitt’s early investment a good one. He’s ranked 17th in the 500 and 25th in the 200. Jake Lucas is a sub-50 butterflier while Pacific transfer Bobby Smith is the same on his back. Christopher Berger, who can swim anything beginning with the number 200 will give the Panthers plenty of options.
A rival coach’s perspective: “A very good class. This is a group that helps Pitt move forward.”
