Ranking the 2026 Girls’s NCAA Recruiting Classes: #16-13

The 2026-2027 NCAA season is across the nook, and, as at all times, we will probably be rating the highest 16 recruiting courses for each the boys’s and ladies’s NCAA Division I packages together with a couple of honorable mentions.

There are a lot of modifications in retailer for athletes this 12 months. Last 12 months, the NCAA launched a brand new qualifying system and NCAA meet format, which noticed the introduction of computerized qualifiers by way of convention championships. Earlier this summer season, the NCAA accepted new eligibility tips which supplies athletes 5 years of NCAA eligibility.

The new five-for-five rule mandates that athletes get 5 years of eligibility, and their clock begins at full-time school enrollment or on the first educational 12 months after their nineteenth birthday, whichever comes first. This signifies that our recruiting class rankings is likely to be somewhat skewed if athletes recent out of highschool resolve to take a niche 12 months earlier than beginning college, however we’re working below the idea that the Class of 2026 athletes will probably be arriving on campus as initially deliberate.

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Just a few essential notes on our rankings:

• The rankings are based mostly on our Class of 2026 Re-Rank and our Top 10 NCAA Diving Recruits. “HM” refers to our honorable mentions and “BOTR” refers to our Best of the Rest part for top-tier recruits
• Like most of our rankings, these placements are subjective. We base our workforce ranks on a lot of elements: prospects’ incoming instances are by far the primary issue, however we additionally take into account potential upside within the class, class measurement, relay affect, and workforce wants. Greater weight is positioned on recognized success in brief course yards, so overseas swimmers are barely devalued based mostly on the issue in changing lengthy course instances to quick course manufacturing.
• Transfers are included, although they’re weighed lower than recruits who arrive with 5 seasons of eligibility. We additionally consider what number of years the transfers have remaining. An athlete with one 12 months remaining will probably be weighted decrease than an athlete with 4 years remaining.
• For the total listing of all verbally dedicated athletes, click on right here. A giant thanks to SwimSwam’s personal Anne Lepesant for compiling the index – with out it, rankings like these could be far much less complete.
• Some groups had not launched a finalized 2026-27 workforce roster on the time these articles have been revealed, which means it’s doable we missed some names. Let us know within the feedback under.

Honorable Mentions

Ohio State, Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona

#16 Arkansas Razorbacks

The Arkansas Razorbacks don’t have any transfers coming in, so all their newcomers could have 5 years of eligibility. They have two ranked recruits from the category of 2026, one HM and one BOTR. They solely have 4 different athletes coming in, and they’re all home recruits.

Rachel McAlpin is probably their most well-known recruit, although she was solely a “BOTR” in our rankings. McAlpin is the World Junior champion within the 50 breaststroke with the 30.78 she swam lengthy course final summer season. In quick course, she will probably be a serious asset to the University of Arkansas workforce together with her 1:00.97 from March coming in ranked 1st on the workforce making her a medley relay contributor from the second she steps on campus.

They even have Honorable Mention recruit Hayden Gibson, who will instantly transfer to the highest of the Razorbacks’ rankings in 4 totally different occasions and sits properly below the NCAA cutline within the 200 again.

Gibson was somewhat off her greatest instances within the backstroke occasions final season, however she dropped within the IM, fly, and breast occasions and also will lead the workforce within the 200 IM (1:57.95) and 400 IM (4:11.72). The 200 IM/200 backstroke schedule battle was additionally eradicated with the reinstatement of ‘B’ finals, which makes {that a} viable choice for her occasion lineup once more.

Jezerinac will are available in as the highest 100 breaststroker on the workforce with the 1:01.39 she swam in March of 2025. She was somewhat off that mark her senior 12 months, however her season better of 1:02.21 would nonetheless be one of many prime instances on the workforce. Chandler is 1:01.60 within the 100 breast, which can also be one of many prime instances on the workforce.

#15 University of North Carolina Tar Heels

• SwimSwam Ranked Recruits: BOTR Morgan Farlow (TX – free/IM), #5D Juliet Radich (FL – diver)
• The “Rest” – Cate Pawlaski (MN – breast/IM), Defne Tanig (Turkey – fly), Kenzie Sellars (VT – free), Nehir Oner (Turkey – fly), Raya Mellott (Virginia switch – breast)

The prime ranked recruit in UNC’s 2026 freshman class is #5 diver Juliet Radich from Florida. She joins one of many prime diving packages within the nation with Sophia Knight, who completed sixth on the platform final season.

On the swimming aspect, they picked up one ranked recruit in BOTR Morgan Farlow. A freestyle specialist, Farlow will add depth to the gap program that graduated their prime swimmer, Lily Reader, after final season.

UNC’s different large addition is switch Raya Mellott from Virginia. Mellott was one of many prime 100 breaststrokers within the ladies’ class of 2025 when she dedicated to Virginia, however she has struggled to get again to her prime kind within the occasion since 2023. Last 12 months, she fell simply in need of making the ACC workforce for Virginia with a season greatest 100 breast of 1:01.43. UNC has developed some robust breaststrokers up to now, like Skyler Smith, and will get her again below 1:00 this season.

Mellott additionally has a recorded 200 breaststroke time of two:09.53 and a season greatest of two:11.56, and can possible rating at ACCs in her first season with the Tar Heels

They additionally picked up Turkey’s Defne Tanig, whose fly instances convert to 53.54/1:55.45 and make her one of many prime butterflyers on UNC’s roster and a possible NCAA qualifier.

#14 Florida Gators

The Florida Gators have a really giant recruiting class coming in, however solely two of their recruits are home, BOTR ranked Maddie Moreth and #8 ranked diver Quintilia Fidanza. This makes it onerous to get an correct learn on how their freshman class will carry out within the transition to SCY.

Moreth is a main breaststroker, and, whereas the Gators misplaced their prime 100 breaststroker, Anita Bottazzo, to Indiana after NCAAs, they nonetheless have a really robust breaststroke group. Her greatest time within the 100 breast stands at 59.91 from February of this 12 months, and her 200 breast greatest time is 2:10.05 from June. Both instances put her in ‘A’ ultimate scoring place on the SEC Championships, however she sat over the NCAA cutline in each occasions.

They are additionally bringing in Francesca Zucca, from Italy, to swim breaststroke occasions. Their final Italian breaststroker, Bottazzo, labored out very properly for them. Her greatest instances convert to 59-low and a couple of:09-mid, which make her a possible NCAA qualifier as a freshman if she handles the transition properly.

The Gators additionally picked up a bunch of overseas distance freestylers, a spot they’ve traditionally thrived. France’s Carla Serra and Italy’s Valentina Procaccini are extra distance-oriented whereas Maeline Bessard, additionally from France, and Kim Bomin, from South Korea, may swim the five hundred free however most likely gained’t swim the mile. Serra and Procaccini are each scoring threats within the 500 and mile on the SEC Championships and are available in properly below the cutlines within the mile. Procaccini is stronger throughout the board, and will rating in all of her occasions at SECs and is a possible NCAA scorer within the 1650.

Bessard will be a part of Australia’s Lillie McPherson within the dash free occasions, each will probably be potential SEC scorers, however the place Bessard could have somewhat extra competitors throughout the workforce, McPherson is entering into 50 and 100 free roles which can be desperately wanted. She will probably be a serious relay piece in her freshman season.

Finally, the Gators picked up two divers, Quintilia Fidanza, from Pennsylvania, and Colombia’s Juliana Giron. Fidanza was ranked eighth in SwimSwam’s diving recruit rankings, and Giron is a main platform diver who competed on the World Championships for Colombia final summer season.

#13 Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin picked up three “Best of the Rest” recruits for the category of 2026, and a bunch of different home swimmers together with one worldwide swimmer from Canada.

Ellie Kayser is a distance freestyler from Arizona with lifetime bests of 4:47.1 within the 500 and 16:28 within the 1650. She will probably be a depth piece to this system proper now, however her greatest instances are somewhat greater than a 12 months previous and she or he simply set two huge lifetime bests on the USA Swimming National Championships, so she could possibly be searching for new bests within the SCY occasions this season.

Virginian breaststroker Lilla Wilbur joins the very robust Wisconsin breaststroke group with greatest instances of 1:01.2 and a couple of:11.32 which might have been sixth and seventh on final season’s workforce respectively. That Wisconsin breaststroke group had an enormous breakout season final 12 months, collectively, and appears to be a brand new focus for this system.

Their ultimate BOTR recruit is Vivian Moulson, from Massachusetts. She will are available in as one of many prime butterfly and IMers instantly. Her 200 fly time of 1:56.19 is below the NCAA Invite time of 1:56.22 and would have been fifth on the 2026 Big Ten Championships.

In the IM occasions, Moulson’s 1:59.96 and 4:11.99 are additionally Big Ten scoring instances and would have been sixth and 4th on final season’s workforce respectively.

Canadian Taryn Weatherhead can also be a possible butterfly level scorer at Big Tens together with her 200 fly lengthy course time changing below 2:00. In the 100 fly, her time converts to 53.4 which might have been third on final 12 months’s workforce.

The Badgers have a big class of home swimmers as properly, together with Wisconsin native Caroline Wanezek, whose older sisters Maggie Wanezek and Abby Wanezek have been large members of the Wisconsin workforce and noticed huge enhancements in Madison.