Swimming World Presents “Top High School Recruits From The Class of 2020”

SW August 2020 top high school recruits regan smith and isabelle staddon

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Top High School Recruits From The Class of 2020

By Chandler Brandes

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 2020 and where they’ll be attending college in the fall. (Because the 2020 NCAAs were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number following each school’s name shows where the teams finished at the 2019 championship meet.)

GIRLS
STANFORD (#1)
World record holder Regan Smith, the most sought-out recruit in the Class of 2020, will no doubt make an immediate impact when she arrives at Stanford University this fall. Not only are her best times already in A-final scoring range at the NCAA level in a number of events, her fastest time in the 200 yard back would’ve won the national title in 2019. In a league of her own, she boasts the fastest times of her class in six events.

Smith will be joined by butterfly and freestyle sensation Lillie Nordmann, the 2019 FINA World Junior champion in the 200 meter fly. Nordmann should make a huge impact on both the Pac-12 Conference and NCAA Championship level.

As the two blue chippers also train for an Olympic berth in 2021, they can feel confident in knowing that the storied program has a long history of producing Olympians. But their first goal will be striving to preserve the Cardinal’s spot as the queens of college swimming.

CAL (#2)
The Class of 2020 does not lack exceptional backstrokers, and Isabelle Stadden is no exception. Stadden, who won the 200 meter back at the U.S. Open in 2019, is already fast enough to score in the top heat of her signature event at the NCAA Championships. The Pan American Games 200 meter back runner-up will surely add her name to the long list of backstroke greats during her career as a Golden Bear, a program well-equipped at handling top-tiered and elite-level backstrokers like herself.

BOYS
CAL (#1)
Destin Lasco will add his backstroke and IM talents to a Golden Bear squad that had a convincing win at NCAAs in 2019 and was a heavy favorite to repeat in 2020 if the meet hadn’t been canceled due to COVID-19. Lasco could have found himself in the B-final of the 200 back at NCAAs based on his current best time. Adding his freestyle ability to the mix, he should find himself in a number of different events and relays during his career at Cal.

TEXAS (#2)
Carson Foster, easily the top recruit of the Class of 2020, is destined to make a big impact in Austin. He is a dominant IMer who is already in scoring range at the NCAA level, but his versatility across all strokes and distances makes him all the more special. The 200 meter IM gold medalist at the FINA World Junior Championships will be counted on to make immediate contributions this upcoming season in what could shape up to be a very exciting 2021.

A local product, Coby Carrozza will fit in perfectly with the dominance Texas has had over the years in the mid-distance freestyle events. With big time drops across the board, including nice times in both IMs, we can only expect Carrozza to continue those substantial improvements in college. He has the potential to help on relays as well.

To access the complete list of the top high school recruits of 2020,
click here to download the August issue of Swimming World Magazine, available now!

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Swimming World Magazine August 2020 Issue

FEATURES

014 OPPORTUNITY LOST
by Dan D’Addona
High school swimming has multiple seasons with roughly 130 state/sectional/divisional high school championship meets held as early as October or as late as May of the following year. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in mid-March, some high schools had already completed their championships, others saw their season canceled…while still others were interrupted during the middle of their meet! Here are a few examples of how the coronavirus affected high school swimming.

016 A GOOD INDICATOR OF FUTURE SUCCESS
by Andy Ross
Since Swimming World first honored its Male and Female High School Swimmers of the Year in 1997, 60 percent of those athletes have gone on to compete in the Olympics from 2000 through 2016.

019 TOP HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITS
by Chandler Brandes
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 2020 and where they’ll be attending college in the fall.

022 THE RECORD BREAKERS
by David Rieder
Nine high school swimmers from eight different states combined for 11 public or independent school records and eight overall national high school records—including three times in one event!

026 A GROSS INJUSTICE
by John Lohn
In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, 16-year-old Rick DeMont had won the 400 meter freestyle only to have his gold medal taken away several days later in one of the biggest injustices in Olympic history.

029 ISHOF: THE TOM AND MATT SHOW
by Bruce Wigo
As explained in last month’s issue,sprinters are considered a different breed of swimmer. They’re not just free spirits, but they seem to be rule breakers and troublemakers of the sport. In July, Swimming World featured two of swimming’s notorious female rebels, Eleanor Holm and Dawn Fraser. This month’s article takes a look at two male disruptors who paved the way for professional swimming, Tom Jager and Matt Biondi.

COACHING

012 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: DEVELOPMENT OF AN OPTIMAL MODEL FOR TECHNIQUE: PART VIII—BODY BASE OF SUPPORT FOR BREASTSTROKE
by Rod Havriluk
The torso is the swimmer’s base of support (BOS). During a stroke cycle of a typical breaststroker, excess vertical motion of the shoulder distorts the BOS, which compromises the ability to maximize propulsion and, as a result, limits swimming velocity. This article offers suggestions for how to stabilize the BOS to generate more propulsion to swim faster.

033 SUMMER LEAGUE: HAVING FUN AND GETTING THE WORK DONE
by Michael J. Stott
No matter what tomorrow or next year brings, one can hope that the benefits of summer league as we know them will persist.

035 SPECIAL SETS: TRAINING FROM TRIALS TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES
by Michael J. Stott
Through the voice of Michigan associate coach Josh White, this month’s “Special Sets” traces the training Connor Jaeger did in the period between the U.S. Olympic Trials to the Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016.

041 Q&A WITH COACH NEIL HARPER
by Michael J. Stott

042 HOW THEY TRAIN ANNA HOPKIN
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING

010 DRYSIDE TRAINING: EXERCISES FOR EXPLOSIVE STARTS & TURNS
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER

039 GOLDMINDS: HOW TO BECOME AN “A” SWIMMER
by Wayne Goldsmith
Ultimately, success comes to those amazing people who make the decision to be successful and who then live that decision in practice and performance—in and out of the pool—until they realize their potential.

045 UP & COMERS: ABBY REICH
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS

008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

032 DID YOU KNOW? PETER JACKSON: “THE BLACK PRINCE”

046 GUTTERTALK

048 PARTING SHOT

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Laura Stavinoha

3 years ago

Julie Grigar