﻿{"id":622441,"date":"2025-09-09T02:44:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T09:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=622441"},"modified":"2025-09-09T05:45:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T12:45:16","slug":"four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During Upcoming NCAA Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During Upcoming NCAA Season<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The 2025-26 NCAA swim season is approaching quickly, and several incoming freshmen are poised to make significant impacts on their respective teams. Here&#8217;s a look at four first-year standouts who might have flown under the radar:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"622475\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/new-project-3-1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1.png\" data-orig-size=\"1080,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"New Project (3) (1)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1-700x500.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1-1024x1024.png\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-622475 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1.png\" alt=\"NCAA Freshmen\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1.png 1080w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1-400x400.png 400w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1-450x450.png 450w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1-900x900.png 900w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1-533x533.png 533w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/New-Project-3-1-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>Max Goettsch (University of California, Berkeley)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Specialties<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Sprint Freestyle<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Top Times<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">50 Free (SCY): 20.11<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">100 Free (SCY): 43.96<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">200 Free (SCY): 1:35.82<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Highlights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Winter U.S. Open qualifier<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Illinois state record holder in the 200 free<\/span><\/li>\n<li>156th in the Class of 2025<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears welcome sprint freestyler Max Goettsch, a standout from Illinois. Goettsch has personal bests of 20.11 in the 50 freestyle, 43.96 in the 100 free, and 1:35.82 in the 200 free. Once Goettsch gets comfortable with training at the collegiate level, these times will likely drop, putting the freshman squarely on the radar for national scoring. Already an Illinois state record-holder and a Winter U.S. Open qualifier, Goettsch joins a deep Cal recruiting class.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Derek Hitchens (Columbia University)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Specialties<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Sprint Freestyle\/Backstroke\/Butterfly<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Top Times<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">50 Free (SCY): 20.37<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">100 Free (SCY): 43.73<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">100 Back (SCY): 47.19<\/span><\/li>\n<li>200 Back (SCY): 1:47.20<\/li>\n<li>100 Fly (SCY): 48.29<\/li>\n<li>200 Fly (SCY): 1:46.21<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Highlights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3x USA Swimming Scholastic All-American<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Winter Juniors qualifier<\/li>\n<li>116th in the Class of 2025<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Columbia\u2019s incoming class features Derek Hitchens, a sprinter who also has talent in the backstroke and butterfly. Hitchens has posted times of 20.67 in the 50 free, 45.31 in the 100 free, and a sub-50 100 back (47.19), highlighting his versatility. A three-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American, he is expected to make an immediate impact in the Ivy League, contributing both in individual events and on Columbia\u2019s relays.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Jiarui Xue (Princeton University)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Specialties<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Distance Freestyle\/IM<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Top Times<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">500 Free (SCY): 4:20.54<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1000 Free (SCY): 9:05.99<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1650 Free (SCY): 15:06.71<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Highlights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2024 Olympic Trials qualifier in the 1500 free<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minnesota state champion and NCSA Championships finalist<\/span><\/li>\n<li>104th in the Class of 2025<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Distance freestyler Jiarui Xue of Princeton arrives with an impressive r\u00e9sum\u00e9, including qualification for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 1500 free. The Minnesota state champion boasts times of 4:20.54 (500 free), 9:05.99 (1000 free), and 15:06.71 (1650 free), signaling his potential to be an NCAA distance scorer. The freshman&#8217;s arrival strengthens Princeton\u2019s distance lineup and adds a national presence to the Tigers\u2019 roster.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Aiden Hammer (University of Texas)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Specialties<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Distance and Middle Distance Freestyle<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Top Times<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>200 Free (SCY): 1:35.85<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">500 Free (SCY): 4:14.21<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1000 Free (SCY): 8:55.18<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1650 Free (SCY): 15:10.49<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Highlights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reclassified to the Class of 2025, joining Texas a year early<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Joins a strong distance group, including Rex Maurer<\/li>\n<li>13th in the Class of 2025<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aiden Hammer joins Texas a year early after reclassifying to the Class of 2025 and flipping his commitment from the University of California, Berkeley. A mid-distance and distance freestyler who recently competed at the World Junior Championships, Hammer has posted a 4:14.21 in the 500 free, an 8:55.18 in the 1000 free, and a 15:10.49 in the 1650 free. His early move to Austin bolsters an already deep Longhorns roster, and his times suggest he could be an immediate contributor in individual distance events.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During Upcoming NCAA Season The 2025-26 NCAA swim season is approaching quickly, and several incoming freshmen are poised to make significant impacts on their respective<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170130,"featured_media":613115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[134785,136790,134111,134679],"class_list":["post-622441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-college","tag-aiden-hammer","tag-derek-hitchens","tag-jiarui-xue","tag-max-goettsch"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During NCAA Season<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the start of the 2025-26 NCAA season around the corner, here&#039;s a look at four under-the-radar freshmen to watch.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During Upcoming NCAA Season\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With the start of the 2025-26 NCAA season around the corner, here&#039;s a look at four under-the-radar freshmen to watch.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-09T09:44:56+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-09T12:45:16+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connor Yao\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connor Yao\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Yao\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e1ab47c0b6246a86feec865fb38c243e\"},\"headline\":\"Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During Upcoming NCAA Season\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-09T09:44:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-09T12:45:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/\"},\"wordCount\":484,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Aiden Hammer\",\"Derek Hitchens\",\"Jiarui Xue\",\"Max Goettsch\"],\"articleSection\":[\"-Home Slider\",\"College\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/\",\"name\":\"Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During NCAA Season\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-09T09:44:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-09T12:45:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"With the start of the 2025-26 NCAA season around the corner, here's a look at four under-the-radar freshmen to watch.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":750,\"caption\":\"Courtesy: Peter H. Bick\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During Upcoming NCAA Season\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e1ab47c0b6246a86feec865fb38c243e\",\"name\":\"Connor Yao\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eebbb845bb354b36ba6f248daa8acc1f?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eebbb845bb354b36ba6f248daa8acc1f?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Connor Yao\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/connor-yao\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During NCAA Season","description":"With the start of the 2025-26 NCAA season around the corner, here's a look at four under-the-radar freshmen to watch.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During Upcoming NCAA Season","og_description":"With the start of the 2025-26 NCAA season around the corner, here's a look at four under-the-radar freshmen to watch.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2025-09-09T09:44:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-09T12:45:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Connor Yao","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swimmingworld","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Connor Yao","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/"},"author":{"name":"Connor Yao","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e1ab47c0b6246a86feec865fb38c243e"},"headline":"Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During Upcoming NCAA Season","datePublished":"2025-09-09T09:44:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-09T12:45:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/"},"wordCount":484,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg","keywords":["Aiden Hammer","Derek Hitchens","Jiarui Xue","Max Goettsch"],"articleSection":["-Home Slider","College"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/","name":"Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During NCAA Season","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-09T09:44:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-09T12:45:16+00:00","description":"With the start of the 2025-26 NCAA season around the corner, here's a look at four under-the-radar freshmen to watch.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg","width":1000,"height":750,"caption":"Courtesy: Peter H. Bick"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-under-the-radar-freshmen-to-watch-during-upcoming-ncaa-season\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Four Under-the-Radar Freshmen to Watch During Upcoming NCAA Season"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e1ab47c0b6246a86feec865fb38c243e","name":"Connor Yao","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eebbb845bb354b36ba6f248daa8acc1f?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eebbb845bb354b36ba6f248daa8acc1f?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Connor Yao"},"url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/connor-yao\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/aiden-hammer-USA-Swimming-Nationals-2025-1326-Edit.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-2BVn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/170130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622441"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":622447,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622441\/revisions\/622447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}