SwimSwam.com’s Jared Anderson has seen hot recruiting classes coming together. He can cite recent examples for Texas on the men’s side and Virginia for the women’s, the winners of this year’s NCAA titles.
There is no denying that one of, if not the, hot recruiting classes in 2021 on the men’s side belonged to NC State.
Anderson helps lead the recruiting coverage for SwimSwam.com and noted that they will re-rank the prospects this summer, but in the most recent rankings, five of the top 18 swimmers listed are coming to NC State, a group that does not include an international signee who has swimming times good enough to rank with the best of the class.
“It’s definitely a high-end class for sure,” Anderson said. “… I’d be pretty surprised if they were outside the top three classes nationally.”
NC State head coach Braden Holloway’s remarkable rebuild of the Wolfpack’s program from the bottom of the ACC to elite nationally, with four straight top-four finishes at NCAAs prior to this year, was built on the strength of a group of fast sprinters who could add valuable relay points to the mix.
This class, in a way, is a return to the roots for Holloway.
Aidan Hayes, the top-ranked prospect in SwimSwam’s rankings, Sam Hoover (No. 7) and Garrett Boone (No. 18) all fit the profile of valuable relay performers given their successes in the 100 and 200 freestyle swims. So does international signee Noe Ponti from Switzerland, while Arsenio Bustos (No. 12) brings valuable versatility.
David Curtiss (No. 11) is a potentially elite-level freestyle sprinter.
Hayes, from Norman, Okla., is the headliner of the class. He broke 2016 Olympic gold medal-winning Joseph Schooling’s high school national record for the 100 butterfly, and his time of 19.20 seconds in the 50 freestyle at the Oklahoma state championship meet was nearly good enough to qualify for the A-finals at this year’s NCAA Championship.
“He’s also one of the fastest 200 butterfliers we have ever seen out of high school,” Anderson added. “If you can swim a 200 fly, there is not really an event that can really scare you away or you are not tough enough to do.”
Hayes’ 50-free mark was the national high school record until Curtiss, a native of Yardley, Pa., broke it by swimming it in 19.11 seconds. Anderson added it’s possible that Curtiss is just scratching the surface of his potential.
“Maybe he’s come along in some other strokes over his senior year, but as far as pure speed goes in the sprints he is one of the best in the class,” Anderson noted. “He’s very good in the long course meters, the Olympics course.
"In a way you could almost say his short course times are a little behind his long course times, so he might have potential to do better in the great times he’s got there.”
Hoover is a local product from Chapel Hill, and Anderson noted that despite his reputation in the freestyle events, he also adds intrigue as a potential IMer.
“He’s got a nice 100 free, 200 free,” Anderson noted. “I think that’s a good area for college coaches to build around. It’s more difficult to build a 200 in a guy who is good in the 50. Hoover is a guy who could contribute in bunch of relays, and he’s kind of good in other strokes, too. His IM is interesting.”
Bustos, from Orange, Conn., is another that could compete in the IMs.
“I’d be curious to see what his 200 IM does,” Anderson stated. “The 200 IM is an event that you don’t see a ton of huge times at in high school, and then there are a lot of drops in the college. He’s got a real good 200 IM in the high school level.
"He could be a really, really good IMer early in his career.”
Boone is a Charlotte native who has a good backstroke in addition to his freestyle prowess. He was the state of North Carolina’s Outstanding Male Swimmer at the 4-A state meet after winning titles in the 50 free and 100 backstroke this year.
“Another guy that goes up pretty well to the 200 free,” Anderson said. “They have a nice stable of guys that they can move around. He was a guy who are dropping times pretty well. He’s got a good IM as well. He’s stands out in the freestyle, but he’s got some range.”
Then there is Ponti, who already holds Switzerland’s national record in both the 100 and 200 butterfly plus the 800 freestyle.
“Looking at his times, he would be in the range of a top 10 recruit, definitely,” Anderson said. “His sprint freestyles up to the 200 are really good. He’s going to be another guy that does the relays early.
“He might be a butterflier who swims all the free relays, because his 200 butterfly is really good.”
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