By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam
It’s that time of the year again. SwimSwam will be previewing the top 12 men’s and women’s teams (and then some) from the 2026 NCAA Championships. Follow along with the College Swimming Preview Channel. Want to read even more? Check out the latest edition of the SwimSwam magazine.
Women’s #5: Tennessee Volunteers
Key Losses: None
Key Additions: #2 Charlotte Crush (KY – fly/free/back), #5 Molly Sweeney (IN – breast/IM), Eliza Wallace (NC – breast), Mia Buff (OH – back), Isabel Baley (TX – diving), Kimmy Shannon (Pitt Transfer (IM), Hannah Smith (Australia – diver), Leah Tigert (Canada – sprint free), Madison Kryger (Canada – back), Matea Gigovic (Canada – free/fly), Luisa Fragoeiro Arco (Portugal – diver)
GRADING CRITERIA
Over the years, we’ve gone back and forth on how to project points, ranging from largely subjective rankings to more data-based grading criteria based on ‘projected returning points.’ We like being as objective as possible, but we’re going to stick with the approach we’ve adopted post-COVID. The “stars” will rely heavily on what swimmers actually did last year, but we’ll also give credit to returning swimmers or freshmen who have posted times that would have scored last year.
Since we only profile the top 12 teams in this format, our grades are designed with that range in mind. In the grand scheme of college swimming and compared to all other college programs, top 12 NCAA programs would pretty much all grade well across the board. But in the interest of making these previews informative, our grading scale is tough – designed to show the tiers between the good stroke groups, the great ones, and the 2015 Texas fly group types.
5 star (★★★★★) – a rare, elite NCAA group projected to score 25+ points per event 4 star (★★★★) – a very, very good NCAA group projected to score 15-24 points per event 3 star (★★★) – a good NCAA group projected to score 5-14 points per event 2 star (★★) – a solid NCAA group projected to score 1-4 points per event 1 star (★) – an NCAA group that is projected to score no points per event, though that doesn’t mean it’s without potential scorers – they’ll just need to leapfrog some swimmers ahead of them to do itWe’ll grade each event discipline: sprint free (which we define to include all the relay-distance freestyle events, so 50, 100 and 200), distance free, IM, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and diving. Use these grades as a jumping-off point for discussion, rather than a reason to be angry.
Also, keep in mind that we are publishing many of these previews before teams have posted finalized rosters. We’re making our assessments based on the best information we have available at the time of publication. Still, we reserve the right to make changes after publication based on any new information that may emerge regarding rosters. If that does happen, we’ll make certain to note the change.
The final note is that we are not including athletes who graduated last spring after exhausting their college eligibility despite ongoing lawsuits against the NCAA regarding the new “Five-for-Five” rule.
2025-26 Lookback
The Tennessee women delivered a plethora of strong performances en route to a top-five finish at the 2026 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Camille Spink and Ella Jansen led the Volunteers with a combined 85 individual points. Both swimmers reached three individual finals and were clear stars for the Tennessee team last season.
Also contributing to the team’s top five finish were several then-underclassmen, including Emily Brown, McKenzie Siroky, and Mizuki Hirai, who brought in another 51.5 individual points a season ago.
One of the biggest stars of the team last year was not a swimmer, but a diver: rising sophomore Desharn Bent-Ashmeil, who was a double finalist at NCAAs, including a runner-up finish on 3-meter.
The Lady Volunteers also picked up 134 points in the relay events, which was the 5th most of any team at NCAAs.
Tennessee only trailed the 4th-place Cal women by 1.5 points at the end of the meet. Considering the talent the team brings back and the firepower it brings in, the Volunteer women are poised to make serious noise and keep working their way up to a top-three national finish.
Sprint Freestyle: ★★★★
The clear headliner for the sprint freestyle group is senior Camille Spink, who earned herself three NCAA final appearances last season in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles. Her best finish of the meet came in the 50 free, where she placed 3rd in 20.98.
Spink was even faster at the SEC Championships last season, winning the SEC title in 20.87 as the only swimmer under 21 seconds in the event. That same SEC final featured Jillian Crooks, who clocked 21.87 for 7th. Crooks was not quite as fast at NCAAs, only finishing 43rd in 22.39. The team had 10 swimmers under 23 seconds last season; five were under 22.5.
Spink also picked up the win at SECs in the 100 free in 46.01, and it was not particularly close, touching first by more than three-quarters of a second. The next-fastest performer on the roster last season was Emily Armen in 47.63, more than a second and a half behind Spink’s top time. Nobody else on the roster was under 48 last season.
The 200 free, once again topped by Spink in 1:41.71, was not the only 1:41 performer last season, as Ella Jansen led off the 8th-place finishing 800 free relay at NCAAs in 1:41.73.
Emily Armen and Emily Brown were the only other Volunteer swimmers under 1:45 last season, finishing 1:44.87 and 1:44.88.
This is a clearly established area that could benefit even more from the addition of Charlotte Crush, who comes in with best times of 21.88/47.72/1:44.34, which may help her onto multiple free relays this season.
Overall, with Spink as a serious contender in all three sprint free events, this group is one of the team’s top projected scoring groups. However, several other names could get into scoring range and potentially add to the points Spink is projected to bring in.
Distance Freestyle: ★★★
Though a strong 200 freestyler, Ella Jansen leads the distance free for Tennessee, finishing 4th at NCAAs in the 500 free in 4:32.82.
Jansen was the only sub-4:40 performer last season for the Volunteer women, with the next quickest coming from Emily Brown, who finished 22nd at NCAAs in 4:40.78. Each of the top eight swimmers for Tennessee was under 4:50 last season. It took a 4:39.19 to score at NCAAs, which is more than obtainable for Brown to reach this season.
Avery Luedke was the lone 1650 swimmer last season for the Volunteer women, having clocked a 16:36.44 at a dual meet against Duke.
Outside of Jansen’s 500 free, this group does not have too much firepower. Though the points she will be able to bring in, as well as some potential scoring from Emily Brown, this will be a very top-heavy group in 2026-27.
Backstroke: ★★★★
Charlotte Crush comes in as what would have been the fastest 100 and 200 backstroke on the roster a season ago, with her best times of 49.46 and 1:48.69. Both would have immediately put her at the top of the roster. Her 100 back would have finished 2nd, while her 200 back would have finished 3rd.
Each of those times would have placed her in the top five at NCAAs, and with a season of college training, she may also contend for top-three finishes as a freshman.
As for the returning talents on the roster, the 100 back is spearheaded by Jillian Crooks and Mizuki Hirai, who both raced this event at NCAAs, with Crooks finishing 19th in 51.44, and Hirai touching 21st in 51.47. Crooks was even faster at SECs, blasting a 50.50, which would have finished 7th at NCAAs.
The 100 back also saw one other sub-52-second performer last year in Lexi Stephens, now a junior, who clocked 51.97 at the SEC Championships.
Regan Rathwell led the Volunteers last season as the lone 1:52-swimmer on the roster with her 1:52.80 from a dual meet against Michigan. She is listed on this season’s roster as a 5th year swimmer, the next fastest performer was Stephens in 1:53.09. That time is well outside of the 1:51.97 it took to score in this race at NCAAs last season, though with the aforementioned addition of Charlotte Crush, the Volunteer women are set to score big in the backstroke events.
Breaststroke: ★★★★
The consistent theme with this Tennessee team is that they brought back pretty much everyone, and only got stronger. That stands true in the breaststroke events.
Each of the top three 100 breaststrokers from last season made a return: McKenzie Siroky (56.93), Simone Moll (58.47), and Emile Fast (58.69).
Siroky had a MASSIVE summer for Team USA and will look to carry that momentum into another successful collegiate season, finishing tied for 2nd in the 100 breast in 57.00.
The 200 breast for Tennessee was led by Emelie Fast in 2:09.58, followed closely by Siroky in 2:09.70. It took 2:08.35 to score at NCAAs, which may be a bit too much of a time drop for some of the Volunteer swimmers to reach that range.
This is an area where another strong recruit will be able to contribute pretty much right away in the form of Molly Sweeney, bringing in best times of 59.24 and 2:06.72; that 200 breast time would have finished 6th overall at NCAAs, making for a big threat in a relatively weak event.
Butterfly: ★★★★★
One of the most anticipated debuts last year was Mizuki Hiari, who joined the program midseason and delivered in a big way in her time with the Volunteers. becoming the team’s fastest 100 butterflyer last season in 50.46, and later finished 6th at NCAAs in 50.56.
Outside of Hirai, Only Emily Brown and Ella Jansen were faster than 53-second performers, with Brown and Jansen clocking 52.10 and 52.68 at the Michigan dual meet.
Crush’s best time coming into her freshman season in Knoxville sits at 50.00, which is another time that would have finished 4th, adding another scoring threat in an event that already boasts a national contender.
Emily Brown finished 6th in the 200 fly last season at NCAAs in 1:52.13, with Jansen just behind in 7th at 1:52.35. Both national scorers were faster at SECs in 1:51.52 and 1:52.08, respectively.
It would be hard to imagine these two talents not making their way back to the championship final in this event once again… making it two championship-final-caliber swimmers in each of the 100 and 200 butterfly events, which will likely bring in a boatload of points for a hungry Tennessee team.
IM: ★★★1/2
The 200 IM is led by three of the team’s biggest contributors from the roster a season ago: Emily Brown (1:54.26), Ella Jansen (1:55.33), and Camille Spink (1:57.63), though none of them actually raced this event at NCAAs.
It took 1:56.43 to score at NCAAs, which only Brown and Jansen would have reached, though neither of their times would have finished inside the top 8.
The 400 IM was a bit of a different story, as Jansen finished 4th at NCAAs in 3:59.59, while Emily Brown was 22nd in 4:04.09. Both of whom are more than capable of picking up more strong points in 2027.
Newer addition Kimmy Shannon, who holds best times of 1:57.25 and 4:04.82 from her time with Pitt last season, will also be another strong piece to the IM puzzle for Tennessee.
It’s hard to predict the 200 IM picture; the 400 IM appears to be in a solid place, with multiple swimmers potentially scoring.
Diving: ★★★1/2
We mentioned the scoring from Desharn Bent-Ashmeil, who was the runner-up performer on 3-meter and a 5th-place finisher on 1-meter last season at NCAAs, and with her coming back as only a sophomore, those placements could both grow to national championship status.
The Volunteers also added #1-ranked diver Isabel Baley and will be joined by Australian diver Hannah Smith and Portuguese diver Luisa Fragoeiro Arco.
The diving group will also include Lynae Shorter, a double NCAA qualifier last season in the 1- and 3-meter. The program could find itself back in the high-scoring range once again.
Relays: ★★★★
Note that the grading system doesn’t align perfectly for relays as double points.
Relay grading system:
5 star (★★★★★) – 31+ points per relay event 4 star (★★★★) – 22-30 relay points per event 3 star (★★★) – 12-21 relay points per event 2 star (★★) – 5-11 relay points per event 1 star (★) – 0-4 relay points per eventNo Volunteers from last season’s NCAA Championships departed any relays, which is rare in today’s college sports.
Taking an initial look at the medley relays, it will likely be Charlotte Crush taking over the backstroke duties from Jillian Crooks, while keeping Siroky, Hirai, and Spink as the breast, fly, and freestyle legs.
The free relays will also look very similar, as the 200 and 400 free relays will both likely feature some grouping of Spink, Crooks, Julianna Bocska, Emily Armen, or Ella Jansen. Crush could make a good addition here, though the sprint freestyle groups appear strong as is.
The 800 free last season was made up of Jansen, Armen, Amelia Mason, and Brown, and with that same group back this season, they will probably get that same four-woman contingent back to see what more they can do on the national scale.
Total Stars: 31/40
2026-27 Outlook
The continuity of this roster from a year ago is scary: they didn’t lose a single point of scoring and may have added a boatload more, so this Tennessee team is set to be a dominant force.
Camille Spink, Ella Jansen, and Emily Brown are some of the biggest returners. With the likes of McKenzie Siroky, Mizuki Hirai, and Jillian Crooks, the team got stronger rather than needing to fill in for departing athletes.
This is among the best recruiting classes in the country, only trailing Virginia in our rankings, and a lot of that has to do with Charlotte Crush, who is another projected three ‘A’ final caliber swimmer as a freshman.
The relays were strong, the individual events were strong, and this is one of the best teams on paper for the Volunteer women in years. If there were ever a season to make a major move for the top of the national standings, this would be it.
Women’s 2026-27 College Preview Index
RANK (2026) TEAM SPRINT FREE DISTANCE FREE BACK BREAST FLY IM DIVING RELAY TOTAL 1 Virginia Cavaliers 2 Stanford Cardinal 3 Texas Longhorns 4 California Golden Bears 5 Tennessee Volunteers ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★½ ★★★½ ★★★★ 31/40 6 Michigan Wolverines ★★★ ★★½ ★★★★ ★ ★★★½ ★★★★ ★★ ★★★½ 23.5/40 7 Indiana Hoosiers ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ½ ★★ ★★★ ★★★★ 26.5/40 8 Louisville Cardinals ★★★½ ★★★★ ★ ★★★★ ★ ★★★ ★ ★★★ 20.5/40 9 NC State Wolfpack ★★½ ★ ★★★★★ ★★★★½ ★★★½ ★★ ★ ★★★★ 23.5/40 10 Florida Gators ★ ★★½ ★★★ ★★½ ★ ★★ ★★★ ★½ 16.5/40 11 Alabama Crimson Tide ★★★ ★ ★★½ ★ ★★ ★ ★ ★★★ ½ 15/40 12 Ohio State Buckeyes ★★ ★★★ ½ ★ ★★★ ★ ½ ★ ★★ ½ ★★ 16.5/40Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026-27 College Swimming Previews: #5 Tennessee Women Keep All Scoring and Add Huge Threats from Recruiting Class
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