Top 10 NCAA Diving Recruits in the Girls' High School Class of 2025

10/17/2024 08:45 AM

By Noah Duperre on SwimSwam

While a bulk of the team points in NCAA Swimming and Diving meets come from swimming, it is no secret that diving has the potential to play a huge role and sway results in an unpredictable manner.

In an effort to expand NCAA coverage here on SwimSwam, we have compiled a list of the top 10 women's recruits for the high school class of 2025. The goal of this expanded coverage is to provide our readers with a more complete view of how recruiting will impact the future of a team.

Methodology

Ranking divers is more complex and less black and white than ranking swimmers. Diving is a subjective sport, meaning that simply looking at scores does not provide a full picture compared to looking at a swimmer's time. The scoring is open up to interpretation, so it was important for us not just to look at results while compiling these rankings, but to also analyze video and formulate our own opinions in the process.

Within Division I of the NCAA, most dual meets in diving only contest the one-meter and three-meter springboard events. Platform diving, for the most part, only comes into play for invitationals and championship meets. Divers with the ability to compete platform right out of high school are not very common, but are very valuable. This versatility of having a platform-capable diver is important for college teams to have because it simply means more chances to score points.

Being successful in the junior ranks in diving does not always translate to success at the NCAA or senior level. It was important for us to consider potential when composing this ranking as previous success isn't always a reliable indicator.

This list focuses on American-based athletes as it is difficult to predict if international athletes will choose to compete in the NCAA. Additionally, this list is not exhaustive of all the talented NCAA recruits in this class and does not mean any diver omitted doesn't have the potential to make valuable contributions to a college team.

Honorable Mentions

Savannah Watts – Mission Viejo Nadadores – San Juan Capo, CA **Committed to Auburn**

Savannah Watts has the incredible ability to "rip," or go in the water with virtually no splash. This talent is showcased mostly on her platform diving. Right now, she really shines on the higher boards, but there is a clear gap between her platform and springboard diving. While having a solid platform list is a huge plus for college recruiting, it's important to also remember that in around 75% of college diving meets, you only compete on springboard.

Maizie Sanchez – Razorback Diving Club – Springdale, AR **Committed to Arkansas**

Something I love about Sanchez's diving are her pretty lines and exquisite toe point. Her balletic style adds an element of grace that the judges love. What's holding me back from adding her to the official top 10 is her lack of platform experience coupled with her inconsistency in competition. Her training videos look great, but her recent competition results don't exactly reflect that.

10. Avery Hillier – Knight Diving Academy – Devon, PA **Verbally committed to Duke**

Our first entrant on the list is Avery Hillier, one of two Knight Diving Academy athletes to make the list. While she is a really solid diver on all three events, what really put her over the edge to make the list is the fact that she already has a competitive 10-meter competition list. Most platform divers entering college are still working towards learning all their 10-meter dives and the fact that Hillier is ahead on that front is valuable.

9. Iona Moffat – Clavadistas del Sol – Scottsdale, AZ **Committed to Iowa State**

Iona Moffat is a springboard-only diver out of Arizona and makes this list by virtue of her remarkable consistency. Her best event currently is the three-meter springboard, where she made the finals at the most recent junior national championships. Throughout the preliminaries, semifinals, and finals on the three-meter at that meet, her list scores were between 376.20 and 380.20. This reliability and steadiness are extremely valuable at the NCAA level.

8. Elonia Lobedecis – Pacific Diving Academy USA Inc – Long Beach, CA **Committed to Michigan**

Elonia Lobedecis has the really valuable diving quality of being "fast-twitched." This means she has the ability to fold and unfold from her positions extra quickly and, in turn, gives her the ability to flip really fast in the air. She already has some really difficult dives implemented into her three-meter and platform competition lists, like a backwards 2.5 somersault pike and a reverse 2.5 somersault pike. Most other girls her age and at the college level are doing those same dives in the tuck position, which is easier to complete. For a high schooler, her dives are very advanced, so she won't have to learn as many new dives when she gets to school. The area Lobedecis can work on is her inconsistency in competition.

7. Brooklyn Petit – Atlanta Diving Association – Milton, GA **Committed to Ohio State**

Brooklyn Petit's diving ability, across springboard and platform, is highlighted by her tremendous entries, oftentimes creating little to no splash. The entry to the dive is arguably the most important aspect with respect to scoring because it is the last thing the judges see and can leave an impression. Currently, Petit shines the most on the platform. What separates a good platform diver and a great platform diver is the ability to rip (have clean entries), and she has the potential to be great. Petit is working toward some more difficult dives on the 10-meter and continuing to develop her list heading into her freshman year next fall. If she continues on this trajectory, she will thrive in the NCAA.

6. Amelia Rinehart – The Indiana International School of Diving – Fort Wayne, IN  **Committed to Purdue**

Rinehart is a very experienced springboard diver, having competed on the junior international and on the senior national level multiple times. These past experiences will help her settle into the high level of NCAA diving considerably quicker than some of her counterparts might. Her diving is overall really pretty and smooth, which is exactly what you want as a springboard diver. Through watching her dive, it's obvious she has great mechanics and is very well taught.

5. Emma Rhines – The Woodlands Diving Academy – Conroe, TX **Committed to Tennessee**

We go from talking about Rinehart to Rhines, as the Conroe, TX native takes the number five spot on the list. Emma Rhines does have some platform experience, but where she really excels is on the springboards, especially the three-meter. She is a finalist on the three-meter at the most recent junior nationals and a semi-finalist on the one-meter. Something that sticks out most to me about Rhines' diving is her great toe point, which gives all her dives an extra element of elegance and adds to the overall impression of her dives.

4. Maria Faoro – Dallas Metroplex Diving – Lucas, TX **Committed to Auburn**

Faoro technically competes internationally for Brazil, but ultimately was included on this list because she is based in the US and still competes in the junior USA Diving circuit each year. As a springboard diver, Faoro's board work and timing help her not only to look fluid when jumping on the board, but also gets her so much more height. Her ability to flip fast paired with the explosive height she gets off the springboard allow her to finish all her dives really high above the water. She makes difficult dives look relatively easy, which is something the judges love to see, and they reward heavily for.

3. Gianna Lawrence – Knight Diving Academy – Flemington, NJ **Committed to Rutgers**

Gianna Lawrence is our second diver from the Knight Diving Academy on this list. Lawrence is similar to Emma Rhines, our number five pick, as they both have platform experience but are high on the list by merit of their springboard abilities. Gianna is so, so strong and her power really shows with how much height she gets on the springboard. I would not be at all surprised to see her continue to upgrade her difficulty over this season and into her freshman year. She definitely has potential to compete some harder dives.

One slight area of weakness in Lawrence's diving is that she can be a bit loose in the leg form on her entries. She doesn't quite have the same extension and lines as some other high-caliber divers, but it is balanced out by her sheer power. She is such a fun diver to watch and I would look out for her to be making some conference and even NCAA finals as early as her freshman season.

2. Kaylee Bishop – Coral Springs Diving – Boca Raton, FL **Committed to Indiana**

Kaylee Bishop is probably the most experienced diver on this list, when it comes to international and senior-level competition. She was one of the youngest competitors at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team trials and in the most recent trials, finished 3rd in the synchronized 10 meter. She also has a lot of experience on the junior international stage. More recently, she represented the United States at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, competing in the mixed 10-meter synchronized event.

Before the 2023 season, I would have confidently said that Kaylee Bishop is mainly a platform diver. However, her springboard performances the past couple of seasons impressed me and have shown that she isn't just a one-event wonder. Her overall nice form, good mechanics and difficult dives make her a valuable addition to any NCAA team and put her in a position to score on the conference and potentially NCAA level all four years of her career.

1. Molly Gray – Stanford Diving – Walnut Creek, CA **Committed to Stanford**

Molly Gray, our number 1 pick for the girl's class of 2025, is a very well-rounded diver. The deciding factor that ultimately catapulted her up to the top spot in the rankings is her springboard abilities. While her recent results from the 2024 junior national championships have been a little up and down, I believe Molly's ceiling is really high and can see her seriously competing on par with some of the best springboard divers in the country. She is an impressive platform diver as well, but it seems that she has focused more of her attention towards the lower boards this past season.

Gray, like some others on this list, has a good deal of international and senior-level experience. She is the 2022 world junior silver medalist on the one meter in her age group, a feat that no one else in this ranking has come close to achieving. On the springboard, she already has a relatively high-difficulty competition list with generally good execution. Once she is able to get those difficult dives consistent in competition, she will surely be one of the top springboarders in the NCAA. Arriving next fall on campus, Gray will boost her program and will be an extremely valuable scorer for her team.

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