Schooling is top 2014 recruit: website

SINGAPORE — United States-based Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling is the top recruit of the boys’ high school class of 2014, according to a ranking by website SwimSwam.

The Bolles School student begins his final year next month but National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) coaches can start making contact with and recruiting swimmers who are high school seniors.

Schooling’s team-mate Caeleb Dressel was ranked second on SwimSwam’s list.

Although the website has no links to the NCAA or the colleges, the rankings still come as a confidence booster for the Singaporean, who set the national 100m butterfly record of 52.33secs at the Arena Grand Prix in Charlotte in May.

“It’s always a great feeling to be put on a list with so many talented swimmers,” said Schooling yesterday. “I’m privileged to be called the top recruit and this will motivate me to work harder and take my swimming to the next level.”

The NCAA, which is based in Indianapolis, is a non-profit body that organises the sports programmes of many colleges and universities in North America, and is affiliated to more than 1,200 institutions, organisations and individuals.

In January, Schooling told TODAY he was interested in training at the University of California in Berkeley under Dave Durden, who has developed Olympic gold medallists Anthony Ervin and Nathan Adrian. But yesterday he stressed: “I haven’t decided which college I’ll be attending next year. I’m still in the process of selecting which school will fit me best.”

Coached by Spain’s 1988 Olympic bronze medallist Sergio Lopez, Schooling holds the national 200m butterfly record of 1min 56.67secs set at the 2011 SEA Games in Palembang, Indonesia. He also holds the national 50m fly record of 24.06 set at the 2011 SEA Games.

Later this month, he will travel to Barcelona as part of the eight-strong Singapore squad for the FINA World Championship. Tan Yo-Hinn