College swim recruiting for swimmers
Learn how recruiting works, when to start, how coaches read your times, and how Streamline Swimming helps you find the right team in Canada or the United States.
How it works
From your first profile to your commitment
Create your free swim profile
Tell us your events and best times, with the course for each (SCY, SCM, or LCM), plus your grades, graduation year, and goals for college swimming. It's free and only takes a few minutes.
Talk with Liam
Once your profile is in, you can request a consultation with our Director of Swimming, a longtime college coach. You'll get your questions answered and an honest read on where your times and grades fit.
Hear when there's a fit
We compare your profile with programs in our network and reach out when there's a fit. You decide which conversations to have.
Build your plan
Want more? An Advising Session gets you a written Recruitment Plan. Ongoing Advising gets you hands-on help, billed hourly, at your pace. See plans and pricing.
Reach out and commit
Email coaches with your times, take visits, compare offers, and choose the team where you'll be valued and keep improving.
The timeline
When college swim recruiting happens
Every association sets its own rules for when coaches can contact you. Read the full year-by-year timeline for the details and the current rules.
Freshman and sophomore / Gr. 9–10
Build your times and your grades. Research programs, and swim the meets that count. You can email coaches any time, even if some can't reply yet.
Junior / Gr. 11
The busiest year. Coaches can reach out, visits open up, and your junior-year times shape your list. Keep your profile current.
Senior / Gr. 12
Official visits, offers, applications, and financial aid. Compare every offer on full cost, not just athletic money, then commit and sign.
Times and standards
How college coaches read your times
Coaches compare your times with their roster and with what it takes to score at their conference championship. What counts as a recruitable time depends on the program, not just the division, so the same swim can be a top time at one school and depth at another.
Always list the course with every time. A 25-yard pool and a 50-meter pool produce different times, and coaches judge each swim by the course it was raced in.
Progression matters too. Coaches look at how your times have dropped over the last two seasons, your splits, and how you swim at your championship meet.
Create your free swim profile
Free to submit. No strings attached.
- Share your events, best times, grades, and goals
- Aim for NCAA, NAIA, and U SPORTS programs in Canada and the US
- Hear from us when programs in our network could be a fit
Your swim profile
Free to submit. No strings attached.
FAQ
Swimmer questions, answered
When should I start the recruiting process?
Start researching programs and building your times in freshman and sophomore year (grades 9 and 10), and be ready by the summer before junior year (grade 11), when many coaches can start contacting swimmers. The exact dates depend on the division or association.
What times do I need to swim in college?
It depends on the program. Coaches recruit against their own roster and conference, so there's no single cut for a division. Create your free swim profile, and we'll compare it with programs in our network and reach out when there's a fit.
Should I email coaches before they contact me?
Yes. Email the coaches at schools you're interested in with your events, best times with the course, grades, and upcoming meets. Some coaches can't reply until a set date, but they can still read your email.
Can I swim in college in Canada and the United States?
Yes. Many swimmers consider both. U SPORTS in Canada and the NCAA and NAIA in the United States have different seasons, courses, and scholarship rules, so compare them on academic, athletic, financial, and geographic fit.
Is my swim profile really free?
Yes. Creating your profile is free, and we reach out when programs in our network could be a fit. Paid options are there if you want a written plan or ongoing help.
Can I get one-on-one help with my college list?
Yes. An Advising Session is 60 minutes with Liam Donnelly, our Director of Swimming and a longtime college coach, and you leave with a written Recruitment Plan. If you want help along the way, Ongoing Advising is billed hourly, at your pace. See plans and pricing.
Do you help divers?
Yes. Divers can create a profile and book advising too.