College Recruiting Times
Division III men's 500 Free college swimming recruiting times
Updated July 2026 · 2025-26 season roster times
This page compares 183 active programs by the median 500 Free time on each current roster. Wash U has the fastest roster median in this cohort at 4:33.88. These are 2025-26 roster results, not coach-issued recruiting cuts. Use them to identify schools to research and questions to ask about event and class needs.
Typical roster reference points
Typical scorer tier
4:53.07
Typical roster median
5:05.85
Typical depth tier
5:35.51
Fast-program scorer tier
4:45.05
Each value is the median across active programs for that roster point. Scorer is a roster's top quarter, the roster median is its middle swimmer, and depth is the back of the roster.
Showing 1–25 of 183 programs · How we rank
| Rank | School | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wash U Saint Louis, MO | 4:33.88 |
| 2 | MIT Cambridge, MA | 4:34.96 |
| 3 | Kenyon Gambier, OH | 4:35.87 |
| 4 | NYU New York, NY | 4:36.25 |
| 5 | Emory Atlanta, GA | 4:36.39 |
| 6 | Trinity (TX) San Antonio, TX | 4:37.22 |
| 7 | Denison Granville, OH | 4:37.22 |
| 8 | Tufts Medford, MA | 4:37.59 |
| 9 | CMS Claremont, CA | 4:37.59 |
| 10 | St. Thomas (TX) Houston, TX | 4:38.60 |
| 11 | Carnegie Mellon Pittsburgh, PA | 4:38.97 |
| 12 | TCNJ Ewing, NJ | 4:39.47 |
| 13 | Johns Hopkins Baltimore, MD | 4:39.89 |
| 14 | Gettysburg Gettysburg, PA | 4:41.09 |
| 15 | Ithaca Ithaca, NY | 4:41.51 |
| 16 | Chicago Chicago, IL | 4:41.77 |
| 17 | Williams Williamstown, MA | 4:42.07 |
| 18 | Connecticut College New London, CT | 4:42.24 |
| 19 | Washington & Lee Lexington, VA | 4:42.28 |
| 20 | Swarthmore Swarthmore, PA | 4:44.45 |
| 21 | Amherst Amherst, MA | 4:44.65 |
| 22 | Rowan Glassboro, NJ | 4:45.15 |
| 23 | Pomona-Pitzer Claremont, CA | 4:45.73 |
| 24 | Rochester Rochester, NY | 4:45.92 |
| 25 | Bates Lewiston, ME | 4:46.18 |
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Same event, other divisions
Same division, other events
Common questions
How are these programs ranked?
We order programs by their roster's median time in the 500 Free. That's the time a middle-of-the-roster swimmer goes, so the ranking reflects the whole team, not just the fastest swimmer. A program appears only when it has at least 4 swimmers rostered in the event.
Is the roster median a recruiting cutoff?
No. It is a snapshot of the current roster, not a coach-issued cutoff. A coach may recruit above or below it depending on event needs, class needs, development, academics, and available roster space.
Where do the times come from?
The actual times current swimmers have posted this 2025-26 season, pulled from program rosters — not qualifying standards or a coach's estimate.
What do score, contribute, and depth mean?
They are roster tiers. Scorer is a roster's top quarter, contributor is the middle half, and depth is the back of the roster. They describe the swimmers already on the team. See how we rank for the full method.