By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam
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High school junior Libbi McCarthy from Edina, Minnesota, has announced her intention to remain in-state to swim and study at the University of Minnesota beginning in the 2026-27 school year.
“I chose Minnesota because of the amazing team culture, coaches, and great campus. I have been going there for meets for a long time and on my visit I saw how beautiful the campus was and how great the team was and knew it was right for me.”
McCarthy swims for the Edina High School Girls Swim and Dive team and Edina Swim Club. She specializes in sprints and we named her one of the “Best of the Rest” on our Way Too Early list of top recruits from the high school class of 2026.
Last November, at the MSHSL Girls Class AA State Championship, McCarthy won the 50 free (23.01) and was runner-up in the 100 free (50.61), putting up lifetime bests in both events. Those were year-over-year improvements of .45 and .67, respectively, as she had notched PBs of 23.46/51.28 – placing 2nd in the 50 and 5th in the 100 – as a freshman.
In club swimming, McCarthy updated her LCM times in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 50 fly, 100 fly, and 200 IM in the spring of 2024, hitting Winter U.S. Open qualifying standards in the 50 and 100 free (26.08/57.35).
Best times:
- 50 free – 23.01 SCY / 26.08 LCM
- 100 free – 50.62 SCY / 57.35 LCM
- 200 free – 1:52.23 SCY / 2:05.81 LCM
Last season, the Golden Gophers had four sprinters under 24 seconds: Hannah Cornish (22.34), Morgan Thomas (22.46), Mina Kaljevic (23.00), and Indy Jongman (23.28). So far this season, first-year Olivia Wanner has come within half a second of her lifetime best (22.65) to lead the squad with 23.11, and classmate Kamdyn Periat has clocked in at 24.0.
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Read the full story on SwimSwam: “Best of the Rest” Sprinter Libbi McCarthy (2026) Verbals to In-state Golden Gophers