Of the select group of high school student-athletes who go on to compete in college, an even smaller crew joins the same program as an older sibling. That group shrinks if you consider the rare sibling trios to pass through the same college team.

A quartet of Gophers siblings is a needle in a haystack — or, in this case, a drop of water in a swimming pool.

This year, a fourth McCarthy sibling, Libbi, will graduate from Edina with plans to swim for the University of Minnesota. A senior and state champion, she still has one more fall season with the Hornets and is eyeing a third Class 2A team state title during her time with the program.

The freestyle sprinter, who also competes for Edina Swim Club, could add to her individual medal haul, too.

Her collection already includes gold and two silvers in the 50-yard freestyle, two silvers in the 100 free and, across relay events, six golds, a silver and a bronze. Her success has earned her the distinction of being the No. 2-ranked girls swimmer in the state’s graduating class.

Libbi’s oldest sister, Kelli, swam at the U from 2018-22. Brother Tommy just finished his senior year with the Gophers, and sister Katie — who holds Minnesota swimming state records in the 100 freestyle and 1650 free, according to SwimCloud — will be a junior this fall.

“My sisters definitely helped me a lot with swimming and anything — anything, really,“ the youngest McCarthy said. ”They’ll watch my races and then tell me stuff I need to work on, or stuff that looks good."

Kelli and Katie combined for 14 event state titles, both individual and relay, while they were at Edina. Libbi is a sprinter, but both of her older sisters specialized in distance. The difference in events, and the wide age range between the McCarthy siblings, means they’re less competitive than one might expect, Libbi said.

As for whether the older McCarthys vied to recruit Libbi — “They did a little bit, obviously,” admitted Libbi, but overall, “they tried not to, because it was my process of picking where I was going.”

“It was kind of easy to do my own thing, just because I knew I kind of wanted to follow in my siblings’ footsteps anyway, because I just saw how much fun they have,” McCarthy said. “If I didn’t want to do it, I don’t think I would have, right? … It’s something that I really love.”

Minnesota was one of three schools where McCarthy made official visits, and she wrapped up her visit noticing, within the Gophers program, similarities to what she valued about her Edina team.

“It’s the team that makes the place,” McCarthy said of her Hornets squad. “We have such a great team and a great environment, it just allows me to work extra hard and want to be successful.”

With her current team, that close bond manifests itself in preseason dessert parties, bobbing for apples in the pool at Halloween and one fateful dual meet trip to Buffalo, when the team’s bus broke down and girls clambered out to help push the vehicle down the road. More than that, though, it’s the environment of their daily training, Libbi said.

“She’s an incredibly hard worker … always willing to do whatever we all think will help her become a better athlete,” said Jeff Mace, head coach at Edina. “That’s just her makeup.”

When McCarthy announced her commitment to the Gophers in January, “no one was really too surprised,” she said. “They were just all happy and excited for me.”

When she heads to Dinkytown, to a campus she’s already fairly familiar with, she plans to pick a major in the business field.

“I’m not really nervous. It makes me really excited,” McCarthy said. “I know that that atmosphere there is just amazing, and the training and everything.”

After winning Class 2A team state titles in 2022 and 2023 — putting Edina’s total at 19 first-place trophies — the Hornets finished runner-up to Minnetonka last fall. McCarthy was part of the meet-opening 200 medley relay that tied for first, down to the millisecond, with the Skippers.

“She wants to always do well in the relays when her teammates are involved,” Mace said. “She’d rather have the team win than herself.”