2016 Swammy Awards: NCAA Male Swimmer of the Year

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2016 NCAA MALE SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: RYAN MURPHY

Ryan Murphy (Photo: Tim Binning)

Backstroke stud Ryan Murphy had some jaw dropping performances as a Cal junior in 2016. At the NCAA Championships, he swam to his 3rd-straight sweep of the backstroke events to help the Bears to their 2nd place team finish. Murphy broke his first NCAA and American Records of the meet with a 43.51 backstroke split on the 400 medley relay, making him the first man to ever clear the 44-second mark. He then went on to lower those marks even further with a 43.49 to win the individual 100 back. In the 200 back, Murphy dominated the race, swimming to new NCAA and American Records of 1:35.73 to win by almost 3 seconds.

The Swammy Award for NCAA Male Swimmer of the Year was hard to call. At NCAAs, Murphy was named co-swimmer of the meet with former Bolles teammates Joseph Schooling, and Caeleb Dressel, as they each won 2 individual NCAA titles and set NCAA Records in both. Since all 3 swimmers were 2016 Olympians, we looked at their Rio performances to break the tie. Of the 3 swimmers, Murphy was the only one to set a World Record and win multiple individual golds in Rio.

In Rio, the Americans looked to Murphy and his USA teammates David Plummer and Jacob Pebley to defend Team USA’s Olympic backstroke streak. Murphy came home with Olympic gold medals from both individual backstrokes, as well as a gold from the 400 medley relay. With his 400 medley relay leadoff, Murphy broke backstroke legend Aaron Piersol’s former World Record, giving Team USA the early lead with his 51.85 split.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

In no particular order

Caeleb Dressel (Photo: Tim Binning)

• Caeleb Dressel, Florida- Dressel, a sophomore for the 3rd place Florida Gators, threw down insane times in the sprint freestyles in 2016. He first dropped a sizzling 18.39 to break the NCAA and American Records in the 50 free at the SEC Championships, but quickly raised the bar again to win the event with an 18.20 at NCAAs. He also set the American Record in the 100 free at SECs, rocking a 41.07 to take down Nathan Adrian‘s former record. Once again, he smashed the record at NCAAs, this time surpassing Vlad Morozov‘s former NCAA Record with a 40.46. In addition to his victories, he also took 2nd in the 100 fly behind only Schooling. In Rio, Dressel was an individual finalist in the 100 free and a gold medalist as a part of Team USA’s 400 free relay.
• Joseph Schooling, Texas- At the 2016 NCAA Championships, Schooling, a sophomore for the NCAA champion Texas Longhorns, repeated as champion in the 100 fly and 200 fly. In the 100 fly, he nearly cleared the 44-second barrier, setting a new NCAA Record with his 44.01 for gold. He battled with teammate Jack Conger in the 200 fly, touching just ahead with a blazing 1:37.97 to pick up another individual title in NCAA Record time. In Rio, 21-year-old Schooling became the first Singaporean athlete to ever win an Olympic gold in any sport. He did so by crushing a 100 fly field that included butterfly stars Michael Phelps, Chad Le Clos, and Laszlo Cseh. Schooling’s winning time of 50.39 is the fastest swim ever done in textile.