2023-24 NCAA Men’s Power Rankings: January Edition

As in previous years, SwimSwam’s Power Rankings are somewhere between the CSCAA-style dual meet rankings and a pure prediction of NCAA finish order. SwimSwam’s rankings take into account how a team looks at the moment, while keeping the end of the season in mind through things like a team’s previous trajectory and NCAA scoring potential. These rankings are by nature subjective, and a jumping-off point for discussion. If you disagree with any team’s ranking, feel free to make your case in our comments section.

Braden Keith, Spencer Penland, Yanyan Li, Sophie Kaufman, Robert Gibbs and Anya Pelshaw contributed to this report.

There is less than a month until conference meets. There was not a lot of shifting in the top 25 at all for the men. NC State and Indiana switched spots between 4 and 5. Virginia Tech and Louisville switched two spots between 14 and 16. The only other switch was between Alabama and Louisville which flipped between 18 and 19.

Previous Ranks

• NCAA Men’s Power Rankings – Pre-Season Edition
• NCAA Men’s Power Rankings – November Edition
• NCAA Men’s Power Rankings – December Edition

Honorable Mentions: Georgia Tech, LSU, Kentucky, Utah, Mizzou

#25: MIAMI HURRICANES – (PREVIOUS RANK: 25)

Anya: Despite not having a swim team, the Miami divers are some of the best in the nation which will score enough points to rank them in the top 25. 

#24: BYU COUGARS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 24)

#23: ARIZONA WILDCATS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 23)

Anya: Ralph Daleiden challenged Andrei Minakov last weekend in both the 100 and 200 freestyles against Stanford and picked up a win in the 100 freestyle over the Cal men. 

#22: SMU MUSTANGS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 22)

Braden: SMU’s two big transfers, Danny Kovac and Jack Hoagland, have not been overwhelming in early returns (very early returns for Kovacs). The team’s only projected NCAA scorer based on current times is actually Cotton Fields. While Kovac adds a lot of depth and improves relays at the conference lvel, the big question is whether he has time to get to full form after an extended break (he was 21.89 and 45.68 on free relay splits against UNC). If he can push the SMU relays into scoring potential there’s some upward momentum here.

#21: WISCONSIN BADGERS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 21)

Anya: Yigit Aslan and Luukas Vainio helped the Badger men to a win over Northwestern as the Badger distance group continues to show their strength. 

#20: FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES – (PREVIOUS RANK: 20)

#19: LOUISVILLE CARDINALS -1 (PREVIOUS RANK: 18)

Robert: I still feel like the Cardinals are just lurking until ACCs, but they’ve been pretty quiet even by their standards so far this season.

#18: ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE +1 (PREVIOUS RANK: 19)

Braden: This Alabama team is starting to look kinda deep. Remember when looking at the Swimulator – they didn’t swim an 800 free relay mid-season but have two of the top three swimmers in the NCAA this season in the 800 free relay, including CHarlie Hawke who swam 1:32.90 against Auburn last week.

#17: MICHIGAN WOLVERINES – (PREVIOUS RANK: 17)

Spencer: I like how Michigan looks right now. They have a really solid group of sophomores Eitan Ben-Shitrit, Jack Wilkening, and Tyler Ray. They join Gal Groumi, who is one of the better flyers in the NCAA right now.

#16: VIRGINIA CAVALIERS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 16)

Robert: This is still one of my favorite race videos of all time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF7VGqc6L-8 It wasn’t a shock to see Anthony Grimm fall off the roster after having not really competed this season, but if he’d even gotten back to just matching his Texas times, he definitely would’ve been an asset for the Cavaliers this championship season.

#15: USC TROJANS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 15)

Braden: The second semester blooming of Michael Chmielewski is on track, which would be a huge boost for the USC rebuild.

#14: VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES -2 (PREVIOUS RANK: 12)

Robert: The Hokies have been quiet most of this season, but they didn’t much from last year, and they’ve had some fast relay performances so far in January.

#13: NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH – (PREVIOUS RANK: 13)

Anya: Chris Guiliano and Tommy Janton continue to lead the Fighting Irish. 

#12: AUBURN TIGERS +2 (PREVIOUS RANK: 14)

Braden: Auburn was impressive in their rivalry meet against Alabama.

#11: OHIO STATE BUCKEYES – (PREVIOUS RANK: 11)

Anya: The OSU men defeated the Michigan men by about 30 points. Ruslan Gaziev is a huge return for the Buckeyes as he is helpful both individually and from a relay standpoint. 

#10: TEXAS A&M AGGIES – (PREVIOUS RANK: 10)

Anya: Not only is Baylor Nelson a huge contributor in the pool, but the team’s divers continue to shine and will look to pick up a lot of points at NCAAs, especially with the team’s depth.  

#9: GEORGIA BULLDOGS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 9)

Robert: The Bulldogs have quietly been putting up fast times all season. Case in point: freshman Tomas Koski went 1:32.86 in the 200 free last weekend against Tennesee, just a tenth of second off of his midseason invite time.

Braden: Ruard van Renen going 45.48 in a January dual meet bodes well for his NCAA Championship future.

#8: STANFORD CARDINAL – (PREVIOUS RANK: 8)

Braden: Minakov is back, Polonsky is back, Fan is back, and they all looked really good in the team’s dual meets against Arizona and Arizona State. Stanford has been a roller coaster this season, but for now it seems like they’re headed the right direction at the right time.

YanYan: If Stanford continues to fire on all cylinders like it has done all season, it will be a force to be reckoned with in March with Minakov back and producing some of his best swims in a while

#7: TEXAS LONGHORNS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 7)

Robert: Texas hasn’t a dual meet yet this month, but I’m really curious to see how they look against NC State this weekend.

#6: TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 6)

Braden: The Tennessee sprint group is having another great year, but the real breakout is the Austrian Martin Espernberger, who is lined up to score big points in the 200 fly (and maybe make an Olympic final too)

#5: INDIANA HOOSIERS -1 (PREVIOUS RANK: 4)

Spencer: The loss of Ahmed Hafnoui does hurt IU, there’s no denying it. Despite Hafnoui not even making it to the mid season invite, he still leads IU’s roster this season in the 500 free and 1000 free, which is both a testiment to how fast he is and an indication of IU’s lack of depth in the 500-and-up.

#4: NC STATE WOLFPACK +1 (PREVIOUS RANK: 5)

Braden: Ahmed Hafnoui out for Indiana, Daniel Diehl in for NC State. While Indiana’s divers are still the elephant in the room, I think that swap is enough to justify moving NC State up to 4th at this point.

Robert: Frehsman Jerry Fox had a bit of a breakout meet last weekend against UVA, including a 42-low relay anchor. Semi-related note: the Wolfack roster is dripping with talent, and I don’t envy Braden Holloway the task of figuring out who will make the ACC roster.

#3: FLORIDA GATORS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 3)

Anya: The Gators have only competed once since our last rankings and still look strong. With Diehl in for NC State, the Gators will have to watch out for the Wolfpack. 

#2: CAL GOLDEN BEARS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 2)

Spencer: I’m going to stick with Cal at #1 for now. ASU seems like they have the momentum but Cal is the two-time defending NCAA champion and I expect them to come on strong at the end as they typically do.

#1: ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS – (PREVIOUS RANK: 1)

Braden: While the Arizona State vs. Cal dual meet was a tie, I think it further supported this pick – Cal dominated in the boards (what a role reversal that is), and while they might get NCAA points in diving, it won’t be to the same scale as the gap here. Don’t look now – Cale Martter is moving toward NCAA scoring status in the 200 breast, another weapon for Bob Bowman come March

YanYan: I still think ASU has more top-end talent than Cal, despite their dual meet resulting in a tie. Zalan Sarkany makes the team stronger than it already is.

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