2025 ACC Men’s Fan Guide: Amidst Sea of Changes, Can Cal Crack NC State’s Stranglehold?

2025 ACC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• February 18-22, 2025
• Greensboro Aquatic Center — Greensboro, North Carolina
• Defending Champions: NC State
• Full Event Schedule (pre-scratch timeline)
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Streaming

The 2025 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships kick off this week in Greensboro, NC. Once again, the meet will be held in a combined-gender, five-day format. Keep reading below to get the scoop on the schedule, stars, showdowns, and our predictions for how this always-exciting meet will shake out on the men’s side.

Event Schedule

Tuesday, February 18

• 200 medley relay
• Women’s 1-meter diving
• 800 free relay
• Men’s 3-meter

Wednesday, February 19

• 200 free relay
• 500 free
• 200 IM
• 50 Free
• Men’s 1-meter

Thursday, February 20

• 400 IM
• 100 Fly
• 200 Free
• Women’s 3-meter

Friday, February 21

• 200 fly
• 100 back
• 100 breast
• Men’s Platform
• 400 medley relay

Saturday, February 22

• 1650 free
• 200 back
• 100 free
• 200 breast
• Women’s Platform
• 400 free relay

2024 Final Standings

1. NC State — 1499.5 points
2. Notre Dame — 1038.5 points
3. Virginia Tech — 960.5 points
4. Louisville — 885.5 points
5. Virginia — 768.5 points
6. Florida State — 762 points
7. Pittsburgh — 647 points
8. North Carolina — 616 points
9. Georgia Tech — 575.5 points
10. Duke — 287 points
11. Miami — 122 points

It’s been said that the only thing constant in life is change, and the ACC has certainly seen some major changes over the last year. The ACC has steadily grown in depth and competitiveness over the last decade, but it’s taking a leap forward this year. The Cal Bears and Stanford Cardinal, two of the premiere programs in the country, join the conference, as does Southern Methodist, which has steadily improved in the past few years.

But conference realignment isn’t the only reason that this year’s championship will look different than last year’s. The Boston College Eagles return to the postseason after being suspended last year, then reinstated under a new head coach, Dara Torres. Meanwhile, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s program is currently suspended, due primarily to reports of gambling within the team.

That’s a total of four teams competing at ACCs this year that did not compete last year and one team that did compete that’s not.

The teams that figure to be in the hunt for an NCAA title have been stockpiling transfers and fifth years, and Cal has recently re-loaded with a trio of second-semester adds who have Olympic experience: Lucas Henveaux (Belgium), Mewen Tomac (France), and Brooks Curry (USA). That sure looks like it puts Cal in the driver’s seat, even if Dave Durden famously de-emphasizes conference titles in favor of NCAAs.

Stanford is largely returning the same team that finished ahead of Cal at last year’s Pac-12 Championship, although Cal was down several key swimmers. It’s hard to pin down exactly how the Cardinal will fair here. For what it’s worth, women’s head coach Greg Meehan recently revealed that NCAA qualifiers will head back to California after Friday morning prelims. There’s no indication yet that the men’s team has similar plans.

The Southern Methodist Mustangs arrive at the ACC after having previously been part of the AAC (American Athletic Conference). However, the AAC didn’t sponsor a men’s swimming championship. Instead, they competed at the Atlantic Sun Championship, which they won by a wide margin.

NC State has won nine of the last ten ACC titles, but the addition of the new teams, especially Cal, may complicate matters. That’d be the case even if the Wolfpack weren’t missing Aiden Hayes and Arsenio Bustos due to injury. They’ve still got a deep and experienced team that seems optimized for the conference championships format.

Louisville is the only team besides NC State to win an ACC championship in the last decade (2021), but they’ve struggled to regain dominance after losing a few key stars. Still, they’re always dangerous at this meet. Virginia Tech has been on the upswing the last couple of years, buoyed especially by talented international swimmers like Youssef Ramadan and Carles Coll Marti.

UNC’s diving program remained strong even while the swimming side went through a rough patch, and the Tar Heels will be looking to make some noise after putting up consistently strong performances in the pool all season. The UNC-UVA rivalry isn’t quite as strong as it used to be, but it’s worth mentioning that with the Cavaliers’ stellar recruiting class arriving this fall, this may be UNC’s best chance to finish ahead of UVA at ACCs since 2016. The Cavaliers had some momentum after some faster-than-usual midseason performances but will be hampered after top scorers Noah Nichols and Tim Connery dropped off the roster.

Florida State looks to rely on solid relays and some key performances from younger swimmers. Pitt and Duke aim to make some moves under relatively new head coaches. Duke, however, isn’t seeded to score any individual points. Georgia Tech is under interim head coach John Ames after longtime head coach Courtney Shealy Hart resigned in August.

Boston College returns under new head coach Dana Torres after a one-year suspension. The Eagles have usually struggled to get more than one or two individuals to score, and the addition of the new teams may make that even more difficult.

Miami (FL) is a diving-only program but routinely scores enough points to make a run at one or two of the programs that have swimming, but this year they only have a single diver entered.

Finally, we’ll note that for one reason or another, only the following individual champions from last year return this year:

• Carles Coll Marti (Virginia Tech), 200 Breast
• Youssef Ramadan (Virginia Tech), 100 Fly
• Kyle Ponsler (NC State), 400 IM

STARS

California – Jack Alexy (senior – freestyle), Brooks Curry (fifth-year – freestyle), Lucas Henveaux (fifth-year – distance free), Gabriel Jett (senior – free/back/fly), Keaton Jones (sophomore – back/free/IM), Destin Lasco (fifth-year -backstroke/IM), Dare Rose (fifth year- butterfly), Bjorn Seeliger (fifth-year – freestyle), Mewen Tomec (“fifth-year” – backstroke)

This is an incredibly deep team, and there are probably a few Golden Bears who didn’t make the conference roster who’d be stars on other teams, but in the interest of brevity, we’ll keep it to seven names in this section. Since this time last year, Jack Alexy has picked up an Olympic gold (4×100 free relay) and Short Course Worlds gold medals in the 100 free and 4×100 free. Curry, who won national titles in the 50 and 100 free while at LSU, returns to college competition after not competing last year.

Henveaux was a mid-season addition, but shows no sign of rust, as he leads the psych sheet in the 500 free and has the fastest 1650 freestyle in the NCAA this season. We’ll see how quickly Tomac, who placed 4th at the 2024 Olympics in the 200 back, adapts to yards, but he could very well challenge for an event title. Jett, Lasco, Rose, and Seeliger have all been key parts of Cal’s last two national titles, while Jones joined the long list of Cal Olympic backstrokers last summer when he made the US team in the 200 back and is a versatile yards swimmer. 

Duke – Kalen Anbar (sophomore – breaststroke/IM), Charlie Berman (sophomore – diving)  

Kalen Anbar led the Blue Devils’ in swimming points last year by scoring in the 200 breast (15th) and 400 IM (21st). Charlie Berman finished between 14th and 20th in all three diving events last year, and he’s seeded 3rd in the 3-meter and 4th on the platform this year. That should help Duke’s overall score, though likely won’t be enough to see them make much progress in the overall standings, especially with the influx of teams arriving in the conference this season. 

Florida State – Tommaso Baravelli (junior – breast), Sam Bork (junior – freestyle), Logan Robinson (freshman – fly)

Only a freshman, Logan Robinson set the school record in the 200 fly at midseason and is #3 on the psych sheet. His record time of 1:41.04 is also under what it took to be invited to the NCAA Championships in the event. Tommaso Baravelli is also a school record holder, having set a new mark in the 200 breast at midseason (1:53.09). He was the team’s top scorer at the 2024 ACC Championships, collecting 59 points from finishing 7th in the 200 breast, 8th in the 100 breast, and 14th in the 200 IM. This year, his classmate Sam Bork projects as the Seminoles’ top scorer, as he is seeded between 7th and 12th in the 50 free, 100 fly, and 100 free.

Georgia Tech – Max Fowler (sophomore – diver), Leandro Odorici (senior – sprint freestyle/breaststroke), Berke Saka (senior IM/backstroke)

Max Fowler led the Yellow Jackets with 73 points last year, as he finished in the top eight in all three diving events. Berke Saka may be looking for a little redemption this year after missing out on scoring in the 100 back completely last year. If he’s clicking, he’s a threat to make the A-final in the 200 IM and both backstrokes. Likewise, Mert Kilavuz missed the A-final of the 500 free last year, but he finished 2nd in the 1650. Leandro Odorici hit lifetime bests in the sprint freestyles at midseason (19.38/42.34), putting him in scoring position in those events, and he was an A-finalist in the 100 breast last year.

Georgia Tech has three relay NCAA ‘B’ cuts after their midseason swims, but the team is still looking for its first relay ‘A’ cut of the season.

Louisville – Gregg Enoch (freshman – fly/IM),  Dalton Lowe (fifth-year – sprint free/fly/back),  Denis Petrashov (senior – breaststroke), Murilo Sartori (senior – freestyle)

Denis Petrashov was the ACC’s top finisher in the 100 breast at NCAAs last year, taking 3rd overall. Dalton Lowe has been a relay lynchpin for the Cardinals the last four years, and he’s their top returning scorer, thanks to A-final appearances in both the 100 fly and the 100 back. The freshman Gregg Enoch is currently projected to score over 70 points, as he’s seeded in the top five in both the 400 IM and the 200 fly. Murilo Sartori was relatively quiet at ACCs last year, but he’s a two-time NCAA A-finalist in the 200 free.

The Louisville Cardinals continued their rebuild this season by bringing in a strong freshman class, which performed well during the regular season. The Cardinals also made a midseason addition, bringing in France’s Ethan Chauliaguet. Presumably, he’s still adapting to the yards format but he could be a boost for the team’s sprint relays.

Miami (FL) – Max Flory (fifth-year – diver)

Max Flory, the 2023 ACC Diver of the Year returns after not competing last year. He should be a force to be reckoned with, having swept all three diving titles two years ago. We’ll note here that Mohamed Farouk, who earned 77 points last year, appears on the Hurricanes’ roster, but is not entered in the meet.

North Carolina – Ben Delmar (sophomore – breaststroke), Louis Dramm (junior-  IM/freestyle), Patrick Hussey (fifth year- IM/butterfly), Seb Lunak (sophomore –  IM/butterfly)

The Tar Heels have been waging war on the school record book this season, and each swimmer listed above has set at least one school record this year. Sophomore Ben Delmar set the school records in both breaststroke events last month (51.44/1:51.84), and he’s projected to lead the Tar Heels in scoring. Louis Dramm set the 200 IM record in November, and he’s seeded in the top six in both IM events. Patrick Hussey continued to improve after making his first Canadian Olympic team last summer. He owns the Tar Heel records in the 100 and 200 freestyles and is seeded 6th in the 200 fly and 5th in the 500 free. Seb Lunak is the #4 seed in the 200 fly after breaking the school record in November (1:41.14).

The Tar Heels’ record-breaking spree extends to their relays as well. Not only have they improved on multiple relay school records, but they are also in a much stronger position heading into the postseason than they were last year in terms of NCAA relay qualification. They had two after midseason invites–up from zero at that point in the 2023-24 season–and added another with a 1:23.26 at their dual against NC State.

NC State – Daniel Diehl (sophomore – IM/backstroke), Jerry Fox (sophomore – freestyle), Quintin McCarty (sophomore freestyler), Luke Miller (fifth-year – freestyle/butterfly), Kyle Ponsler (junior distance), Kaii Winkler (freshman – freestyle)

Despite losing two key swimmers to injury, the Wolfpack roster is loaded with talent that historically shines at ACCs. Now a sophomore with over a year of NC State training under his belt, Daniel Diehl leads the psych sheet sheets in the 200 IM. Diehl was the only Wolfpack swimmer who scored more points last year than Kyle Ponsler, who finished in the top eight in the 500 free (5th), 400 IM (1st), and 1650 (7th).

Even against a deeper field this year, Quintin McCarty is well-poised for A-finals in the 50 and the 100 freestyles; he’s also probably the non-Cal swimmer most likely to throw down a sub-18 relay split this week. Also in the sprints, freshman Kaii Winkler has already hit lifetime bests in the 50 free and the 100 free this season (19.37/41.95). Jerry Fox has been building on an outstanding freshman campaign and has the #2 seed in the 100 free (41.65).

Pitt – Cameron Cash (senior – diver), Marcin Goraj (fifth-year – freestyle/backstroke), Max Matteazzi (fifth-year – IMer/breaststroker)

Cameron Cash is the Panthers’ top individual returner after netting 64 points last year, including winning both the 3-meter and platform diving events. Max Matteazzi netted the most swimming points for Pitt last year, highlighted by a 2nd-place finish in the 400 IM. Marcin Goraj has been a key player for Pitt for years and should move up from his relatively low seedings.

Southern Methodist – Jack Berube (sophomore – backstroker), Cotton Fields (senior – IM), Jack Hoagland (fifth-year – IM/distance free).

Hoagland, a former conference champion with Notre Dame, returns to the ACC as a Mustang as he winds down his NCAA career. He leads the psych sheet in the 400 IM and should be in the mix for victories in the 500 and 1650 as well. He swept all three events at this meet in 2021. Jack Berube transferred from UVA during the offseason and has already broken the Mustang 100 back record previously held by his father, Olympian Ryan Berube. Alongside Hoagland, Cotton Fields gives SMU two of the top eight seeds in the 400 IM.

The Mustangs took down their 200 medley relay program record at midseason and were .27 seconds from the 800 freestyle relay standard they swam last season, hitting a relay NCAA ‘A’ cut in 6:14.62. 

Stanford — Henry McFadden (sophomore – freestyle), Andrei Minakov (junior – fly/free), Ron Polonsky (junior  – breast/IM), Jack Ryan (senior – diver) 

The biggest name on the Cardinal roster is Andrei Minakov, the 2022 100 fly NCAA champion who holds the #1 seed in the 200 fly and #3 in the 100 fly for ACCs. The 100 fly is shaping up to be one of the most exciting events on the men’s side of NCAAs. And while some of the biggest names swim in other conferences, ACC fans will still be treated to two former NCAA champions, Minakov and Ramadan, facing off. USA World Championships team member Henry McFadden is the top seed in the 200 free after swimming a season-best of 1:31.75 at midseason. Meanwhile, Ron Polonsky is seeded in the top four in both breaststrokes and the 200 IM; he was Stanford’s only NCAA A-finalist last year with an 8th-place finish in the 100 breast. 

Jack Ryan, the 2024 Pac-12 Men’s Diver of the Year, should provide important points for the Cardinal on the boards.

Virginia – Jack Aikins (junior – backstroke/freestyle), Spencer Nicholas (freshman –  butterfly) David King (freshman  – freestyle), Sebastien Sergile (junior – freestyle/IM)  

The Cavaliers lost three of their top scorers from last season, which is a blow to their relays as well as their overall points, but they retain some intriguing talent. Freshman Spencer Nicholas became the first Cavalier to go under 45 in the 100 fly, and he owns the fastest time in the conference this season with a 44.41. Jack Aikins returns from a redshirt season and will be competing for A-final finishes in the 50 free and 200 back. Like Nicholas, David King has thrived as a freshman and could go after Aikins’ school record in the 200 back, while Sergile broke out at midseason, taking down Scot Robison’s long-standing school record in the 200 free (1:32.38).

Virginia Tech – Carles Coll Marti (fifth-year -IM/breaststroke), Youssef Ramadan (fifth-year – freestyler/flyer), Brendan Whitfield (sophomore sprint freestyle)

Carles Coll Marti earned a world title in the 200 breast (SCM) in December, which is the highlight of a sensational fifth-year campaign for him. He’s already been sub-1:50 in the 200-yard breaststroke (1:49.81) and has been in the 1:50 range four other times this season. Coll Marti swam a lifetime best of 50.78 in the 100 breaststroke at Virginia Tech’s January dual against the Cavaliers, underscoring how consistently fast he’s been this season.

Ramadan won the 2023 NCAA title in the 100 fly, then dealt with an injury last season that seemed to hamper him a bit, and now seems primed to make another run at a title. He’s seeded at #4 with a 44.67 and owns the meet record in 43.90. In the sprint events, sophomore Brendan Whitfield will be looking to build on a freshman year that saw him qualify for NCAAs and serve as a relay staple for the Hokies. He’s seeded #5 in the 50 freestyle (19.05) and #3 in the 100 freestyle (41.66).

Showdowns

50 Free

Twenty-five men have been under 19.20 in the 50 free so far this season, and nine of them will be in this race. It’s largely a battle between Cal, who has the top two seeds in Jack Alexy (18.58) and Bjorn Seeliger (18.86), and NC State, who has four of the other top ten seed times, including Quintin McCarty (18.91) and Drew Salls (19.04). Safe money is on a Golden Bear or Wolfpack winning this title, but Virginia Tech’s Brendan Whitfield (19.05) and Youssef Ramadan (19.13) will be vying to play spoiler.

1650 Free

This was the event that generated the most headlines last year, reverberating even beyond the swimming world, but that was due primarily to what happened immediately after the race, rather than the actual competition. You’ve got to think Owen Lloyd, who was disqualified after touching first in the event, will be swimming with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Teammate Will Gallant returns after winning titles in this event in 2022 and 2023, as does 2021 champion Jack Hoagland, but the biggest threat may come from the West Coast. Cal’s Lucas Henveaux went 14:29.74 just two weeks ago, which is the fastest time in the nation this season.

200 Medley Relay

ACC fans have gotten used to a red-hot start to the meet with this event, and this year should be no exception. Louisville officially leads the psych sheet with a 1:22.59, but Cal went 1:22.40 in January. Six of the top 12 times in the nation belong to ACC teams, with NC State, Virginia Tech, Stanford, and UNC all at 1:23.2 or better.

100 Fly

Virginia’s Tech Youssef Ramadan aims to join Louisville’s Evgenii Somov and Nick Albiero as the only ACC men to win five straight titles in an event. But it doesn’t look like it’ll be a forgone conclusion for the 2023 NCAA champ. He’ll face a tough field that includes NC State’s Luke Miller, who touched just ahead of Ramadan for 3rd at last year’s NCAAs, 2022 NCAA champion Andrei Minakov, 2023 Worlds bronze medalist Dare Rose, and freshman Spencer Nicholas, who sits atop the psych sheet with a 44.41.

Selections

With an abundance of changes, it’s helpful to take a look at our Swimulator projections and see how this meet would score based on best times so far this season. As of writing, here’s how this looks:

The Swimulator is incredibly useful, but it’s not omniscient, and there are at least couple key points to keep in mind. First, it doesn’t include diving, and there are a few teams that traditionally pull in big diving points (e.g., UNC). Second, it still includes results from swimmers who won’t be at the meet, such as NC State’s Aiden Hayes and Arsenio Bustos and UVA’s Noah Nichols and Tim Connery.

Given all that, this meet clearly looks like Cal’s to lose. After that, things get a little murkier, especially with the uncertainty of how teams will approach this new-look meet.

Glancing through the psych sheets, it looks like Stanford may have a little more room to move up relative to the current projections, but we’ve got to think that NC State isn’t going to go down without a fight, and they stand a good chance of holding onto 2nd.

Louisville seems like it’s back on the rise, but the Hokies’ dynamic duo of Youssef Ramadan and Carles Coll Marti should help keep them ahead of the Cardinals, at least this year.

If UNC can find a little more speed after swimming fast all season, they should lead the next tier, which includes UVA and Florida State. The bottom third or so always feels a bit mushy, but it seems like SMU should finish ahead of Georgia Tech and Pitt. When Miami (FL) has had more divers, they’ve managed to avoid the cellar if someone like Boston College DQ’d a relay, but with only one Hurricane diver this yer, Duke and BC should both finish ahead of Miami.

SwimSwam Picks:

1. Cal
2. NC State
3. Stanford
4. Virginia Tech
5. Louisville
6. UNC
7. Virginia
8. Florida State
9. SMU
10. Georgia Tech
11. Pitt
12. Duke
13. Boston College
14. Miami