2025 M. NCAA Previews: Is It Kos’ Time To Shine In The 200 Back, Or Will Lasco Four-Peat?

2025 Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 26-29, 2025
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center, Federal Way, Washington
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• SwimSwam Pick’Em Contest
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Psych Sheet

MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – BY THE NUMBERS

• U.S. Open Record: 1:35.37 – Destin Lasco, California (2024)
• American Record: 1:35.37 – Destin Lasco, California (2024)
• NCAA Record: 1:35.37 – Destin Lasco, California (2024)
• 2024 NCAA Champion: Destin Lasco, California – 1:35.37

The Record Trading From Last Season

Hubert Kos (Photo Credit: Jack Spitser)

Over the last few seasons, there have been a handful of swims where it looked like Ryan Murphy‘s NCAA record (1:35.73) in the men’s 200 backstroke was going down. In 2021, both Shaine Casas and Destin Lasco made a run at it. Casas missed the mark by two one-hundredths (1:35.75) while Lasco was further back at 1:35.99. Come 2023, Lasco got even closer, posting a 1:35.87. But the record still stood.

But, last year, the ceiling was shattered. Arizona State sophomore Hubert Kos, who has since followed his coach Bob Bowman to Texas, broke the record at the PAC-12 Championships. He stopped the clock in 1:35.69 to sneak under Murphy’s legendary mark from 2016. However, come the NCAAs a month later, Kos added a bit and fell to 2nd place with a time of 1:35.90.

In that same NCAA final, California’s Lasco not only took down Kos, but he broke the record and brought it back to Cal Bear territory. Lasco hit the wall in 1:35.37, meaning that after a long eight years, Murphy’s record was lowered twice in the span of a month.

This season, Kos enters the NCAA Championships as the top seed. While his season best is 1:36.10, his 1:35.72 conversion from Short Course Worlds in December earns him the top spot. At those World Championships, Hungarian native Kos broke the 200 back championship record previously held by Ryan Lochte. Kos swam to a 1:45.65 to get under the old record of a 1:46.68 that Lochte swam in 2010. He also narrowly missed the world record of 1:45.65 that Mitch Larkin swam at the 2015 Australian Championships.

Before those Short Course Worlds, Kos also bagged a gold medal at the Paris Olympics in the long course 200 back, meaning he’s been on an absolute tare since his runner-up swim at 2024 NCAAs. While he did place 2nd in the 200 back at the SEC Championships last month, behind rising star Jonny Marshall (who we’ll discuss later), it’s likely that Bowman did not fully rest him for that meet, hoping to peak at NCAAs this year instead of swimming his fastest at conference like last year.

It’s clear that if Kos swims anything like he did at Short Course Worlds, he is the favorite to capture the title this year. Conversions are not entirely accurate, and for Kos to be that close to Mitch Larkin’s legendary 200 SCM backstroke in December, it should serve as a stark warning to the rest of his competitors about his current form.

Lasco, on the other hand, has had a less-than-linear past year. After winning the NCAA title last year, he entered the U.S. Olympic Trials as a favorite to make the team, with his best chances coming in the 200 back and 4×100 freestyle relay. He ended up scratching the 200 back altogether, as it conflicted with the 100 free on the schedule. He then placed 7th in the 100 free final with only the top six advancing to Paris.

Since Trials, Lasco hasn’t really shown his cards all that much. That’s not too unusual for the Cal Bear, though, as he’s known to be a huge taper swimmer. Still, his 200 back season best is only 1:38.21, which is behind where he was at this point in both 2021 and 2023, when he posted 1:35 performances at NCAAs. He was 1:38.81 around this time in 2023 before posting a 1:37.71 to win NCAAs, so predicting a 1:36-1:37 from Lasco could be a safe bet. With Kos looking like he might have a new record in the tank, Lasco will need to have yet another huge taper in store, in addition to another best time, to defend the title he’s won for the past three years. 

Marshall Joins The 1:35 Club

Jonny Marshall (Photo Credit: Jack Spitser)

The man who touched out Kos at the SEC Championships this year, Florida sophomore Marshall, is having another spectacular season.

Last year, he made his presence known at the SEC meet as well, sweeping the backstrokes as a freshman. In this 200 distance, he took down Ryan Lochte‘s 200 backstroke school record en route to his victory in 1:36.68, which was a 1.84 drop from his midseason PB and a 5.31-second drop on the season. Come NCAAs, he regressed slightly, taking the race out fast and actually leading about 75% of the way, but flattened out to place 4th in 1:37.04.

He stamped his name in the history books at SECs again this year, defending both of his backstroke titles with Kos in both fields. Despite our sense that Kos has more in store for this race after his Short Course Worlds swim, it takes nothing away from Marshall’s incredible performance, where he joined the 1:35 club en route to winning the 200 in 1:35.85.

If Marshall can maintain his form from SECs this year, he’ll be right up there with Kos and Lasco, and he’ll surely aim to add his name to Florida’s long list of NCAA champions. It’s important to note, however, that Marshall represents Great Britain on the international stage, and the World Championship Trials (LCM) begin just a couple of weeks after NCAAs. This timing raises questions about how he will approach NCAAs. He faced a similar conflict last year when the British Olympic Trials were also held just a few weeks after NCAAs.

The Triple 1:37 Threats (And Their Teammates)

Owen McDonald (Photo Credit: Jack Spitser)

Owen McDonald exploded onto the NCAA scene when he arrived at Arizona State in the fall of 2022. He held a 1:42.63 personal best when he got to Tempe and over the course of the 2022-23 season, lowered his best to a 1:39.01. He swam that at 2023 Pac-12s, then followed up with a 1:39.34 for 5th place at NCAAs.

Then, last year, McDonald continued to improve. He put up another 1:39.3 at midseason, then crushed his PB this month at Pac-12s with a 1:37.70 for 2nd behind his NCAA record-breaking teammate. The swim marked a 1.31-second drop for McDonald, who then proceed to lower that time to 1:36.63 for 3rd at NCAAs.

Even with all of that improvement, McDonald opted to transfer to Indiana for this season. A major reason for that could be because his primary coach, Bob Bowman, left ASU for Texas. However, he opted not to follow Bowman, instead choosing to join his brother, Cooper, at Indiana.

Despite the transfer, McDonald hasn’t skipped a beat. He has been strong all season, going three-for-three in his individual events at the Big Ten Championships. He won the Big Ten title in 1:37.15, faster than his performance at Pac-12s this time last year, and just off his best time. He looks on track for another big swim at NCAAs, potentially hitting a 1:36 low or even breaking into the 1:35 range. Indiana is poised to be in a deadlocked battle for the overall championship with Texas, and possibly California. His improvement from 3rd to 2nd, or even 1st, could be a huge boost to kick off the final session at NCAAs. The 200 back is the second event of the night, following the 1650, where Indiana’s Zalan Sarkany is also among the favorites. Momentum is everything at NCAAs, and two strong swims in the first two events could be the difference-maker.

Speaking of the overall championship, Indiana also has junior Kai Van Westering (1:39.24) and freshman Miroslav Knedla (1:39.26) on the cusp of making the ‘A’ final, as they are seeded 11th and 12th. Getting one of those swimmers into the ‘A’ final could be pivotal in the team race. The Indiana women looked strong at the NCAA Championships last week, and it stands to reason that this will carry over to the men.

Texas’ Will Modglin, now training under Bowman, has shown continued improvement from his freshman year to his sophomore season. He posted a time of 1:37.84 at Texas’ mid-season invite in November and followed that swim up with a bronze medal-winning 1:38.76 at SECs. A time somewhere between those two will get him into the ‘A’ final, and getting back down into the 1:37 range will likely propel him to a top-five finish. Joining teammate Kos in this ‘A’ final would mean valuable points for the Longhorns, who are looking to claim their first NCAA overall title since 2021.

Fellow Longhorn Kyle Peck, just a freshman, has made waves in his first year training under Bob Bowman. He’s seeded 13th here in 1:39.36, and is in the same boat as Van Westering and Knedla. Another Longhorn into the ‘A’ final, potentially alongside both Kos and Modglin, would be huge for Texas’ chances in the team scoring.

California senior Gabriel Jett is a new name in the event this year. After specializing in the 200 butterfly for his entire career, he turned heads this season with a massive 1:37.19 to win the 200 back ACC title. The multi-time 200 fly ‘A’ finalist is taking a risk by switching his day four event, but he comes in seeded 4th after touching 5th in the fly last year, so it looks like a smart, calculated decision.

Jett’s teammate, French native Mewen Tomac, is one to watch for as well. He’s only seeded 23rd with a time of 1:39.99, but he snagged bronze behind Kos at the Short Course Worlds a few months ago, so he’s clearly in good form. He’s still learning how to swim yards, as this season is first time swimming in the United States, but he’s a proven short course meters performer.

Keaton Jones, seeded 19th, is another Bear to be on the lookout for. The U.S. Olympian was 10th last year, clocking his current best time of 1:38.46 in the ‘B’ final. This year, he’s only been 1:39.76, and followed that up with a 1:39.81 at ACCs, so it seems like he’s saving his best for the big meet once again.

Again, back to the team race, Tomac or Jones stepping up here would be huge for the Golden Bears, who are looking to reclaim their overall title after falling to ASU last season. It will be tight between Texas, Cal, and Indiana, and potentially Florida, and they each have a big-hitter in this event.

Other Contenders

• David King (Virginia) — Virginia freshman David King has had a successful first year so far. He threw down a best time of 1:38.36 to place 3rd at the ACC Championships, and that was after hitting a best time of 1:39.56 in prelims. He’s coached by Gary Taylor at Virginia, who is in his first year with the team, and the two are already very familiar with each other as Taylor coached him throughout his club years. With the advantage of Taylor already knowing how to prepare King individually for big meets, it could give him a clear upper hand in being able to replicate, if not better his ACC time, which would see him into the ‘A’ final.
• Michel Arkhangelskiy (Florida State) — Florida State’s Michel Arkhangelskiy is primarily known for his speed in the 100 fly and back, but he’s ranked 8th on the psych sheets for this event. He’ll have that tough 100 fly/100 back double the day prior, and his entry time of 1:38.50 is right on the bubble on what it’s expected to take to make the ‘A’ final, so if he can drop a few tenths after a tough prior day, he’s in with a great shot to make the championship final.
• Oleksandr Zheltiakov (North Carolina State) — North Carolina State freshman Oleksandr Zheltiakov is one of the best young backstroke prodigies in the world. He swept the 100 and 200 (LCM) events, and won 50m silver, at the World Junior Championships in September 2023, and then proceeded to win the 2024 European title in the 200 back. He’s better on top of the water rather than under it, but the freshman is also very new to yards, meaning just get some additional racing reps in could result in a time drop. He’s entered 9th in 1:38.78, right on the cusp of an ‘A’ final berth.
• Daniel Diehl (North Carolina State) — Wolfpack sophomore Daniel Diehl was in the same boat as Zheltiakov back in 2022, as he too was one of the most touted backstroke youths in the world. He’s focused more on freestyle and IM in the past few years though, and comes in seeded 17th here in 1:39.62.

SWIMSWAM’S PICKS

Darkhorse: Jack Aikins (Virginia) — Multi-time Team USA World Championship team member Jack Aikins, a Virginia junior, enters the event seeded 21st with a time of 1:39.84. The Cavalier redshirted last season to prepare for the Olympic Games but ultimately placed 3rd in both the 100 and 200 back events at the U.S. Trials, leaving him just outside a spot on the team. He has been as fast as 1:39.26 back in 2022, but if he’s able to swim even close to a SCY equivalent of his 1:54.74 LCM best, it could be enough for him to make the ‘A’ final.