2025 M. NCAA Previews: Marchand’s Departure Opens Up Vacancy In 400 IM

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 400 IM – BY THE NUMBERS

• U.S. Open Record: 3:28.82 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• American Record: 3:33.42 – Chase Kalisz, Georgia (2017)
• NCAA Record: 3:28.82 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• 2024 NCAA Champion: Leon Marchand (Arizona State), 3:32.12

Leon Marchand has absolutely dominated the 400 IM at the Men’s NCAA Championships the past two seasons, rewriting the record books with an earth-shattering 3:28.82 swim in 2023 before cruising to the title last season in 3:32.12.

With Marchand turning pro, the national title in the event is back up for grabs this season, and there are two clear frontrunners.

MAURER ESTABLISHES HIMSELF AS THE FAVORITE

After transferring over from Stanford after his freshman year, Rex Maurer has been an absolute horse for the Texas Longhorns during the 2024-25 campaign, setting new personal bests in every event of consequence to him including a monster drop in the 400 IM.

Last season at Stanford, Maurer set a PB of 3:38.10 at the Pac-12 Championships, but faded at NCAAs and ended up placing 30th in a time of 3:44.58.

This season training under Bob Bowman, Maurer has excelled. At the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational in November, he broke the American Record in the 500 free (4:04.45), and then one day later, dropped a time of 3:34.19 in the 400 IM to rank #5 all-time (now #6 after Shaine Casas went 3:34.09 in January).

Maurer backed that swim up at the SEC Championships in February, winning the conference title in 3:35.61.

In that final, Texas A&M’s Baylor Nelson caught Maurer on the breaststroke leg, but Maurer immediately pulled away on freestyle. The breaststroke is his weakest link, but he’s incredibly strong on the front half and then the best in the NCAA coming home, making him tough to beat.

Maurer Split Comparison

Looking at the splits, the only difference between Maurer’s swim at the Hall of Fame Invite and SECs was the first 50 of free, suggesting that with a full taper, he’ll be able to clean that up and then some at NCAAs, putting him within striking distance of Chase Kalisz‘s American Record of 3:33.42.

A victory for Maurer in this event would also be the first for Texas in a decade, with the last coming from Will Licon in 2015.

Other Top Texas Seeds

• Longhorn freshman Cooper Lucas has been steadily progressing this season, bringing his PB down from 3:42.63 to 3:40.75 at the Texas Hall of Fame Invite, and then dropping to 3:39.02 at SECs. That lands him 6th on the psych sheets, and last season it took 3:39.85 to make the ‘A’ final, so anything sub-3:40 should be good for a top-eight finish.
• Senior David Johnston has a history of delivering in the prelims at NCAAs in the 400 IM. He set best times in 2021 (3:40.80), 2022 (3:38.90) and 2023 (3:37.90) in the heats, qualifying for the ‘A’ final all three times. After redshirting last season, Johnston’s track record suggests he should be in the top eight once again. He hit a season-best of 3:39.07 at SECs (once again in the prelims), and matching that will be good for the ‘A’ final at NCAAs.
• Graduate senior Ben Sampson, who won the NCAA Division II title last season for Colorado Mesa, clocked 3:40.22 last March and has been as fast as 3:41.16 this season, putting him in prime position to fight for points for the Longhorns. He’s seeded 22nd on the psychs sheets, about a half-second shy of the top 16.

JANKOVICS JOSTLES INTO STRIKING DISTANCE

Ohio State junior Tristan Jankovics blew everyone away with a massive drop in the 400 IM at the Big Ten Championships, clocking 3:35.51 to knock three seconds off his PB, break the conference record and win the title by more than four seconds.

Tristan Jankovics (photo: Jack Spitser)

After going 3:45.32 at Big Tens as a freshman in 2023, Jankovics qualified for NCAAs last year after hitting 3:40.89 at the OSU Invite in the fall, and then got down to 3:38.49 in the prelims to punch his ticket into NCAA ‘A’ final, placing 8th (3:40.57).

This season, he got down to 3:39.05 at the OSU Invite before his stunning 3:35.51 at Big Tens, which ranks him #9 all-time. The swim makes Jankovics the only other swimmer in the field besides Maurer to have broken 3:37 in their career, establishing him as the main threat to Maurer’s title hopes.

Two of the three seconds Jankovics dropped from the 2024 NCAA prelims to last month’s Big Ten final came on the first 200, so he’ll need to be aggressive once again if he’s to challenge Maurer for the title. Looking at the checkpoint splits, Jankovics was 2:44.42 to the 300 at Big Tens, while Maurer was 2:46.19 when he set his best time. The question becomes, what kind of lead does Jankovics need heading into the freestyle leg to hold him off?

OTHER RETURNING ‘A’ FINALISTS

The only two members of last year’s ‘A’ final who won’t be in the field this week are defending champion Marchand and his ASU teammate David Schlicht, who has graduated after finishing as the runner-up in 2024.

Baylor Nelson (photo: Jack Spitser)

Placing 3rd last season was Texas A&M’s Baylor Nelson, who has been consistent as ever during his three years in College Station, producing an incredible 11 swims sub-3:40 in the 400 IM.

After placing 10th as a freshman in 2023 (3:38.11), he climbed to 3rd last season in 3:37.46, setting new personal bests both times in the NCAA final. At last month’s SECs, he was .01 off his best time in 3:37.47, suggesting he’s on track for another lifetime best at the biggest meet of the year.

Whether that’s 3:37-low, or something in the 3:35-36 range where he’s challenging Jankovics and maybe even Maurer, remains to be seen.

The other two returning ‘A’ finalists who rank in the top 10 this season are Georgia fifth-year Jake Magahey and Florida junior Gio Linscheer.

Magahey (3:37.89) and Linscheer (3:38.46) placed 3-4 at SECs behind Maurer and Nelson, with Linscheer’s swim marking a new lifetime best after he reeled off a pair of 3:39s last year in the NCAA prelims (3:39.36) and final (3:39.90) to place 7th.

Magahey broke 3:40 for the first time last year at SECs (3:39.67) and then dropped a 3:37.64 in the NCAA final to place 5th, producing the fastest closing 50 in the field at 23.91.

Given that Magahey was nearly two seconds faster than he was last year at SECs, he’s a candidate to push down into the 3:36 range given the progression he’s made on the front half (1:44.6 at SECs compared to 1:46.1 last year at NCAAs), assuming he’s still able to close like a freight train.

Jack Hoagland (photo: Jack Spitser)

Also back in the field this year from the 2024 ‘A’ final are SMU fifth-year Jack Hoagland and Florida senior Mason Laur.

Hoagland has consistently been among the top swimmers in the NCAA in this event dating back to the 2019-20 season, when he was the runner-up at the ACC Championships (3:40.73) one month before the COVID lockdown.

He also went 3:40 in 2021 and 2023 (redshirting 2021-22), and then exploded last year at NCAAs, breaking 3:40 in the prelims (3:39.85) before dropping a 3:37.53 in the final to snag 4th.

He locked in NCAA qualification early this season with a 3:40.40 showing at the SMU Invite, which likely resulted in him saving his full taper for NCAAs, explaining his 3:44.97 at ACCs. He’s only seeded 14th on the psych sheets, but with his veteran experience, Hoagland should be expected to be back in the ‘A’ final.

Laur, like Hoagland, set best times in the prelims (3:38.31) and final (3:37.98) at the 2024 NCAAs, and after a slow start to the season, he looks to be on track for a similar result.

Laur was only 3:46 at the UGA Fall Invitational, but got down to 3:39.32 in the SEC prelims last month, though he added in the final, going 3:42.53 for 8th. That swim in the final makes Laur look like less of a lock for the ‘A’ final, especially given there are 19 men seeded sub-3:41, so there will be no room for error, but his sub-3:40 form is there so he’s certainly in the mix.

ACC, Big Ten Challengers

Last year there were no 400 IM ‘A’ finalists from the ACC and one, Jankovics, from the Big Ten.

That could change this year, and not just because Hoagland is now in the ACC after SMU was in the AAC in 2023-24.

Tommy Bried (photo: Jack Spitser)

Louisville’s Tommy Bried was a bit of a revelation last summer at the U.S. Olympic Trials, including placing 5th in the 400 IM, and he’s carried that momentum over into the college season.

He was 19th last year at NCAAs, but Bried, now a junior, is coming off a standout performance at the ACC Championships, setting a best time of 3:39.28 in the 400 IM prelims and then matching it en route to winning the conference title in the final.

Bried is an elite breaststroker who needs to stay within striking distance on the first 200 to have a chance of advancing to the ‘A’ final, but he’s clearly got what it takes and is riding high after last month’s victory.

NC State’s Kyle Ponsler set a best time of 3:39.28 last season in the NCAA ‘B’ final, placing 10th, and is coming off the 2nd-fastest swim of his career at ACCs, placing 2nd to Bried in 3:40.05.

Bried has never scored at an NCAA Championship meet, and Ponsler has never had an ‘A’ final appearance, and both have a legitimate shot this year if they can execute in the prelims.

In the Big Ten, Michigan freshman Lorne Wigginton is one swimmer to watch out for. The Canadian Olympian has been gradually finding his footing in yards, going from 3:41.87 at the Georgia Tech Fall Invite to 3:39.76 at Big Tens, taking 2nd behind Jankovics.

Wigginton is strongest on fly and free, and if he can shore up his breaststroke leg a tad (1:03.16 split at Big Tens) he’ll be in the hunt for a top finish.

Another swimmer who could do some damage if they shore up the breaststroke leg is USC’s Krzysztof Chmielewski, who was 3rd at Big Tens in 3:40.57 despite a 1:05.46 breast split. He and Jankovics had nearly the same time across fly, back and free in the Big Ten final, but the five-second difference all came on breast.

Despite the weakness on breast, Chmielewski could very well punch the gas on the front half in the prelims and just see what happens coming home, and anything around 3:40 should at least make the top 16.

OTHER RETURNING CONSOLATION FINALISTS

• Wisconsin’s Dominik Mark Torok was 4th at Big Tens in 3:40.59 after he topped last year’s ‘B’ final in 3:39.20. He’s a candidate to break through in the top eight.
• Arizona State’s Daniel Matheson set a PB of 3:39.70 in the 2024 consols to place 11th, and is coming off a solid runner-up swim at Big 12s, clocking 3:41.45 to trail teammate Michael Hochwalt (3:41.40).
• Cal fifth-year Tyler Kopp was seven one-hundredths shy of his best time last month at ACCs in 3:40.97, making him a contender for another top-16 finish after placing 15th in 2024.
• Other 2024 ‘B’ finalists include Ponsler, Auburn’s Danny Schmidt who is entered in the 200 free instead this year, Georgia’s Ian Grum who has graduated, and ASU’s Cale Martter and Florida’s Joaquín González Piñero who didn’t qualify.

SWIMSWAM PICKS

Dark Horse: Lucas Henveaux, Cal – Henveaux is a dangerous name lurking down in 29th on the psych sheets. He’s raced the 400 IM just four times in his career in yards, clocking 3:42 in all of them. The only one that’s come in the last two years was at last month’s ACCs, where he hit 3:42.05 in a time trial. There’s still something to be desired on the back and breast legs compared to the elite IMers, but Cal entering him in this event over the 200 free indicates they think he has some scoring potential.