2025 M. NCAA Previews: Opportunities Abound In Men’s 200 Breaststroke

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 Breaststroke  — By The Numbers 

• NCAA Record: 1:46.35 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• Championship Record: 1:46.35 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• American Record: 1:47.91 — Will Licon, Texas (2017)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:46.35 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• 2024 Champion: Leon Marchand, Arizona State — 1:46.35

For the first time since 2022, there will be a new NCAA champion in the men’s 200 breaststroke. NCAA and U.S. Open record holder Leon Marchand has departed the world of collegiate swimming and in his absence, there’s a veteran field waiting to claim the top step of the podium for the first time. 

Marchand isn’t the only turnover we’ve seen in the event this season, even if he’s probably the most conspicuous. Half of the 2024 ‘A’ final won’t be in Federal Way, Washington, as Liam Bell, David Schlicht, and Noah Nichols have also wrapped their NCAA careers. 

Back For More 

Carles Coll Marti has been the model of consistency in the 200 breaststroke this season. The Virginia Tech fifth-year hit the ground running with a 1:50.77 at the SMU Classic, beginning the season less than a second from his then-lifetime best of 1:49.99.

He’s broken 1:51 six times this season and popped a lifetime best 1:49.81 in February at the Virginia Tech Invitational. He improved that mark later in the month, swimming a 1:49.62 to win the ACC title. 

Throw in winning the 200-meter breaststroke world title at the 2024 SC World Championships in December and Coll Marti has picked up a ton of momentum in this event. He placed third in this race last year and with Marchand gone, is one of the top contenders for this year’s crown. 

The man most likely to get in his way is Olympian Matt Fallon. This summer, Fallon took down the long-standing American record in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:06.54). And though the University of Pennsylvania pool has been closed all season, Fallon has still been able to produce big swims at the right moments. 

Carles Coll Marti (photo: Jack Spitser)

He approached his season differently than Coll Marti but claimed the first seed with a 1:48.85 at the Ivy League Championships. The swim rattled his lifetime best of 1:48.48, swum at the 2024 NCAAs. On paper, he’s got a sizable lead on Coll Marti, but Coll Marti has shown he can take advantage of the big moments. Heading into the meet, it looks like the race is between them for the title.

At the Ivy League Championships, Fallon faced off against Brown’s Jack Kelly. The two Ancient Eight swimmers were both finalists in this event at the 2024 NCAA Championships as Kelly became Brown’s first ‘A’ finalist since the 1940s. Kelly hasn’t slowed down since, reaching new heights in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke (50.60/1:49.80). He’s now 2nd in both events on the all-time mid-major rankings. 

Kelly’s 1:49.80 was his first time breaking 1:50 and was a 1.83-second drop that puts him 3rd on the psych sheet. Last year, he handled the transition from conference to NCAAs well, missing his then-lifetime best by just two-hundredths. Expect the rest of the field to creep up on him, but he seems bound for another ‘A’ final appearance. 

Indiana Puts The Pressure On 

Seventh-place finisher Jassen Yep is the fourth returning ‘A’ finalist from last season. He’s part of a deep Indiana breaststroke crew. The Hoosiers earned the top four spots at the Big Ten Championships; Yep was second (1:49.93), sandwiched between winner Josh Matheny (1:49.83), third-place Toby Barnett (1:51.73), and fourth-place Caspar Corbeau (1:52.22). The top three all swam lifetime bests. 

All four of these men are seeded in scoring position for Indiana with Matheny and Yep the fourth and fifth seeds. Plus, the Hoosiers have fifth-year Brian Benzing further down the psych sheet. He was 14th at the Big Ten Championships and though he’s more known for his 100 breaststroke abilities, he did place 14th in the 200 breaststroke last season. 

Jassen Yep (photo: Jack Spitser)

Throughout these previews, we’ve discussed the tight team race between Texas, Indiana, and Cal. Each team has strengths it will rely on to shore up points; breaststroke is Indiana’s strength. The Hoosiers’ depth in this event is unparalleled and to win the team title, Indiana needs to take full advantage and pack as many of their swimmers into the final as possible. 

Last year, Yep and Maxwell Reich were Indiana’s only 200 breaststroke finalists. It was a tough morning for the Hoosiers as Matheny was disqualified and Barnett placed 18th, missing a second swim by .64 seconds. 

This year, things have lined up for Indiana. Matheny, now an Olympian, is better in meters but has already hit a yards lifetime best as he and Yep cracked 1:50 for the first time. Barnett’s 1:51.73 lifetime best would’ve landed squarely in the ‘A’ final. 

Plus, the team added Corbeau, the 200-meter breaststroke Olympic medalist, at mid-season, hoping to overwhelm the field. Corbeau is seeded 14th with a season-best 1:51.65 but has been as fast as 1:49.15 from his second-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships. Throughout his NCAA career, Corbeau has never finished worse than 6th in this event at the NCAA Championships. 

Texas and Cal Respond 

Neither Cal nor Texas can match Indiana’s depth in this race, but they have their own finalist hopefuls. 

Yamato Okadome has been a revelation for Cal in his freshman season. He had the unenviable task of filling the gap left by Bell’s graduation and has done admirably. Okadome adjusted to yards quickly. His 100 breaststroke speed came first but he’s found his groove in the 200 breast, swimming a lifetime best 1:50.19 for second at the ACC Championships. Okadome has already improved by 2.66 seconds since the start of the season and has put himself in a position to make the ‘A’ final and break 1:50 at these championships. 

The Golden Bears only had Bell in the 200 breaststroke finals last season, but they’re aiming for two representatives this year. In addition to Okadome, junior Hank Rivers sits in scoring position at 12th. He ripped a lifetime best 1:51.23 at the SMU Last Chance Meet to earn the placement. 

Yamato Okadome (courtesy: Jaerid Rossi)

Meanwhile, Nate Germonprez and Will Scholtz are the Longhorns’ representatives in this event. The sophomore pair have excelled in their first year training under Bob Bowman. 

Germonprez raced the 200/100 freestyle on the back two days of the 2024 NCAA Championships but has turned his attention to breaststroke this season. It’s paid off wildly for him; in this event alone, he’s improved from a 1:54.87 to a 1:50.55 for second at the SEC Championships. The 4.32-second improvement has pushed him to 9th on the psych sheet and he’ll look to sneak up at least a spot for an ‘A’ final bid.

Scholtz also swam his lifetime best at the SEC Championships, clocking 1:51.04. He’s been focused on breaststroke longer than Germonprez for his college career but this will be his first NCAA Championship appearance. Coming into the season, his lifetime best was a 1:53.70 from the 2024 Big XII Championships, he’s been under that mark seven times already this season.

More Contenders 

There are plenty of ACC swimmers to watch in this race, including a two-pronged attack from Louisville. The Cardinals have spent the last couple of seasons rebuilding and seem ready to take another step this season. Fifth-year Denis Petrashov and freshman Jake Eccleston are both seeded to score in this race, setting this up to be one of the Cardinals’ most successful events. 

The pair finished third and fourth at the ACC Championships, both swimming lifetime bests. Petrashov swam 1:50.35 for third, swimming his first 200 breast best in two years. Eccleston touched in 1:51.03, just missing breaking 1:51. Eccleston and Okadome are the only freshmen seeded to score in this race. 

Aleksas Savickas (photo: Jack Spitser)

Another ACC swimmer to keep an eye on is Ben Delmar. The UNC men had an excellent season capped by an impressive fourth-place finish at the ACC Championships. That was a full team effort and as a result, there’s a large contingent of Tar Heels headed to Federal Way. The question will be if the team’s focus was primarily on a high finish at the conference championships and what they have left in the tank for NCAAs. 

In the 200 breaststroke, Delmar finished fifth with a lifetime best of 1:51.29, improving his program record by .55 seconds. The time places him 13th on the psych sheet. He’s under the 1:51.65 it took to earn a spot in the ‘A” final last year, though that time will likely get a couple of tenths faster. 

That question is also applicable to this year’s SEC champion Aleksas Savickas. He swam a season-best 1:50.02 to win the event in Athens, which would put him in line to return to the ‘A’ final. Savickas finished fifth in this event as a freshman, then placed 15th last year. Savickas has added time from SECs to NCAAs the past two years and it was a mixed bag for the Florida women on the transition from conference to NCAAs last week. 

Last year’s 200 breaststroke SEC champion, Alex Sanchez looks to make the finals for the second-straight season. Sanchez placed 10th last year, adding from the 1:50.36 he swam at the 2024 SEC Championships. He finished fourth in the conference this season and carries a season-best 1:51.87 to Federal Way which ranks 16th. 

SwimSwam Picks: 

Dark Horse: Daniel Li, Stanford — The Stanford freshman was another swimmer in the ACC Championship final. He took sixth, clocking a lifetime best of 1:52.60. He’s swum four lifetime bests since arriving at Stanford with a lifetime best of 1:55.08. Does he have another drop in him and could that push him up from his 24th seed into the finals? Stanford’s programs are split, but the women excelled in Federal Way last week and the men have quietly put together a strong season so far.