2025 Men’s NCAA Champs: Day 3 Prelims Preview – Can Indiana Get 5 Into the 100 BR A-Final?

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)
• Start Times: Prelims: 10 AM ׀ Finals: 6 PM (Pacific Daylight Time)
• Psych Sheet
• Eligible Relays
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2

Day 3 Prelims Heat Sheet

The middle day of any championships is often referred to as moving day, and NCAAs is no exception as teams look to move up the scoreboard. We will see seven scoring events tonight, but before teams start to count their chickens, they first need to get into the finals, and by looking at yesterday’s prelims, it’ll be no easy feat.

The 100 fly has jumped ahead of the 400 IM in the program this year, perhaps in a bid to allow those swimming the 100 fly/back double a little more rest. Florida’s Josh Liendo will be looking to repeat as champion, having won the title last year in 43.07. The Gator enters the meet seeded at 43.23 this year and, on paper, is the clear front-runner, but unlike last year, Liendo is joined by two other swimmers with sub-44 entry times. 200 Fly NCAA record holder Luca Urlando and 2x Olympic butterfly medalist Ilya Kharun are seeded at 43.62 and 43.85, respectively.

Ten years ago, Texas placed six swimmers into the final of the 100 fly but will be hard-pressed to score any points in the event as their highest-ranked swimmer, Kyle Peck, is tied for 16th in the psych sheets. Cal and Indiana will be looking to make the most of this, but they, too, don’t have that much depth in the event. Cal’s Dare Rose is seeded 10th, and Indiana has both Finn Brooks (#12) and Tomer Frankel (#16). Frankel and Rose did make the A-final last year, so if they can repeat, their teams will be projected to get a large boost in points.

Texas will attempt to make up any ground lost in the next two events as they have multiple swimmers in the 400 IM and 200 free seeded to be in the A-final. Rex Maurer, fresh off his first NCAA title in the 500 free, leads the way in the medley. Seeded at 3:34.19, Maurer has been faster than his nearest competitor, Tristan Jankovics, by over a second. Fellow Longhorns Cooper Lucas and David Johnston sit 6th and 7th and if they can hold true to those spots, Texas could be in for a big swing on the scoreboard as neither Cal or Indiana have anyone seeded to score. That is not to say they won’t, as Cal’s Tyler Kopp (#19) was 15th in the B-final last year.

Texas will look to keep the momentum rolling in the 200 free as Luke Hobson and Chris Guiliano sit at the top of the psych sheet in 1st and 3rd. They surround Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks, who twice topped the podium last night, doing so in the 50 free and 200 free relay. It’ll be an interesting clash as Crooks certainly has the speed and Hobson the endurance. On paper, Cal is expected to score zero points, but that is very likely to change. Robin Hanson sits 17th and scored last year, and NCAA record-setting relay members Gabe Jett (#24) and Jack Alexy (#38) lurk dangerously low in the seeding.

While it’s unlikely that we will see six swimmers from the same team in one final, Indiana, if things work out, could get close in the 100 breaststroke. Finn Brooks, in an unusual double of the 100 fly/100 breast, leads the way for the Hoosiers as the #2 seed. Towson State transfer and 2024 runner-up Brian Benzing joins him in the top 8 as the #6 seed, and their teammates Josh Matheny (#9), Caspar Corbeau (#10), and Jassen Yep (#13) aren’t that far behind. The Hoosiers all have Luke Barr seeded 16th, but at so point having so many swimmers, they may end up pushing themselves out the finals.  They’ll, of course, have to contend with NCAA record holder Julian Smith of Florida as well as both Texas’s and Cal’s representatives, Nate Germonprez (#3) and Yamato Okadome (#8), but getting five swimmers in isn’t out of the realm of possibilities.

The swimming portion of the morning ends with the 100 backstroke, which is expected to be a barn burner. The three from last year have all moved on, so there is a bit of a vacuum at the top of the field. Texas’s Hubert Kos, 4th last year, is the highest-placed returner but will have to first get around top seed Jonny Marshall of Florida and Will Modglin of Texas. Marshall was the only freshman last year to make the A-final, but this year FSU’s Michel Arkhangelskiy and Army’s Johnny Crush will look to do so as the pair rank 5th and 6th on the psych sheet. Arkhangelskiy is also seeded top 8 in the 100 fly, so he could be in for a busy evening. It won’t be an easy task as there are several dangerously under-seeded swimmers like Cal’s Mewen Tomac (#23) and returning A-finalist Destin Lasco (#24).