2025 U.S. World Trials Previews: Departures Leave Matheny, Pouch As Clear 1-2 In 200 Breast

2025 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, June 3 – Saturday, June 7, 2025
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Indiana University Natatorium
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• World Championship Selection Criteria
• Live Results

By The Numbers – Men’s 200 Breaststroke

• World Record: 2:05.48, Qin Haiyang (CHN) – 2023
• American Record: 2:06.54, Matt Fallon – 2024
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: Matt Fallon, 2:06.54
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 2:10.32

There’s uncertainty surrounding the men’s 100 breaststroke at the upcoming U.S. National Championships, but in the 200 breast, with a lot of established names appearing to be out of the mix, things are actually looking fairly straightforward.

The fastest American of all-time and 2023 World Championship bronze medalist, Matt Fallon, won’t compete this summer as he takes on a software engineering internship for a startup company, but in his absence, two names become the clear favorites: Josh Matheny and AJ Pouch.

MATHENY LEADS AS INDIANA BREASTSTROKE TRADITION CONTINUES

Fallon may have broken the American Record last year in the 200 breast, but Matheny was the lone U.S. swimmer in the 2024 Olympic final, placing 7th (2:09.52) after producing his 2nd and 3rd-fastest swims ever at the Olympic Trials (2:08.79/2:08.86).

Josh Matheny (photo: Jack Spitser)

Now 22, Matheny first cracked the 2:10 barrier at the age of 16 at the 2019 World Junior Championships, where he won the title in a time of 2:09.40. After that, he didn’t go sub-2:10 again until 2023, when he fired off what remains his personal best of 2:08.32 at the 2023 U.S. Nationals to book his ticket to the World Championships.

He made the final in Fukuoka, placing 8th, and followed up by cracking the Olympic team last summer and making the Paris final.

Now, with Fallon out of the mix and Nic Fink, who represented the U.S. in the 200 breast at the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 and 2024 World Championships, appearing to be opting out of racing this summer (though unconfirmed), Matheny finds himself in the driver’s seat.

Over the last two summers, Matheny has produced nine sub-2:10 200 breast swims, showing a good level of consistency in long course, and he’s coming off setting best times in the short course pool at the Big Ten Championships (50.94/1:49.83).

Matheny isn’t the only Indiana breaststroker who will be a factor in this race, however, with reigning NCAA champion Jassen Yep riding a big wave of momentum, while future Hoosiers Josh Bey and Noah Cakir could also land in the ‘A’ final after strong starts to the long course season.

In his final college swimming race, Yep pulled out an epic win in the 200 breast NCAA final, setting a SCY best time of 1:48.30 to top Fallon (1:48.87), and though he had initially planned on calling it a career after that, affirmed his commitment to the long course season a few days later.

The 22-year-old owns a best time of 2:11.38, set in June 2023, and he was 2:11.93 last year at the Olympic Trials to qualify for the semi-finals where he finished 15th.

Jassen Yep (photo: Jack Spitser)

In April, Yep put up a time of 2:13.19 at the OSU Spring Invitational, and he was 2:14.89 in mid-May. We shouldn’t read too much into these swims because he’s someone who drops big when he tapers—he went 1:57.80 on January 31 before going 1:49.93 one month later at Big Tens.

Bey and Cakir, two of the top breaststroke recruits in the boys’ high school class of 2025, are two of the fastest Americans in the event so far this season, with Bey’s time of 2:12.61 from the Westmont Pro Swim ranking him 2nd in the nation behind Fallon.

Bey, 18, really made some noise last summer at the Olympic Trials, swimming three consecutive 2:11s (setting a best time of 2:11.02 in the prelims) to make the final and finish 8th. He got back under 2:12 at the Junior Pan Pacs in August, clocking 2:11.96 in the final to win silver.

Cakir, also 18, set a PB of 2:15.08 in the Olympic Trials prelims last year to place 39th, and he’s already been faster than that twice in 2025, swimming times of 2:14.19 and 2:14.27 in early May at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim.

POUCH’S TIME TO POUNCE?

AJ Pouch (photo: Jack Spitser)

Pouch has been right on the cusp of making a senior international long course team for the U.S. in the 200 breast, reeling off back-to-back 5th-place finishes at the 2021 Olympic Trials and 2022 International Team Trials before being DQed in the ‘A’ final of the 2023 Nationals.

At the 2024 Olympic Trials, Pouch produced the three fastest swims of his career, breaking 2:09 for the first time in the prelims (2:08.25) and then setting a lifetime best of 2:08.00 in the semis to qualify 2nd for the final. The next night, in a tight battle with Matheny for 2nd, he placed 3rd in 2:09.05.

Since then, Pouch, who previously competed for Virginia Tech in the NCAA, has gained some international experience, placing 6th at Short Course Worlds in the 200 breast while winning three medals on the U.S. medley relays.

The 24-year-old has been active this long course season, posting near identical times at the Westmont (2:13.13) and Sacramento (2:13.12) Pro Swims to rank 3rd among Americans.

OTHER CONTENDERS

With Fallon out of the field, Jake Foster retiring/in medical school, and Fink, Will Licon and Daniel Roy all not racing since the Olympic Trials, Matheny, Pouch and Bey will be the only three returning swimmers from last year’s Trials final.

Gabe Nunziata. Photo: Marcus Chen Photography.

The absence of those established names presents an opportunity for some up-and-coming swimmers, including Jordan Willis and Gabe Nunziata, who were both semi-finalists at the 2024 Trials.

Both are in the high school class of 2025, with Willis heading to Florida and Nunziata to Tennessee, and both set best times in the 2:11 range at the Olympic Trials, with Willis clocking 2:11.26 (9th in semis) and Nunziata going 2:11.78 in the prelims (placing 13th in semis).

Willis went on to win bronze in the event at the Junior Pan Pacs last summer, while Nunizata clocked 1:53.73 in short course yards in March to crack the top 20 all-time in the boys’ 17-18 age group.

Another name to keep on the radar is Ben Delmar, a rising junior at UNC who was a Trials semi-finalist last year after setting a PB of 2:11.83 in the prelims. After resetting his short course PB numerous times during the college season, clocking 1:50.51 at NCAAs to ultimately place 13th, he had a strong long course swim in late April in 2:13.21, which is already faster than he was in-season prior to Trials in 2024.

Andrew Eubanks (2:14.21) and Jack Armour (2:14.73) are two other teenagers who have been under 2:15 this season, both setting personal best times and carrying some momentum into Nationals.

Brown’s Jack Kelly (2:11.81) was sub-2:12 last summer and had a strong college season, but hasn’t raced since NCAAs, while Louisville’s Tommy Bried was 2:11.96 at the 2024 Trials and has been 2:15.51 so far this season.

SWIMSWAM’S PICKS

Dark Horse: Nate Germonprez – Germonprez is coming off a very strong sophomore season at Texas, his first training under Bob Bowman, which included a big best time of 1:49.71 in the 200 breast at NCAAs, topping the consolation final. In long course, he set a PB of 2:13.38 last July, and has been 2:18 so far this season. It’s possible the LC 200 breast isn’t one of his primary focuses right now, with him also being elite in the 50/100 breast and 200 IM, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him pull something out and land in the ‘A’ final.