2025 U.S. World Trials Previews: The Men’s 100 Breaststroke Is Anyone’s Race

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

By The Numbers – Men’s 100 Breaststroke

• World Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2019)
• American Record: 58.14 – Michael Andrew (2021)
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: Nic Fink – 59.08
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 59.75

Let’s play a game – of the men who raced in the U.S. Olympic Trials final last June, how many do you think will suit up next month in Indianapolis? Get your guesses in before the psych sheets drop.

To help you out, let us check in on those eight swimmers:

1. Nic Fink – has not raced since the Olympic Games
2. Charlie Swanson – has not raced since the Olympic Games
3. Josh Matheny – active, last raced at the OSU Spring Invitational in April
4. Liam Bell – has not raced since U.S. Olympic Trials
5. Noah Nichols – has not raced since Tennessee Invitational, off UVA men’s roster for second semester
6. Jake Foster – has not raced since U.S. Olympic Trials, in medical school
7. Luke Rodarte – has not raced since U.S. Olympic Trials
8. Michael Andrew – active, last raced at Ft. Lauderdale Pro Swim

The safest answer, clearly, is two—Matheny and Andrew—the only swimmers in that field that have raced this calendar year. But it is not just the majority of this final that we don’t expect to see in Indianapolis. Cody Miller has retired. Neither Will Licon, Tommy Cope, Daniel Roy, nor Danny Kovac–all Olympic Trials semifinals–have raced since last June. Matt Fallon is taking this summer off to pursue a professional opportunity.

Then, there’s uncertainty about which of the NCAA’s top graduating breaststrokers will continue on in the sport. NCAA record holder Julian Smith announced his retirement on Instagram, as did LSU’s Mitch Mason, and still several outstanding question marks. There were four swimmers who represent the U.S. internationally in the 100-yard breaststroke final at NCAAs this season: Smith, Nate Germonprez, Finn Brooks, and Jack Kelly. Germonprez is the only one of the four who has raced since NCAAs and the only one not graduating this spring. So, while Germonprez has plenty of momentum on his side, the NCAA is not as deep a well for USA Swimming to turn to as it can be.

It’s a tough place for USA Swimming to find itself in, especially with selection for the organization’s next two major international meets (2025 Worlds and 2026 Pan Pacs) happening this year. And it seems, that even if Nic Fink, the U.S.’s go-to male breaststroker since Tokyo, returns to competition, American men’s breaststroke is going through a transition phase. Now, this event becomes one where we have to wonder whether two men will be under the World Aquatics ‘A’ cut.

The psych sheets for the meet have not been released yet, so it’s possible that Fink, who won silver in this event in Paris, turns up. But as we haven’t seen him race since Paris, his appearance would not entirely eliminate the uncertainty that plagues this event at U.S. Nationals.

The Obvious Returners from the Olympic Trials Final

Someone we have seen race a lot this season is Michael Andrew, the American record holder. It’s been a season of transition for him; he switched training bases, landing with Herbie Behm and a strong Arizona State sprint group. Andrew has swum at all three of the Pro Swim stops so far. He hit 1:00.65 in Westmont, 1:00.54 in Sacramento, and 1:01.65 in Fort Lauderdale.

It makes Andrew the second-fastest American man this season, putting him in a solid position as he aims to make a World Championships through a selection meet for the first time since 2022. (Andrew attended 2024 Worlds, which did not have a selection meet, and was left of the 2023 Worlds team due to roster priorities).

Andrew has struggled in this event at selection meets for the past couple of seasons—see his eighth-place last summer—and hasn’t broken 59 seconds since the 2022 World Championships. So, even though he’s the American record holder in this race, it’s hard to name him as the favorite, even if he has a resume that’s much longer than many of the other athletes that will be in the field. But presumably, one of the goals of the new training base is to break that streak. Andrew has been in Tempe for less than a year, so it may take more than one try for Andrew and Behm to perfectly hit the taper, but the door is wide open for Andrew to reannounce himself in this race.

If you were to tap someone as the next go-to American breaststroker, Josh Matheny is a great pick. Based in Bloomington and training with arguably the best breaststroker group in the country, Matheny has been steadily rising through the national long course ranks for the last three years. He broke through and cracked the 1:00 barrier to win the 2022 U.S. Nationals. He qualified for his first major senior international team the next summer, making the 2023 World Championship team in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Then, he qualified for the Olympics in the 200 breaststroke, finishing seventh in Paris.

After a strong yards season where he swam lifetime bests at the Big 10 Championship (50.94/1:49.83) Matheny is back in meters, where he shines brightest. He got his first taste of long course racing this year at the OSU Spring Invitational, where he clocked a 1:00.90. That makes him the fourth-fastest American this season and third-fastest who will compete this summer (Fallon is third overall at 1:00.73). Further, he projects to be the second-fastest man in the field as he owns a lifetime best 59.20 from the 2023 World Championships.

That would change if someone like Fink or Swanson shows up in Indianapolis, but for now, that lifetime best gives him a clear advantage over the rest of the field. In the same way that the door is wide open for Andrew to reassert himself, path is clear for Matheny to take the next step in his career and take on primary breaststroke duties for the U.S. this summer.

The Future Is Now?

Now that we’ve exhausted the list of likely returning Olympic finalists, let’s expand the search for our 2025 World Championship qualifiers. This field falls largely into two categories. First, the rising young stars. Second, the veterans looking to pounce.

We’ll start with the young guns, as it’s one of them that heads to Indianapolis as the fastest American male this season.

Fastest American This Season

The honor of that distinction belongs to none other than high school senior Campbell McKean. McKean, who is headed to Texas in the fall, is one of a handful of young stars looking to take advantage of the moment and make their first senior international roster.

He’s put himself in a strong position to achieve that goal. He leads the American men in the 100 breaststroke this season with the lifetime best 1:00.40 he swam for third in Fort Lauderdale. The high school senior and Texas commit had a strong showing at that meet, popping lifetime bests in the 50 breast, 100 breast, 200 breast, and 400 IM. His 100 breaststroke time marks his first time breaking 1:01, as he got under the 1:01.00 he swam to finish 21st at U.S. Olympic Trials. Later that summer, he won silver at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in 1:01.13.

Another high school senior to keep an eye on is Tennessee commit Gabe Nunziata. He hit a lifetime best of 1:00.36 during a time trial at the U.S. Olympic Trials, which projects to put him right in the heart of the race in the final if he can get back to it this summer. He hit multiple personal bests at the VSI SC Senior Championships, a yards meet that was his most recent competition. That includes swimming 52.47 to win the 100 breaststroke, which takes about four-tenths off his best coming into the meet. It remains to be seen where he’s at in meters, but the early signs from his 2025 yards swims are positive.

College Stars

Many of the young stars we expect to see in Indianapolis come from the NCAA ranks. As we said earlier, there are questions here as well, especially with the recently graduated seniors. But in the absence of the psych sheet, we’ll do our best.

One of the most intriguing swimmers to watch here is Texas’ Germonprez. He began to seriously focus on breaststroke during his sophomore season with the Longhorns and quickly saw dramatic improvements, swimming lifetime bests of 50.14/1:49.71 in the yards edition of the 100/200 breaststroke. His 100 breaststroke best is over two seconds faster than it was coming into the season, and his 200 breaststroke is five seconds faster.

If Germonprez translates those drops to meters, that could wrap up all the uncertainty in this discipline in quite a hurry. He owns a lifetime best of 1:00.48 from July 2024, which is a time that wouldn’t typically put him in line for qualification but shoots him to the top of this field. He’s already approached that time this season, clocking a 1:01.08 at the Longhorn Elite Invitational this week, which is a solid warm up at his only chance to race meters in a competition before Nationals.

Now, let’s return to Matheny’s Indiana breaststroke compatriots. They’re an impressive group and now boast an NCAA champion, after fifth-year Jassen Yep surprised for the 200-yard breaststroke title in Federal Way with a 1:48.30 that made him the third-fastest performer in history. Yep originally said he would call it a career after his final NCAAs but changed his mind and is back for meters racing.

He’s following up the best season of his career in yards, which also saw him post a 100-yard best of 50.89. Yep owns a lifetime best of 1:01.08 from 2023 and it will take faster than that to qualify for the World Championship team. He clocked a 1:02.52 at the OSU Invitational, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him pop his first PB in this event after the incredible season he just had. And, he has already proven he knows how to pull off the upset.

Other Hoosiers to keep an eye on include Luke Barr and Brian Benzing. Barr took third at the OSU Invite with a lifetime best 1:01.64. He made big improvements of his own this season and that 1:01.64 knocked three-tenths off his former best from U.S. Olympic Trials in his first time swimming the 100-meter breaststroke in 10 months.

In this group of Hoosiers, it is Benzing with the fastest lifetime best. He swam a 1:00.16 in prelims at U.S. Olympic Trials while still racing for Towson. He was slightly off that swim in semifinals, placing 12^th in 1:00.29. That type of time could be enough for a finals berth this year and is certainly among the fastest bests in the field. Benzing did not match his yards best during his year at Indiana. Though he did not race at the OSU Invite with his teammates, he posted on Instagram about racing in meters, which suggests he and Ray Looze will have another shot at better timing the taper.

Other names to keep an eye on from the college ranks include Yale’s Charlie Egeland. He owns a lifetime best of 1:00.84 from U.S. Olympic Trials, which just missed a semifinal berth. Further, he won the yards U.S. Open title this December and contributed to a strong season for Yale, swimming relays at NCAA Championships and hitting a lifetime best 51.09 in March.

Finally, Andrew’s new training partner, Andy Dobrzanski, just wrapped his NCAA season. His best comes from last summer’s Trials as well, where he clocked 1:01.12. He swam a lifetime best 51.27 in yards at the 2025 NCAA Championships.

The Pro

Neither Tommy Cope nor Daniel Roy have raced since Trials, but AJ Pouch has been busy since Indianapolis, racing at 2024 Short Course World Championships and racing two stops of the Pro Swim Series. He owns a season-best of 1:01.24 from Westmont. While that is not anything special, he does have a distinct advantage in this field—he’s been under 1:00 before.

Pouch owns a lifetime best of 59.86 from the U.S. Olympic Trials, which tied him for 9^th with Cope after semifinals. That was his first time under the barrier but the fact that he’s done it does give him an edge against this field. Plus, as one of the veterans of this field, he has plenty of experience that he can lean on.

Other than Pouch, the field of pros we haven’t mentioned already is rather sparse. Cody Miller has hung up the goggles, Will Licon hasn’t raced since Trials. Ben Cono was at the Sacramento Pro Swim, but only swam the 50 breaststroke.

The Verdict

This race is anyone’s game. There are those who hold an edge either in the experience they have on their resume or in their lifetime best. But really—as is the case in the other men’s breaststroke events—there’s plenty of room for a swimmer to make the leap and out-touch one of those bigger names to make their first World Championship team.

We’ve made our picks below, but one of the positives about a field like this is that there are a lot of legitimate arguments for the top two slots. But again, there’s a big question about whether both those athletes will be under the ‘A’ cut.

SwimSwam’s Picks

Dark Horse: Ben Delmar — In a field that’s overwhelmingly dark horses, is it really fair to call anyone one? Nevertheless, we’ll go for UNC’s Ben Delmar, who played a big role in the Tar Heels success during the 2024-25 NCAA season. Like many of the UNC men, Delmar broke school records right and left, and lowered his yards lifetime bests to 51.44/1:50.51. Delmar only raced the 200-meter breaststroke at his LCM tune up this spring, clocking 2:13.21 at the NCAC Quad Meet. He may be primarily focused on that distance, but if he transitions well to meters, he could drop from his 1:01.26 PB in the 100-meter breaststroke and earn a spot in the finals.