2025 Women’s Big 12 Fan Guide: Arizona State Chasing First Ever Conference Title

2025 Big 12 Championship

• February 25 – March 1, 2025
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center — Federal Way, Wash.
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Start Times: prelims – 10 am PT/finals – 6 pm PT
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheet
• Livestream: ESPN+
• Live Results
• 2025 Teams: Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Christian, Utah, West Virginia

2024 Final Scores

1. Texas- 2092
2. Houston- 1266.5
3. TCU- 1215.5
4. Cincinnati- 918.5
5. Brigham Young- 771.5
6. West Virginia- 699
7. Kansas- 647.5
8. Iowa State- 546.5

Texas might have left to the SEC this year, but the Big 12 is not wide open with the additions of Arizona State, Arizona, and Utah to this year’s championships. No matter what happens, though, we will be looking at a new women’s Big 12 Champion for the first time in more than a decade.

The four new teams from the Pac 12 will also get the opportunity to swim a combined men’s and women’s meet after their former conference traditionally split the meets. All the teams will also get an opportunity to race in the pool where NCAAs will be held next month.

Swimmers to Watch:

Arizona: Eleni Gewalt (JR- Breast), Malia Rausch (JR- Free), Julia Wozniak (JR- Free), Brooke Earley (SR- Diving)

Arizona is on of three Pac 12 transfers, and they finished 7th at last year’s championships. They have some strong swimmers, and they didn’t lose a ton of talent.

While many of their top scorers are returning, they have been having a lot of success from some of their returners who were not at the top of the standings. Eleni Gewalt was 5th for the Wildcats last season, but this season she is one of their top swimmers. Her highest placement last season was 8th in the 100 breaststroke, and she is coming into the meet this year seeded 6th in the 100 and 9th in the 200. She is also a huge relay swimmer for the team, particularly on the medleys.

Malia Rausch is another swimmer who was on the team last year, but did not swim at their conference meet last season. This season she has been doing very well and is seeded in the top 8 in the 200 free, 500 free, and mile.

Julia Wozniak only scored seven points last year. This year, she is seeded 4th in the 50 and 3rd in the 100. Again, she will be a significant relay swimmer as well.

They also have their highest scoring diver from last year, Brooke Earley, returning and she will likely do well on the boards.

Arizona State: Caroline Bentz (GR-Free/Back), Julia Ullmann (FR- Fly), Deniz Ertan (JR- Free), Charli Brown (SR- Free/IM)

The ASU women are not as strong as the reigning NCAA champions on the men’s side, but they are still probably the favorites for this year’s conference title. Last year, they competed in the Pac 12 before its famous collapse leading to them joining the Big 12 this season. At their conference meet last yeah, they finished 5th overall behind a quartet of teams that all find themselves in other conferences.

The Sun Devils lost their top two point scorers after last year, but they are not hurting for talent, especially with graduate transfer Caroline Bentz from Virginia Tech. Bentz has spent the season racking up Big 12 honors, while consistently winning events at in-season meets. She has also been a crucial relay member for the Sun Devils, who have broken numerous school records this year. She currently leads the conference in the 50 free, 100 free, and 200 backstroke and will be a serious point scorer for ASU.

They also picked up freshman Julia Ullmann, who is the clear favorite to win the 100 fly, coming in more than a second ahead of the rest of the conference. She is also ranked 6th in the 200 fly, 10th in the 50 free, and 11th in the 100 free.

Finally, they are returning two of their top point scorers from Pac 12s, Deniz Ertan and Charli Brown. Ertzan has the top time in the 500 free, the 2nd time in the 1650 free, and the 3rd time in the 400 IM. In every case, the only swimmers ahead of her are her own teammates. Brown has the top time in the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 freestyle events.

Brigham Young (BYU): Mackenzie Miller (JR- Breast/IM), Alexia Jackson Hansen(Jr- Diving), Victoria Schreiber (JR- Free), Lucy Warnick (FR- Br/IM), Halli Williams (SR- Free)

The Cougars were fourth last year, and they lost very little talent this season, returning most of their top swimmers while picking up huge freshman recruits.

Their entire top 11 point scorers are back this year. Mackenzie Miller was their highest earner at last year’s Big 12s with 60 points, making ‘A’ finals in both distance of breaststroke, and a ‘B’ final in the 200 IM. She has gotten even faster this year, dropping time in both of her breaststroke events. This season, she is seeded 7th in the 100 and 2nd in the 200. Victoria Schreiber was 3rd, scoring 51 points in the distance freestyle events, and she leads a strong BYU distance group, with three top-16 rankings in the 200, 500, and 1650 free. They also have incredibly impactful relay swimmer Halli Williams returning, who is a potential point scorer in the three shorter freestyle events.

The Cougars have a few strong freshmen who will be looking to rack up points at their first ever conference meet. Lucy Warnick has been making serious moves in the IM events, and she is looking at scoring points in both with an ‘A’ final in the 400 IM. Jasmine Anderson is another freshman, from Alaska, who will be looking to score in the breaststroke events.

Finally, they have diver Alexia Jackson Hansen returning. Jackson was 2nd on the BYU team in points, with 54 points from her diving finishes and she will help lead the charge in BYU’s diving events.

Cincinnati: Jessica Davis (GR-Free), Joleigh Crye (JR- Fly/Breast), Julie Rose (SO-Free/Breast/IM), Ellison Schrank (FR- Back)

The Bearcats (the second bearcat team in the conference) were fourth at last year’s championships, thanks to a very young team of talent.

Their top point scorer last year, Jessica Davis, is returning after winning the silver medal in the 100 freestyle last year. She also finished 4th in the 50 and 5th in the 200 to rack up 79 points. This year, she’s going to have a slightly harder time with the new additions, but she is seeded 8th in the 50, 2nd in the 100, and 11th in the 200.

Julie Rose and Joleigh Crye, who were 3rd and 4th last year, have been having strong seasons. Rose is coming in as the top 16 in the 200 free, 200 breast, and 200 IM. Crye has had an outstanding season so far. Last year, she won a bronze in the 100 breast, a 4th place in the 100 fly, and a 14th place in the 200 breast. This year she is coming into the meet as the top seed in the 100 breast and the 2nd seed in the 100 fly which would be huge points.

They also picked up freshman Ellie Schrank who has already been making an impact this season, and she is coming in as the 8th ranked 100 backstroker. She also will likely swim the event on Cincinnati’s relays, which means their 400 medley team could have ‘A’ finalists in almost every event.

Houston: Michelle McLeod (SO- Diving), Henrietta Fangli (SR-Breast), Evelyn Entrekin (SO- breast), Lottie Cullen (FR-back)

The University of Houston were the runners-up at last year’s conference meet, behind the Longhorn women. They lost a few key members, but they are still in a good place. They also mark the 2nd repeated mascot at the meet as the Cougars, the same as BYU.

Last year, Houston was led by their diving, and, while their highest scoring diver graduated, their 2nd highest scorer is back this year after scoring 63 points last year. Michelle McLeod won the platform bronze, and then finished 9th in the 3 meter and 11th in the 1 meter.

Their highest scoring swimmer is out with a shoulder injury this season, but Houston has been making up for the absence. Henrietta Fangli has seen some drops this season, and is one of Houston’s highest ranking swimmers, but most of her drops came in Short Course Meters at the 2024 SC Worlds in December. She comes in as the 2nd seed in the 100 breast and the 6th seed in the 200 breast, but if she replicated those SC Worlds drops she could be a threat to win both.

Evelyn Entrekin is another returning swimmer who has stepped up to the plate this year, standing behind Fangli in the breaststroke events. Last year, she scored 36 points, the 14th most on the team. She has seen steep improvement this year, dropping time in the 100 breast, 200 breast, 200 free, and 200 IM. She is the 10th seed in the 200 free, 4th seed in the 100 breast, 14th in the 200 breast, and the 5th seed in the 200 IM.

They also picked up freshman Lottie Cullen, who comes in as the top seed in the 100 back and the 2nd seed in the 200 back, so you can expect to see her on relays as well.

Iowa State: Carley Caughron (SR- Free/Fly), Fallon DeWitt (SR- Back/IM), Mallory Miller (SR-Back/IM), Grace Swoboda (FR-Breast), Anja Peck (FR-Breast)

The Iowa State Cyclones saw a significant drop in their placement last season, moving from 2nd overall to 8th overall. They were the team that struggled the most through the addition of three teams last year, and they will be looking to move up this year, even with the additional teams.

Carley Caughron was their highest earner last year, bringing in 49 points for the team. This year, she is going to have a harder time making the ‘B’ finals she swam last year. She currently sits 23rd in the 50 free, 21st in the 100 fly, and below 50th in the 100 free. She will still be a significant relay swimmer for the Cyclones.

Fallon DeWitt was their next highest returning scorer, bringing in 28 points for the team after scoring in all three events. She has not had the strongest season, coming in quite far off her best times and sitting just outside of scoring positions in the 200 back, 200 IM, and 400 IM. She could still do well at the meet, and her best times would put her in scoring position. Mallory Miller who swims similar events, has stepped into her position, and is ranked to final in all three of the events.

Iowa also picked up a few standout freshmen breaststrokes this year. Grace Swoboda from Nebraska has improved significantly this year, and she is coming into the meet ranked in a position to ‘C’ final in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. Anja Peck, from Iowa, is the other one. Peck is seeded to make the ‘B’ final in the 200, slightly ahead of Swoboda.

Kansas: Shiyun Lai (SO- Diving), Lezli Sisung (SR- Back/Fly), Eleni Kotzamanis (SR- Free/Back), Lydia Lafferty (JR- Fly/Back), Caroline Blake (JR- Free)

Kansas finished 7th last year, about 100 points ahead of Iowa State and 50 behind West Virginia.

Their highest scoring team member at last year’s conference meet was diver Shiyun Lai, who won the 3 meter, and placed well on the other two boards. She will be back this year, along with Lize van Leeuwen who was the 5th highest scorer at 30 individual points.

On the swimming side, Lezli Sisung was the highest earner, bringing in 40 points in the back and fly events. She leads a strong backstroke group, coming in as a ‘B’ finalist in the 100 back at 14th and a ‘C’ finalist in the 200 back at 24th. She also sits just outside of scoring position at 26th in the 100 fly. Eleni Kotzamanis is another returner who scored points last year at 26. She comes in this year 15th in the 200 freestyle, and outside of scoring positions in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, but the right swim could put her in contention.

Lydia Lafferty only finaled in the 100 fly last year, but she has included backstroke events in her repertoire this season and created two more potential scoring events for herself, and she is seeded 10th in the 100 fly.

Caroline Blake was the 2nd highest individual scorer last year at 32 points. This year, she comes back in a good position to repeat this performance. She is currently ranked 11th in the 50 and 16th in the 100, which would also be significant in Kansas’ mission to move up the leaderboard.

Texas Christian: Anna Kwong (SR- Diving), Olivia Rhodes SR- Free), Claire Chahbandour (SR- Breast), Jordan Edwards (SR- Distance Free/IM)

TCU lost a lot of the hard hitting scorers that helped them finish 3rd last year, just 30 point behind Houston, and it could be hard for them to repeat that performance.

Their top scorer last year is back, however, diver Anna Kwong. Kwong earned two medals and a 6th place finish at last year’s championships, but no golds. She will certainly be looking to improve that score this year and maybe go home with a conference tittle.

Olivia Rhodes leads a strong sprint freestyle group into the meet again this year. Last year, she made two ‘A’ finals in the 50 and 100 freestyle, and a ‘B’ final in the 100 back. She is coming in this year at 14th and 13th in the 50 and 100 freestyles respectively. You can also expect t see her on TCU’s relays.

Staying with the freestyle events, TCU also has a relatively strong distance program headed by senior Jordan Edwards. Edwards is the highest returning scorer, earning two top 8 and one top 16 finish last year. She seems poised to perform similarly this year, ranking 6th in the 500, 9th in the 1650, and 15th in the 400 IM.

Claire Chahbandour is the top 100 breaststroker on the team, and she scored in all three of her events last year. She has a steep hill to climb when it comes to repeating this performance, but she is coming in as the 5th seed in the 100 breaststroke, which not only helps on individual points but will be huge for the Horned Frog relays.

Utah: Holly Waxman (SR- Diving), Erin Palmer (JR- Free/Breast), Lily Milner ((Free), Norah Hay (SR- Back/Fly)

Utah is one of the schools that is new to the Big 12 this year, coming from the Pac 12 where they finished 6th overall. They could do very well at this meet, and will likely be challenging for the runner-up position.

Similar to a few other teams on this list, they are led by a very strong driving program. Holly Waxman scored the most points for the Utes last year thanks to her performance on the boards. She will also be joined by Kathryn Grant who was only two points behind her.

Utah also has some strong returning swimmers. Sprinter Erin Palmer comes in as the third seed in the 50 free and the 12th seed in the 100 free. She also sits in 8th overall in the 100 breast. Lily Milner is another sprinter, who is more proficient in the 100 and 200 distances, ranking 17th in the 50, 6th in the 100, and 8th in the 200, so she could be a huge point scorer for Utah.

The Utes also have a strong backstroker in senior Norah Hay. Hay is coming in 5th in the 100 backstroke, 3rd in the 200 backstroke, and 8th in the 100 fly. Hay was their highest returning swimming point scorer last year, bringing in 36 points for the team.

West Virginia: Maddie Smutny (SO- Free/Fly), Delaney Cox (SO- Back), Olivia Busch (JR-Distance), Gabriela Martin De La Torres (JR-Free)

The Mountaineers lost many of their top swimmers from last year’s championships including sophomore and top scorer Mia Cheatwood, who went to Louisville, and they have struggled to get their momentum back this season.

Their top swimmer this year is probably sophomore Maddie Smutny, who is coming in as a potential point scorer in all three of her events. She is currently ranked 25th in the 200 free, which is just one point outside of scoring position, but she sits in 10th in the 500 and 7th in the 200 fly. These would both be huge scoring positions for West Virginia. Olivia Busch is another major distance point scorer, coming in at 28th in the 500 and 10th in the mile.

Delaney Cox is a potential two-event scorer, ranking in ‘B’ final position in both the 100 back (16th) and the 200 back (13th). Last year Cox only made ‘C’ finals in her events, so she should be in a good position to increase her 9 points from last season.

The Mountaineers also have a sprinter/strong relay member in Gabriela Martin, who is a potential finalist in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle events. At last year’s meet, she scored 33 points for the team, the 5th most overall. It is going to be difficult to replicate this point performance due to the conference newcomers, but she will also be crucial on relays.

Races to Watch:

200 Free:

The women’s 200 free is one of the most exciting races we could see this week. ASU has a lot of the top swimmers in the event, and they likely won’t all swim it. Charli Brown is the top seed at 1:46.54 and there is a tie for the 8th seed between Lily Milner and Elli Straume, only a second back at 1:47.72. We could be looking at a very close ‘A’ final in the event.

100 Breast:

There are 5 women all under 1:00 in the 100 breast so far this season, and six more sitting at 1:00. The top seed in the event is Cincinnati’s Joleigh Crye at 59.06, and she is followed by a range of 59 second swimmers until TCU’s Claire Chahbandour at 59.91 in 5th place.

Houston has two of the top four with Henrietta Fangli (59.19) and Evelyn Entrekin (59.76) and could pick up huge points in this event.

200 Fly:

The 200 fly has been Texas’ event the last few years at Big 12s but with Emma Sticklen’s transition to the SEC the event has a lot of open space, and it is anyone’s for the taking at this point. Houston has a strong team with Noor El Gendy (1:56.08), Adelaide Meuter (1:56.90), and Sydney Nethercutt (1:56.98) all falling in the top 4.

ASU slides in at 4rd with Deniz Ertan who fits nicely in between Meuter and Nethercutt at 3rd overall with her 1:56.94. Places 2-4 are separated by only eight-one-hundredths of a second, and it will be a battle for the podium in the event, particularly with other ASU swimmer Sonia Vaishnani only a half second behind in 1:57.40 for 5th.

SwimSwam’s picks:

1. ASU
2. Houston
3. Arizona
4. Cincinnati
5. TCU
6. Utah
7. BYU
8. Kansas
9. West Virginia
10. Iowa State

ASU comes in as the clear favorites to win. Their strong group of swimmers will be looking to take over the crown left by Texas, but this week will likely be one of the closest Big 12 meets in recent memories. If the ASU women win the championship this year, it would be their first ever NCAA conference title.

Houston and Arizona likely won’t be that far out of ASU. Houston has the slight edge over the Arizona due their insane depth in many events, a depth which, including diving, could put them on ASU’s tail for the victory.

The rest of the teams fall after them. Cincinnati, TCU, and Utah could battle it out in the middle of the leaderboard, especially once diving is brought into the mix. Utah is the last newcomer, and they will be searching to prove themselves