2026 College Swimming Previews: In Year 2 With Bowman, #1 Texas Men Primed To Start New Streak

It’s that time of the year again. SwimSwam will be previewing the top 12 men’s and women’s teams (and then some) from the 2025 NCAA Championships. Follow along with the College Swimming Preview Channel. Want to read even more? Check out the latest edition of the SwimSwam magazine. 

#1 Texas Longhorns

Key Losses: Luke Hobson (45 NCAA points, 4 NCAA relays), Chris Guiliano (44.5 NCAA points, 4 NCAA relays), Coby Carrozza (3 NCAA points, 1 NCAA relay)

Key Additions: #3 Campbell McKean (OR – breast/IM), HM Aiden Hammer (CA – free), Calvin Fry (Great Britain – free), Rafael Fente-Damers (France – free), Baylor Nelson (Texas A&M transfer – IM/free), Jacob Wimberly (Texas A&M transfer – free/back/fly/IM)

GRADING CRITERIA

Over the years, we’ve gone back and forth on how to project points, ranging from largely subjective rankings to more data-based grading criteria based on ‘projected returning points.’ We like being as objective as possible, but we’re going to stick with the approach we’ve adopted post-COVID. The “stars” will rely heavily on what swimmers actually did last year, but we’ll also give credit to returning swimmers or freshmen who have posted times that would have scored last year.

Since we only profile the top 12 teams in this format, our grades are designed with that range in mind. In the grand scheme of college swimming and compared to all other college programs, top 12 NCAA programs would pretty much all grade well across the board. But in the interest of making these previews informative, our grading scale is tough – designed to show the tiers between the good stroke groups, the great ones, and the 2015 Texas fly group types.

• 5 star (★★★★★) – a rare, elite NCAA group projected to score 25+ points per event
• 4 star (★★★★) – a very, very good NCAA group projected to score 15-24 points per event
• 3 star (★★★) – a good NCAA group projected to score 5-14 points per event
• 2 star (★★) – a solid NCAA group projected to score 1-4 points per event
• 1 star (★) –  an NCAA group that is projected to score no points per event, though that doesn’t mean it’s without potential scorers – they’ll just need to leapfrog some swimmers ahead of them to do it

We’ll grade each event discipline: sprint free (which we define to include all the relay-distance freestyle events, so 50, 100 and 200), distance free, IM, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and diving. Use these grades as a jumping-off point for discussion, rather than a reason to be angry.

Also, keep in mind that we are publishing many of these previews before teams have posted finalized rosters. We’re making our assessments based on the best information we have available at the time of publication, but we reserve the right to make changes after publication based on any new information that may emerge regarding rosters. If that does happen, we’ll make certain to note the change.

2024-2025 Lookback

Under new head coach Bob Bowman, the Texas men bounced back from their worst finish in over a decade (7th), to give Bowman back-to-back NCAA championships at the helm of two different teams.

Texas kicked off NCAAs with something of a surprise win in the 200 medley relay after Florida DQ’d, and the Longhorns never looked back, collecting a total of one relay and five individual victories en route to returning to the top of the standings.

Transfers played a key role in the Longhorn dominance. Hubert Kos, who followed Bob Bowman from Arizona State, won three events — the 200 IM, 100 back, and 200 back, winning the backstroke events with the fastest times ever.

Stanford transfer Rex Maurer exploded in his first year in Austin. He set the American Record in the 500 free at midseason, and then won the 500 free and the 400 IM at NCAAs, along with a 2nd-place finish in the 1650.

But it was Notre Dame transfer Chris Guiliano who may have been most instrumental in helping the Longhorns to victory. Not only did he score 44.5 points individually with three finishes in the top five, but he was the sprint free piece that Texas badly needed, including a 17.80 effort on the anchor leg of the victorious medley relay.

Luke Hobson wrapped up his collegiate career with 45 points, including finishing 2nd to Mauer in the 500 free, and once again resetting the U.S. Open record in the 200 free with a winning time of 1:28.33.

A total of nine other Longhorns scored NCAA points, and while Texas held the lead from the beginning to the end of the meet, they needed every point, as they only won by 19 points over Cal and 31 points over Indiana.

Sprint Free: ★★

The losses of Chris Guiliano, who finished no lower than 5th in all three sprint free races, and Luke Hobson, who won the 200 free and took 9th in the 100 free, definitely hurt. But, there’s still some freestyle depth remaining, and talented international recruits bring a ton of potential to the Longhorns roster.

Camden Taylor is the only returning Longhorn who swam an individual sprint free event at NCAAs, having finished 44th in the 100 free and 23rd in the 200 free. In all, he’s been 19.54/42.35/1:31.88 through the relay-distance freestyles. His 200 free personal best exactly matches what it took to earn a second swim at NCAAs last year. Garrett Gould had a strong freshman year and could make a run at NCAA qualification after going 19.38/42.66 last year.

Will Modglin probably won’t swim any sprint free events, but has PRs of 19.5 and 42.08, and he should continue to find himself on Longhorn free relays.

Nate Germonprez focused on freestyle as a freshman before switching his focus to breaststroke last year. As a freshman, he was the Longhorns’ #2 man in both the 100 free (42.24) and 200 free (1:32.25). He didn’t race the individual 50 free that season, but he reliably split sub-19 on the Longhorns’ 200 free relays, and split 1:31.86 on the 800 free relay at the 2024 Big 12 Championships.

Among other returners, Manning Haskal hit a lifetime best of 1:33.33 last year, and junior Kobe Ndebele has been 19.59/42.87/1:34.48, putting him within striking range of some relay consideration.

Texas A&M transfer Baylor Nelson owns a lifetime best of 1:32.39 in the 200 free, and he should be a factor on the Longhorns’ 800 free relay regardless of whether or not he races it individually. Fellow Aggie transfer Jacob Wimberly has been 43.40/1:32.86. Freshman Campbell McKean seems likely to focus on breast/IM, but he has gone 20.48/44.99/1:35.84.

Reinforcements arrive from overseas to help shore up the sprint group. Rafael Fente-Damers was born in the US and swam competitively as a young age grouper, but has lived in Spain and represented France more recently. He comes to Austin fresh off representing France at the Summer Olympics, where he earned a bronze medal as part of France’s medley relay. He’s got long course bests of 22.50/48.14/1:47.82. Those times very conservatively convert to 19.58/42.01/1:34.09, he already went 19.39/42.47 at the Orange-White Meet, and he should be one of the linchpins for the Longhorn sprint group this season.

Calvin Fry from Great Britain is the other big addition. He’s been 22.32/49.09/1:49.90 in LCM, and those are already solid times, but his SCM times of 21.35/47.11/1:44.96 convert to roughly 19.1/42.2/1:34.6. Those conversions suggest that Fry should join Fente-Damers as the new dynamos of the Longhorn sprint corps for the foreseeable future.

Will go ahead and address the elephant in the room now: Will Kwasery Masiuk show up this year? The Polish swimmer originally committed to NC State, then was expected to swim for Texas last year, but then announced he would arrive this fall. He doesn’t currently appear on the Longhorns’ roster, but he could very well appear later in the season. If he does, he may not swim freestyle individually, but his SCM/LCM times suggest he should be at least 19.7/41.5/1:34.5 in yards, putting him in contention for the Longhorn free relays.

Given the uncertainty regarding event lineups, how tough it’s become to score at NCAAs (18.9/41.6/1:31.8 to earn points last year), and a reliance on international incomers who don’t have yards times, it’s tough to accurately assess this group right now. Two stars seems about right, with the caveat that this group has the potential to explode depending on how the freshmen and transfers adapt.

Distance Free: ★★★★★

Losing Hobson hurts, but this group has plenty of depth. Rex Maurer set the American Record last season with a 4:04.45 500 free at midseason, and followed that up with a 4:05.35 win at NCAAs. 2nd in the 1650.

David Johnston was a little off his lifetime best of 4:08.79 in the 500, taking 10th in 4:09.48. But he clocked a new personal best of 14:26.00 at SECs, then followed that up with a 14:30.48 at NCAAs to take 7th. He’ll be one of the most experienced swimmers in the NCAA this season. He originally arrived in Austin in the fall of 2020, and now returns for a fifth year of eligibility by virtue of having competed during the 2021-2022 season and having taken an Olympic redshirt for the 2023-2024 season.

Manning Haskal made moves in the distance events last year, improving from 4:21.07 to 4:12.69 in the 500 and 15:31.53 to 14:49.64 in the 1650. He didn’t get to swim at NCAAs, but that 500 time was good enough to make the B-final. Cooper Lucas hit a lifetime best of 4:13.77, within a second of NCAA scoring time, and finished 25th at NCAAs with a 4:15.12.

After a one-year hiatus, Alec Enyeart returns to Austin with at least one NCAA-scoring time. After battling health issues last year, Enyeart clocked a 14:43.03 at a spring sectional meet. Swimflation is such that that time “only” would’ve finished 16th at NCAAs, but with another year of healthy training, and about six of the top 16 swimmers in the event not returning, Enyeart should have a good shot at scoring. His 500 free lifetime best is a 4:13.74, from when he was still in high school, and it wouldn’t take much improvement for him to score in that event as well.

Freshman Aiden Hammer arrives with distance free times of 4:14.21 and 15:10.49. That 500 time was almost exactly what it took to make NCAAs last year. Sasha Lyubavskiy improved from 15:11.49 to 14:59.80 last year in the 1650. Another similar drop this year could put him on the verge of qualifying for NCAAs.

Backstroke: ★★★★★

In his first season as a Longhorn, Hubert Kos cemented his place in backstroke history, sweeping both events with the fastest times ever. Friday night, he won the 100 back with a time of 43.20, touching just ahead of Florida’s Johnny Marshall. Saturday night, he followed that up with a 1:34.21, becoming the fastest man in history by over a second.

Will Modglin made A-final appearances in both backstrokes as well, taking 7th in the 100 and 8th in the 200. He set both of his best times (43.91/1:37.84) at midseason, and those times would’ve put him 4th and 7th, respectively, had he matched them at NCAAs.

Kyle Peck had a breakout meet at the Eddie Reese Showdown in January, notching best times of 45.02 and 1:39.36. He was a bit off those times at NCAAs, but both marks would’ve put him in the B-final.

Given Texas’ depth in this discipline, we probably won’t see Rex Maurer swim either event at NCAAs, but he’s been 45.36 and 1:38.27. That 200 time would’ve put him just outside the A-final at NCAAs.

Among incomers, Baylor Nelson has the strongest time in this discipline with a 1:39.79 in the 200. He’s typically focused on breaststroke at NCAAs, but there’s at least some chance he could make the switch to the 200 back if he pops off.

This is a five-star group only taking into account who’s currently on the roster, but it’ll get even deeper if/when Ksawery Masiuk arrives. He’s won multiple World Championship medals in the 50, and he’s been 50.43/1:52.86 in SCM and 52.55/1:56.48 in LCM, indicating that he has the potential to be an A-finalist in both events at NCAAs.

Breaststroke: ★★★★½

Last year, we could only give this group a one-star rating based on the previous year’s times. But, as we say in our preface, these stars aren’t intended to predict a group’s ceiling, especially when someone switches focus.

Nate Germonprez came into college looking primarily like a breaststroker, but ended up focusing on freestyle more his freshman year. Last year, he renewed his focus on breaststroke and finished the season as the fastest Longhorn ever in the 100, having gone 50.14 at SEC championships. He was just off that mark at NCAAs, finishing 3rd with a time of 50.29. Both swimmers who finished ahead of him are out of eligibility, which, on paper at least, makes Germonprez the presumptive favorite heading into the season. He missed the A-final in the 200, but bounced back with a resounding 1:49.71 to win the B-final. Again, that makes him the fastest returner heading into this season.

Classmate Will Scholtz also had a great season, hitting lifetime bests of 51.03/1:51.04. He didn’t match either of those times at NCAAs, but snagged a point in the 200, and he should be primed to earn more points with another season of experience under his belt.

The Longhorns’ other primary breaststroker from last year, Brayden Taivassalo, transferred to ASU, but the arrival of Campbell McKean should more than make up for the loss. McKean had a breakout senior year in this discipline, improving to 51.28/1:53.54, and also gained international experience by making the US team for Worlds. That 100 time is just inside NCAA scoring time, while he’s got some work to do on the 200.

Transfer Baylor Nelson has been 1:52.43, about half a second away from what it took to score in the 200 last year at NCAAs.

Butterfly: ★★

This isn’t the Texas butterfly group of a decade ago, but there was some strong improvement last season that leaves the Longhorns in solid shape heading into the fall.

Hubert Kos brought his polyvalent skillset over to this discipline last year, improving from 45.59 to 44.05 in the 100 and holding down relay duties. He swam that individual time in a dual meet, and while it easily would’ve put him in the A-final, he doesn’t seem likely to contest the event at NCAAs.

That leaves Kyle Peck as the fastest returning Longhorn in the 100. He had an even bigger drop than Kos, improving from his high school best of 46.99 to 44.74 at January’s Eddie Reese Showdown. He couldn’t quite match that time at NCAAs, finishing 25th with a 45.23, but that 44.74 would’ve put him in the B-final.

While Ksawery Masiuk is probably better known as a backstroker, he has been 50.33 (SCM) and 51.73 (LCM) in butterfly. Those times comfortably project Masiuk to be under 45.0 yards, so this could be his third event in a championship lineup.

Ryan Branon (45.53), Alec Filipovic (45.84), and Logan Walker (45.96) were all under 46 last year. Branon (1:40.89) and Walker (1:41.01) qualified for NCAAs in the 200 fly. The best time for each was just shy of what it took to score at last year’s NCAA championships, but it wouldn’t take much improvement to put them into scoring range.

Cooper Lucas led the Longhorns in the 200 last season with a 1:40.86, and was the only Longhorn to pick up points in that event with a 16th-place finish.

IM: ★★★★★

This has got to be one of the best IM groups in the nation despite only having one swimmer poised to score in both distances.

Hubert Kos is the defending 200 IM champion and is tied as the 2nd-fastest swimmer ever, after winning in 1:37.91 last year. Camden Taylor is officially the only other returning scorer in the 200 IM, having taken 14th with a 1:41.30. However, Will Modglin made the A-final with a time of 1:40.45, but was DQ’d in the final. Nate Germonprez‘s best time of 1:40.89 from 2024 would’ve comfortably made the B-final, but he finished 31st last year with a 1:42.88.

Three different Longhorns made the A-final in the 400 IM, and they all return, along with another A-finalist transfer. Rex Maurer led the way by winning the 400 IM in 3:34.00, becoming the 5th-fastest performer ever in the event.  Freshman Cooper Lucas took 6th in 3:38.19, while David Johnston took 8th after going 3:38.56 in prelims.

The rich get richer, as transfer Baylor Nelson finished 7th in 3:39.84 after going 3:38.42 in prelims. He also took 14th in the 200, making him the only man on the current roster who scored in both events last season.

Veteran Spencer Arnou-Rhees provides additional depth; he improved to 1:43.77/3:43.21 last year. That 400 IM time was a two-second improvement over his previous best, and it leaves him only about a second shy of what it took to qualify for NCAAs season.

Diving: ★★★

With impending roster limits, the diving corps is small and not as strong as it once was, but two NCAA scorers return. Jacob Welsh led the Longhorn divers last year with 20 points as a freshman, finishing 4th in the 3m event and 12th in platform. Nick Harris picked up another 7 points with a 10th-place showing in the 1m event.

Jacob Jones returns for his sophomore year after contesting all three diving events at NCAAs last year, where he finished between 27th and 29th in each event. Luke Forester didn’t make NCAAs as a freshman, but had a strong showing at SECs, and he earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team.

Relays: ★★★★½

Note that the grading system doesn’t align perfectly for relays as double points.

Relay grading system:

• 5 star (★★★★★) – 31+ points per relay event
• 4 star (★★★★) – 22-30 relay points per event
• 3 star (★★★) – 12-21 relay points per event
• 2 star (★★) – 5-11 relay points per event
• 1 star (★) – 0-4 relay points per event

The bad news is that the Longhorns need nearly half (8/20) of their relay legs from NCAAs, and some of those slots will be nearly impossible to replace with similar times.

The good news is that the front 3/4 of the medley relays are solid. The trio of Will Modglin, Nate Germonprez, and Hubert Kos may be the best in the nation, depending on how well Florida can fill in breaststroke with Julian Smith’s absence. But the anchor leg will be up in the air. The early favorite looks like it could be Rafael Fente-Damers, although Calvin Fry should also vie for that spot. If Ksawery Masiuk does swim in the spring, he provides additional versatility with the ability to swim any stroke but breaststroke on the medley relays.

On paper, it looks a little tougher to fill the gaps on the freestyle relays, but the talent seems to be there, especially with the international newcomers.

The 200 free relay returns Hubert Kos (18.5) and Will Modglin (18.9), but loses Chris Guiliano (18.6 leadoff) and Luke Hobson (18.5). Again, Fente-Damers and Fry seem to be the solutions. Nate Germonprez, Camden Taylor, and Garrett Gould could all factor in as well.

It’s a similar story in the 400 free relay, where Guiliano and Hobson are gone, but Kos (41.35) and Maurer (42.04) return. And again, Fente-Damers, Fry, Masiuk, Modglin, Germonprez, Taylor, and Gould should all be in the mix to fill in the remaining legs.

We have Texas as the overwhelming favorites to win the 800 free relay in our 2025-2026 preseason picks, despite the Longhorns needing to replace all except one leg from NCAAs.  Hobson, Guiliano, and Coby Carrozza are all gone, leaving only Maurer. But Taylor was 1:31.88 last year individually, faster than Carroza’s individual time, and in line with his 1:31.1 split on the relay. Hobson (1:28.9 leadoff) and Guiliano (1:32.0) will be nearly impossible to replace, but the Aggie-to-Longhorn duo of Baylor Nelson and Jacob Wimberly provides a couple of ready-made 1:32 splits, and Germonprez split 1:32.0 as a freshman in 2024.

On paper, that leaves Texas about five seconds shy of last year’s time of 6:00.08, which was the 2nd-fastest mark in history. But, Cal was the only other team under 6:06 last year, and the Golden Bears are also in rebuilding mode. Given the plethora of talent Bowman has to work with, along with the Longhorns’ signature success in this event, it seems reasonable to assume that they’ll figure out a way to make this relay work even in the face of some huge losses.

Total Stars: 31/40

2025-2026 Outlook

Things can change in a hurry, especially in this new-look NCAA landscape, but right now, this feels like the Longhorns’ meet to lose.

The backstroke and IM groups may each be the best in the nation, and the distance free group is in that conversation as well. There is a good chance that Hubert Kos and Rex Maurer will combine for five individual wins again, and in between Nate Germonprez and Campbell McKean, it feels like the Longhorns should add a breaststroke title as well.

For the last few years, the Longhorns’ biggest question mark has been the sprint freestyle group. Last year’s midseason addition of Chris Guiliano was crucial in reinforcing that group. This year, the talent should be there in the form of Rafael Fente-Damers and Calvin Fry. If they can make a successful transition to NCAA racing (and it seems like they should), then that should give the Longhorns what they need to ensure the sprint freestyle group isn’t a liability.

All that to say, the Longhorns return most of last year’s roster, and while losing Guiliano and Luke Hobson hurts, the influx of talent, plus more extreme losses from other teams, should be more than enough for Texas to begin a new winning streak under Bob Bowman.

Men’s College Preview Index: