2026 M. NCAA Champs: Day 2 (Ups/Downs) – Texas Set to Wrangle the Lead Away from Florida & Indiana

2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, March 25–Saturday, March 28
• Location: McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
• Defending Champions: Texas (1x)
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  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 
  • Finals: Day 1

For those unfamiliar with swimming terminology, the concept of “Ups” and “Downs” is a good way to track which teams performed best during prelims. In prelims at the NCAA Championships swimmers qualify for just one finals: the top eight finishers make the Championship/’A” final (Ups) and places nine through 16 used to make the Consolation/‘B’ final (Downs), but now those results are scored from prelims, but for the purposes of this article we will still refer to them as a down.

With that in mind, we track “Ups” and “Downs” after each prelims session as a way to follow the team race. 

Team Scores Thru Day 1

1. Florida/Indiana – 86
3. Texas – 72
4. Arizona St – 62
5. NC State – 61
6. Kentucky – 49
7. Michigan – 48
8. Stanford – 46
9. California – 45
10. Ohio St – 32
11. Virginia – 30
12. Auburn – 22
13. Tennessee – 20
14. Wisconsin – 18
15. LSU/Princeton – 14
17. Louisville – 12
18. Georgia – 10
19. Harvard – 9
20. Alabama/Southern California/Virginia Tech – 8
23. Pittsburgh – 6
24. Florida St/SMU – 4
26. Yale – 1

Ups and Downs

We have included relays in the table above for the sake of having the most data, but the results from this morning’s 200 free relay are not set in stone.

Texas started the morning out with a strong showing as Hubert Kos jumped into the A-final after entering the meet as the 4oth seed, and the Longhorns continued that into the 400 IM, where they managed to advance three into the final, a feat matched by their three swimmers in the 100 breaststroke. With seven individual swims tonight, Texas will look to move up the leaderboard, and should do so handily as the Longhorns’ list of returning swimmers is more than double that of the closest schools, with Florida, California, Michigan, and Virginia advancing three swimmers to tonight’s final. Florida and California each have an entrant in the final heat of the 200 Free Relay, but Texas, Michigan, and Virginia all put up times in the prelims that could podium.

Projected Scores after tonight (not including diving)

* Schools that placed 9th- 16th this morning can not move down in their points, but can move up if a team in the final heat tonight either DQs or swims times equal to or slower than Texas’s time of 1:14.40 from this morning.

Texas, as evidenced by their overwhelming lead in the ups/downs, is slated to score the most from this morning, with 109.5 points. The Longhorns struggled in the 200 free, but Kos’ projected 17 points in the 100 fly, certainly make up for the difference and their dangerous 200 free relay which sits atop the leaderboard with a 1:14.40. Cal’s Ryan Erisman, like Kos jumped into the A-final after having been seeded 10th in the 400 IM, and the Bears are projected to pick up the 2nd most points on the day at 87.0, just one ahead of Florida and their projected 86.

After tonight, if all the seeding remains the same, the Longhorns will jump over Florida and Indiana and sit first with 199.5 points. The Gators slip back one spot to 172 points, with the Hoosiers likely entering the third day locked into a race for a top-three finish with Cal and Arizona State. Cal is projected to be half a point ahead of them in 3rd place at 132, with the other two sitting tied for 4th at 131.5. However, this is not reflective of diving, which starts in earnest this morning on the 1-meter boards. Both Texas and Florida have three divers competing to Indiana’s two. The Golden Bears have one entrant while ASU has none.