2026 Men’s NCAA Division I Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

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 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Day 4 Finals Heat Sheet

It’s finally here, swim fans — the last session of the 2026 Men’s NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships. It’s been an incredible week of racing in Atlanta, Georgia and that should continue tonight. We’ll be on NCAA record watch tonight in multiple events as finals of the 200 IM, 100 freestyle, 200 butterfly, and 200 backstroke dive in as well as the last heat of the 400 freestyle relay. The platform divers will also compete for the final diving title up for grabs this week.

The session starts with the wide-open 200 IM. Indiana senior Owen McDonald leads the field after he was the only swimmer to break 1:40 this morning, but it does feel like the win could come from anywhere in the pool as Maximus Williamson, Will Modglin, Baylor Nelson, Noah Cakir, Josh Bey, Daniel Diehl, and Arsenio Bustos are all dangerous.

Pittsburgh’s Julian Koch is having an excellent week. He had a statement swim in the 100 freestyle prelims, throwing down a lifetime best 40.52 for the top seed. That was his first sub-41 second swim and he backed it up later that session with a 40.7 lead-off for the Panthers’ 400 freestyle relay. The question is what he’ll have left in the tank for this evening as the big stars are sure to be firing on all cylinders.

Josh Liendo was 40.81 this morning and is hunting a fourth-straight title in this event. Meanwhile, Jere Hribar is looking to complete his revenge after getting disqualified in the 50 freestyle and Gui Caribe is looking to finish his individual NCAA career in style.

The 200 butterfly looks like it will be all about the 2024 national champion, Ilya Kharun. He’s the top seed heading into the final (1:38.49) and has already been 1:37.56 this season. Michigan’s Tyler Ray swam a lifetime best to join Kharun under 1:39 this morning (1:38.55) and Thomas Heilman also looked solid this morning with a 1:39.26, just off his season-best 1:39.09.

Then, all eyes will be on Hubert Kos in the 200 backstroke. He’s produced multiple mind-boggling swims already this week and is looking to complete that trifecta by lowering his own NCAA record.

Finally, the NCAA record could also be on notice in the 400 freestyle relay. Arizona State set that record (2:42.15) last month at the Big 12 Championships. They’ve been excellent in the relays this week and will look to close out the meet with another win and possibly another record.

Men’s 200 IM — Final

• NCAA Record: 1:36.34 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• Championship Record: 1:36.34 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• American Record: 1:37.91 — Destin Lasco, California (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:36.34 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• 2025 Champion: Hubert Kos, Texas — 1:37.91
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 1:40.52/1:41.73

Final:

1. Maximus Williamson (Virginia) — 1:38.48
2. Owen McDonald (Indiana) — 1:38.57
3. Baylor Nelson (Texas) — 1:40.08
4. Will Modglin (Texas) — 1:40.94
5. Arsenio Bustos (NC State) — 1:41.02
6. Daniel Diehl (NC State) — 1:41.03
7. Josh Bey (Indiana) — 1:41.98
8. Noah Cakir (Indiana) — 1:42.23

Make that two individual NCAA titles this week for Virginia freshman Maximus Williamson. After winning the 200 freestyle earlier in the meet, Williamson stormed home on the freestyle leg of the 200 IM to open the last session of the 2026 NCAA Championships with a win. Williamson shattered his lifetime best with a 1:38.48. This was his second lifetime best of the day; he swam a 1:40.06 in prelims after arriving in Atlanta with a 1:40.78 best.

Williamson did not lead until the closing yards of the race. Indiana senior Owen McDonald led for the majority of the race. He opened with a 20.94 butterfly split and was the only swimmer in the final out under 21 seconds; Arsenio Bustos was second after the fly with a 21.01 opener. McDonald continued to lead after the backstroke, splitting a a field-best 24.09 to make the turn from back to breast at 45.03.

McDonald split 29.30 on the breaststroke leg, ceding some time back to the field. The breaststroke leg was much slower in the final across the board than this morning. No swimmer broke 29-seconds on breaststroke tonight while there were four 28-point splits in prelims.

Williamson began to make his move on the breaststroke, gaining ground with a 29.05 breaststroke, the second-fastest split in the field. But where he really kicked into gear was the freestyle leg, where he blazed a 23.72 to close the gap to McDonald and get his hand on the wall first. Williamson was the only swimmer in the field to split under 24-seconds on freestyle, the next fastest split was McDonald’s 24.24.

McDonald touched nine-hundredths behind Williamson in 1:38.57, which is a lifetime best of his own. This morning, Texas’ duo Will Modglin and Baylor Nelson qualified third and fourth. They switched their order in the final with Nelson getting the better of Modglin, 1:40.08 to 1:40.94 but kept their points stable versus their seeds out of prelims.

Men’s 100 Freestyle — Final

• NCAA Record: 39.83 — Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2025)
• Championship Record: 39.83 — Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2025)
• American Record: 39.90 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 39.83 — Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2025)
• 2025 Champion: Josh Liendo, Florida — 39.99
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 41.14/41.62

Final: 

1. Josh Liendo (Florida) — 39.91
2. Jere Hribar (LSU) — 40.33
3. Gui Caribe (Tennessee) — 40.41
4. Julian Koch (Pittsburgh) — 40.43
5. Jonny Kulow (ASU) — 40.76
6. Quintin McCarty (NC State) — 40.90
7. Tomas Lukminas (Arizona) — 41.11
8. Brendan Whitfield (Virginia Tech) — 41.22

The four-peat is complete. Josh Liendo did not lose the 100 freestyle at the NCAA Championships once during his college career.

He made it a title to remember as well, jumping out to the lead with an incredible 18.84 opening 50 yards. That split put him well ahead of the field, Tennessee senior Gui Caribe flipped second in 19.25. Liendo continued to press the pace, splitting 21.07 on the second 50. He stopped the clock in 39.91, bettering the lifetime best 39.99 he swam to win this title last year. Per USA Swimming’s database, this makes him the first swimmer to break 40 seconds more than once in this race.

Top Ten Performers, Men’s 100 Freestyle (SCY)

1. Jordan Crooks, Tennessee — 39.83 (2025)
2. Caeleb Dressel, Florida — 39.90 (2018)
3. Josh Liendo, Florida — 39.91 (2026)
4. Gui Caribe, Tennessee — 40.14 (2025)
5. Leon Marchand, Arizona State — 40.28 (2024)
6. Jere Hribar, Louisiana State — 40.33 (2026)
7. Jack Alexy, California — 40.36 (2025)
8. Julian Koch, Pittsburgh — 40.43 (2026)
9. Chris Guiliano, Texas — 40.53 (2025)
10. Remi Fabiani, Arizona State — 40.67 (2026)

This is Liendo’s third individual title of the weekend; it’s the second time he’s gone three-for-three at an NCAA Championships as he also accomplished the feat in 2024. It is also his ninth individual NCAA title in his career.

Jere Hribar, this year’s SEC champion, earned second in a lifetime best 40.33, bettering the 40.42 he swam last month at the conference championships. It’s an excellent swim from Hribar, who completes the bounceback after he was disqualified in the 50 freestyle. He is now the sixth-fastest performer in event history, moving ahead of Jack Alexy (40.36) per USA Swimming’s database.

The SEC swept the top three places on the podium as Caribe held off a late push from Julian Koch. Caribe touched third in 40.41, repeating as the third-place finisher. Koch, a sophomore, came into the final as the top seed, having produced two 40-point swims in the morning after coming into the meet not having broken 41 seconds. He swam his second lifetime best of the day to take fourth in 40.43 and become the eighth-fastest performer all-time.

Jonny Kulow and Quintin McCarty were also under the 41 second mark. Kulow took fifth in 40.76 and McCarty was sixth with a 40.90.

Platform Diving Final – Rds 1-3

• Meet Record: 548.90 — Nick McCrory, Duke (2011)

Top 8 Through Three Rounds: 

1. Emilio Trevino (Texas A&M) — 212.20
2. Tyler Wills (Purdue) — 210.10
3. Jesus Gonzalez (Florida) — 200.90
4. Laurent Gosselin-paradis (USC) — 193.80
5. Carson Paul (LSU) — 190.50
6. Joshua Thai (California) — 189.05
7. Misha Adriyuk (Stanford) — 180.15
8. Bennett Greene (Tennessee) — 165.55

Men’s 200 Butterfly — Final

• NCAA Record: 1:36.41 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• Championship Record: 1:36.43 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• American Record: 1:36.41 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:36.41 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• 2025 Champion: Luca Urlando, Georgia — 1:36.43
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 1:39.93/1:40.89

Final: 

1. Ilya Kharun (Arizona State) — 1:37.66
2. Thomas Heilman (Virginia) — 1:38.16
3. Tyler Ray (Michigan) — 1:38.47
4. Jacob Johnson (Minnesota) — 1:39.20
5. Logan Robinson (Florida State) — 1:39.44
6. Raekwon Noel (Indiana) — 1:39.54
7. Mitchell Schott (Princeton) — 1:40.67
8. Abdalla Youssef (Auburn) — 1:40.68

Ilya Kharun is back on top of the 200 butterfly. He won this event as a freshman at the 2024 NCAA Championships, took third last year, and returns to the top of the podium this year with a 1:37.66. That swim is a tenth off the lifetime best he swam earlier this season.

It was Logan Robinson, the ACC champion, that led the field for the first half of the race. Robinson was out in a 21.73 at the 50, then made his turn at the halfway point in 46.98. Kharun was second at the 100-yard mark in 47.23. He moved into the lead during the third 50, splitting a field-best 25.48. He closed in 24.95, once again the fastest split in the field, to confirm his title.

Thomas Heilman kept Virginia’s momentum going this session by taking second. He split 50.78 on the back 100 yards to move into second place and touch in a lifetime best 1:38.16. His best coming into the meet was a 1:38.95 he swam before beginning his college career with the Cavaliers.

Tyler Ray also swam a lifetime best, his second of the day. After a 1:38.55 this morning, Ray shaved off another .08 seconds to take third in 1:38.47. The top three swimmers were the only ones under 1:39 seconds in the final as Minnesota sophomore Jacob Johnson took 4th in 1:39.20. Like many of these finalists, that’s a big improvement from his placement last year, when he took 10th overall.

Men’s 200 Backstroke — Final

• NCAA Record: 1:34.21 — Hubert Kos, Texas (2025)
• Championship Record: 1:34.21 — Hubert Kos, Texas (2025)
• American Record: 1:35.37 — Destin Lasco, California (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:34.21 — Hubert Kos, Texas (2025)
• 2025 Champion: Hubert Kos, Texas — 1:34.21
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 1:38.07/1:39.61

Final: 

1. Hubert Kos (Texas) — 1:34.13 *NCAA, Meet, U.S. Open Record*
2. Jonny Marshall (Florida) — 1:37.15
3. David King (Virginia) — 1:37.43
4. Kai Van Westering (Indiana) — 1:38.29
5. Tommy Hagar (Alabama) — 1:38.63
6. Ruard van Renen (Georgia) — 1:39.05
7. Nick Simons (Tennessee) — 1:40.07
8. Jack Aikins (Virginia) — 1:40.69

That’s another NCAA record at these championships for Hubert Kos, who defended his title in the 200 backstroke with an NCAA record of 1:34.13. That breaks the mark he swam to win last year’s title (1:34.21) and inches him closer to the elusive 1:34-second barrier.

This is the second-straight year that Kos has swept the backstroke events at the NCAA Championships.

Kos and Jonny Marshall were tied at the 50 in 22.15. Kos quickly took over the lead, slipping 23.78 on the second 50 and flipping at the halfway point in 45.93 to Marshall’s 46.14. Kos continued to distance himself over the back half of the race, splitting 23.80/24.40 over the final 100 yards. He won by 3.02 seconds ahead of Marshall.

Marshall took the race out quickly, as he did this morning. In prelims, he flipped at the 100-yard mark in 46.41 and was .27 seconds faster than that tonight. He held his pacing much better over the back half of the race tonight: instead of a 25.12/26.55 closing 100, he was 24.89/26.12 as he did not back off the final 50 yards.

Marshall was unable to maintain contact with Kos but secured second place with a 1:37.15. That’s a strong note to end these championships on after missing scoring in the 100 backstroke. It also nets Florida four more points versus their projected total after prelims as Marshall qualified sixth, which would’ve earned 13 points compared to the second place finisher’s 17 points.

David King was sitting second after prelims and maintained his spot in the top three with a 1:37.43, making him the third and final swimmer to break 1:38 tonight. This is King’s second lifetime best of the day, bettering the 1:37.69 he swam in prelims.

The rest of this field added time from prelims. Indiana’s Kai Van Westering added the least (.11 seconds) that helped him improve from the 7th seed to 4th with a 1:38.29.

Platform Diving Final – Rds 4-6

• Meet Record: 548.90 — Nick McCrory, Duke (2011)

Final: 

1. Emilio Trevino (Texas A&M) — 465.30
2. Tyler Willis (Purdue) — 451.15
3. Jesus Gonzalez (Florida) — 427.25
4. Carson Paul (LSU) — 404.20
5. Misha Andriyuk (Stanford) — 398.90
6. Joshua Thai (California) — 395.85
7. Laurent Gosselin-paradis (USC) — 386.40
8. Bennett Greene (Tennessee) — 363.95

Emilio Trevino held the lead in the men’s platform final after the first three rounds. He maintained that lead over the next three rounds, securing the national title with 465.30 points. Trevino qualified for the final in 7th.

This event saw major turnover from last season as only Stanford’s Misha Andriyuk, the 2025 8th place finisher, returned to the championship final.

Four other finalists joined Trevino in scoring over 400 points. Tyler Willis took 2nd with 451.15 points and Jesus Gonzalez scored 427.25 for third overall. LSU’s Carson Paul rounded out the quartet with 404.20 points.

Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay — Final

• NCAA Record: 2:42.15 — Arizona State (Kharun, Chaney, Fabiani, Kulow), (2026)
• Championship Record: 2:42.30 — Tennessee (Caribe, Taylor, Blackman, Crooks), (2025)
• American Record: 2:44.31 — NC State (Held, Ress, Molacek, Stewart), (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 2:42.15 — Arizona State (Kharun, Chaney, Fabiani, Kulow), (2026)
• 2025 Champion: Tennessee (Caribe, Taylor, Blackman, Crooks) — 2:42.30
• 2025 8th/16th Times: 2:46.21/2:48.56

Final Heat: 

1. Arizona State (Kharun, Chaney, Fabiani, Kulow) — 2:42.38
2. NC State (Fox, McCarty, Williams, Winkler) — 2:43.31
3. Florida (Dilger, Painter, Buff, Liendo) — 2:44.38
4. Tennessee — 2:45.09
5. Michigan — 2:45.85
6. Texas — 2:45.97
7. Indiana — 2:46.26

DQ: Florida State — 2:48.25

Top 8: 

1. Arizona State (Kharun, Chaney, Fabiani, Kulow) — 2:42.38
2. NC State (Fox, McCarty, Williams, Winkler) — 2:43.31
3. Florida (Dilger, Painter, Buff, Liendo) — 2:44.38
4. Tennessee — 2:45.09
5. Michigan — 2:45.85
6. Texas — 2:45.97
7. Indiana — 2:46.26
8. California — 2:46.59

Arizona State has been on fire this week during the relay events. Texas won the 800 freestyle relay, but the Sun Devils have won the other four relays on offer at these championships, capping their success with a win in the 400 freestyle relay.

The Longhorns held the lead at the first exchange though, thanks to a 41.15 lead off from Kos. Kharun led off for Arizona State in 41.17 and the Sun Devils quickly took control of the race. Adam Chaney split 40.85, Remi Fabiani a 40.29, and Jonny Kulow anchored in 40.07. Kulow stopped the clock in 2:42.38, .23 seconds off the NCAA record this quartet swam last month.

The time was more than enough for the win though, as the Sun Devils touched almost a second ahead of the NC State Wolfpack. Jerry Fox (41.70), McCarty (40.55), Hudson Williams (40.91), and Kaii Winkler (40.15) clocked a 2:43.31 for second-place, cutting .22 seconds from the ACC record they set at the conference championships.

Florida finished third thanks to Devin Dilger (41.86), Alexander Painter (41.00), Scotty Buff (41.14), and Liendo (40.38) combining for a 2:44.38.

The top three teams were the only three to break 2:45 as Tennessee finished 4th in 2:45.09. Caribe anchored in 40.38.

Cal’s Martin Wrede (42.37), Lucca Battaglini (41.30), Evan Petty (41.23), and Keaton Jones (41.69) were the clubhouse leaders after the early heats. Their time held up for 8th place overall.

Florida State was disqualified in the final heat, but their time would not have placed in the top eight.

Final Scores:

1. Texas, 445.5
2. Florida, 416
3. Indiana, 351
4. Arizona State, 328
5. Tennessee, 272
6. NC State, 258.5
7. California, 231
8. Michigan, 220
9. Virginia, 192
10. Stanford, 136
11. Virginia Tech, 86
12. Louisville, 82
13. Ohio State, 72
14. USC, 69
15. Georgia, 64.5
16. LSU, 61
17. Auburn, 55
18. Kentucky, 52
19. UNC, 50.5
20. Pittsburgh, 48
21. Miami (FL), 46
22. Princeton, 45
23. SMU, 44
24. Alabama, 41
25. Florida State, 40
26. Northwestern, 39
27. Arizona, 35
28. Missouri, 32.5
29. Purdue, 32
30. Texas A&M, 28
31. Minnesota, 22
32. Wisconsin, 19
33. Army, 17.5
34. Georgia Tech/Utah/Yale, 17
35. —
36. —
37. Notre Dame, 16
38. Delaware, 12
39. Harvard, 9
40. IU Indianapolis, 6
41. Penn State, 5