Evan Nail has announced that he will transfer from Arizona State University to The Master’s University and begin competing this fall.
The Chandler, Arizona native and Biblical Counseling major has two years of eligibility remaining. The breaststroke and IM specialist is slated to swim at The Master’s first meet, the Rodionoff Invite at Pepperdine on October 3.
Nail’s best breaststroke times stem from February 2024, while his IM bests all come from February and March of 2023. He clocked 55.53 and 1:58.81 in exhibition swims at a dual meet versus Arizona in February, while he logged 1:47.99 in the 200 IM at the same dual meet a year prior. His career best of 3:51.19 in the 400 IM was produced at the 2023 Arizona Short Course Senior Open Championships.
This past season, he did not swim collegiately for ASU but competed in one short course meet representing Gold Medal Swim Club. At the 2025 Arizona Senior State Championships in March, his only individual swim was an off-event—the 50 free—where he touched 11th in 21.21. He led off the fourth-place 200 free relay with a lifetime best of 21.04, split 45.40 on the 400 free relay that also took fourth, and recorded 25.11 and 56.19 breaststroke legs on the medley relays that finished fourth and third, respectively.
Top SCY Times:
- 100 Breaststroke: 55.53
- 200 Breaststroke: 1:58.81
- 200 IM: 1:47.99
- 400 IM: 3:51.19
The Master’s University is a four-year Christian Liberal Arts institution in Santa Clarita, California, offering undergraduate, graduate and online degrees. The team is led by head coach Curren Bates, who has been at the helm of the program since 2022.
A member of the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference, the team finished fifth out of nine teams at the 2025 conference meet. They went on to take ninth at the NAIA Championships to wrap up the season.
Nail’s best times would have won the conference titles in both breaststroke and IM events last season. His marks of 55.53 and 1:58.81 are faster than the winning times of 56.14 and 2:02.07 in the breaststrokes. Additionally, his 1:47.99 and 3:51.19 would have easily beaten the IM winners’ times of 1:49.98 and 3:58.33. He would have, of course, topped the team’s depth chart in all of those events as well.
At the NAIA Championships, Nail’s personal bests would have earned him second in the 200 IM, 200 breast, and 400 IM, while his 100 breast time would have placed him fifth. His lifetime mark in the 200 IM of 1:47.99 is just 0.14 shy of the winning time of 1:47.85, while the champions touched the wall in 51.93 (100 breast), 1:57.18 (200 breast), and 3:48.61 (400 IM).
Good luck, Evan!