Led By Noah Millard, Ivy League Dominates Mid-Major Scoring at 2025 Men’s NCAA Championships

Yesterday, we looked at the female mid-major swimmers who scored at the 2025 Women’s NCAA Division I Championships. Now, as promised, it’s time for the men. 

Across the women’s and men’s championships, we saw an increase in mid-major scorers, jumping from 11 in 2024 to 15 in 2025. Most of that increase came from the women’s side, as they improved from five individual scorers to eight. This year, the men’s total increased from six to seven, which is impressive considering two of last year’s scorers are now on Power Four teams. 

As a reminder, the term ‘mid-major’ refers to a Division I program that isn’t in a Power Four conference—that is, part of the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, or SEC. As conference realignment continues, schools move in and out of these definitions. For example, SMU moved to the ACC this year, so while they qualified as a mid-major last year, they aren’t considered one now.

Last year, the male mid-major swimmer high point award went to Brian Benzing, who scored 18 points by placing second in the men’s 100 breaststroke and 16th in the 200 breaststroke. He transferred to Indiana for his fifth year of eligibility so he’s not included on this list anymore. However, two swimmers beat his total from last year at the 2025 Men’s NCAA Championships. 

The Ivy League dominated the mid-major scoring in Federal Way, Wash. Seven of the Ancient Eight swim programs sent qualifiers to NCAAs and of the seven mid-major scorers at the meet, five swim in the Ivy League. 

Yale — 30 points (T-20th) 

Noah Millard, Junior — 24 points 

After taking third at the 2025 Men’s Ivy League Championships, Yale earned the most points of any mid-major program at the 2025 Men’s NCAA Division I Championships, scoring 30 points to place 20th overall.

Junior Noah Millard scored the bulk of those points in his return to the NCAA Championships after an Olympic redshirt season, finishing in the top 16 twice. His best swim came on the final day of the meet as he dropped 5.04 seconds from the 1650 freestyle lifetime best he swam at midseason with a blazing 14:28.43 for fourth. 

The swim is a mid-major and Ivy League record, surpassing the 14:31.54 Chris Swanson swam in 2015-16 that stood as both standards. 

Millard won the 500 freestyle ‘B’ final on the first night of individual competition, scoring nine points with a 4:08.69. He swam a lifetime best 4:07.68 at February’s Ivy League Championships. 

Nicholas Finch, Freshman — 6 points 

Nicholas Finch, Credit: Jason Wang / Peak Images

Nicholas Finch had a standout season in his first year as a Bulldog. He set a mid-major record at the Ivy League Championships, clocking 44.57 in the men’s 100 butterfly to qualify for his first NCAAs. In addition to the 100 butterfly, he was also invited in the 50 and 100 freestyle. His 19.07 lifetime best in the 50 freestyle ties him for seventh in the mid-major rankings. 

Finch flirted with his 100 butterfly mid-major mark at the NCAA Championships. First, he qualified ninth for the finals with a 44.58, a hundredth off his standard. Then in the consolation final, he hit 44.57 for the second time in his career, placing 11th and picking up another six points for Yale. Finch’s swim made him the first Yale freshman to earn All-American honors since 2015. 

Yale was the only mid-major program to finish in the top 25. Before this year, the last time the team scored at the NCAA Championships was 2017, when it earned one point.

Brown — 22 points (26th) 

Jack Kelly, Senior — 22 points

Jack Kelly (photo: Jack Spitser)

Last year, Jack Kelly became Brown’s first swimmer to make an ‘A’ final at the NCAA Championships since the 1940s as he placed 8th in the 200 breaststroke. Now a senior, Kelly earned a pair of 8th-place finishes, doubling his points total from the 2024 NCAA Championships. 

Kelly transitioned well from the Ivy League Championships—where he swam lifetime bests of 50.60/1:49.80 in the 100/200 breast—to the NCAA Championships. After placing 18th in the 100 breaststroke at NCAAs last season, Kelly swam 50.64 in the prelims to make the championship final in 8th. He maintained that position in the final, clocking 50.77. Kelly qualified for the 200 breaststroke championship final in 5th after hitting a 1:50.07 in prelims, eventually earning his second All-American honors of the meet (1:50.77). 

Kelly’s breaststroke lifetime bests rank second in the mid-major rankings behind Benzing’s 50.59 in the 100 breast and Fallon’s 1:48.48 in the 200 breast, both swum last season. His 22 points are the second-highest by any mid-major swimmer this year and put Brown just two points outside the top 25 teams. 

Penn — 17 points (27th) 

Matt Fallon, Senior — 17 points 

Matthew Fallon (photo: Jack Spitser)

As mentioned, Olympian Matt Fallon is the fastest mid-major swimmer in the 200 breaststroke. He’s also the American record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke. It’s Fallon’s best event, though he also qualified for the 2025 Men’s NCAA Championships in the 100 breaststroke and 500 freestyle (though he scratched the latter). 

Penn’s pool was closed for renovations all season, but Fallon matched his second-place performance from last season. In the final of the men’s 200 breaststroke, he clocked 1:48.87, finishing two-hundredths off the season-best he swam at the Ivy League Championships in February. 

This marked the second straight year the Ivy League had two swimmers in the men’s 200 breaststroke ‘A’ final at NCAAs. Last year, Penn was the only mid-major program that had a swimmer score at both the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships; no mid-major school achieved that feat this year. 

Army — 15 points (T-30th) 

Johnny Crush, Freshman — 11 points 

Johnny Crush, Credit: Jason Wang / Peak Images

Johnny Crush was a big recruit for the Black Knights and he delivered for them in his first year. Crush, one of two mid-major freshmen to score individually at this meet, earned Army’s first true All-American honors since 1987, placing 8th in the 100 backstroke.

He swam 45.07 in the final but in prelims, he clocked 44.52, knocking a hundredth off the lifetime best he swam in December at the Star Meet. The time improves his standing as the third-fastest mid-major swimmer behind Dean Farris and Mark Nikolaev.

Crush also helped Army become the only mid-major program to score relay points at the 2025 Men’s NCAA Championships. On the first night of competition, Crush, Kohen Rankin, Daniel Verdolaga, and Ben Vorthmann swam 1:23.36 for 15th in the 200-medley relay. Not only did it put the Black Knights on the board at NCAAs for the first time since 1987, but this marked the program’s first All-American honors in the 200-medley relay.

Cornell — 6 points (37th) 

Pietro Ubertalli, Junior — 6 points 

Pietro Ubertalli (credit: Cornell Athletics)

Junior Pietro Ubertalli broke out this year, exploding at the Men’s Ivy League Championships. He won multiple golds over the weekend, helping Cornell to a 5th-place finish. His performance at the meet, including tying Farris’ 200 backstroke conference record (1:38.99) earned him his first invite to the NCAA Championships.

Ubertalli broke his 200 IM program record on the second day of the meet, swimming 1:42.60 to place 26th overall. The time makes him the fourth-fastest mid-major swimmer in the event. His best day of the meet was the last one, as he qualified for the men’s 200 backstroke ‘B’ final after swimming 1:39.36 for 13th. 

He improved both his time and his placement at night, swimming 1:39.22 to finish 11th overall. Ubertalli came into the 2024-25 season with a lifetime best of 1:41.96 in the 200 backstroke from last year’s Ivies. He hacked 2.97 seconds off his best over the course of the season.

Cal Baptist — 4 points 

Remi Fabiani, Junior — 4 points 

Remi Fabiani (credit: Cal Baptist Athletics)

After missing the NCAA Championships last year, Cal Baptist’s Remi Fabiani returned to the big meet for the first time since 2023. He didn’t score at the 2023 NCAA Championships; his best finish at that meet—when he was a freshman—was 25th in the 50 freestyle.

He improved on his 50 freestyle placement this year, taking 20th with a 19.07. However, like Ubertalli, his best day of the meet was the last one. He qualified for his first NCAA Championship final in the 100 freestyle after swimming 41.52. The time put him 13th overall and he moved up two spots in the final. Though he added time with a 41.65, he jumped to 11th overall. 

Earlier this season, Fabiani clocked a 41.23 that ranks second in the mid-major rankings. He also swam a lifetime best 18.82 in the 50 freestyle, which ties him for the mid-major record. Only six mid-major men have broken 19 seconds in the 50 freestyle.