The U.S. Olympic Trials provides both a venue for the best swimmers in the United States to earn the privilege to represent their country at the Olympics as well as the opportunity for NCAA programs to flex their we-make-Olympic-swimmers muscles.
In 2021, a total of 20 NCAA institutions will be represented by athletes on the United States Olympic Swimming Team headed to Tokyo. Here’s a breakdown of which programs are represented on this Olympic team.
Keep in mind this is a list of the programs at which an athlete finished their NCAA careers or is currently attending. Some swimmers, such as Natalie Hinds or Gunnar Bentz, had very successful NCAA careers at one program but are currently training with a different pro group, not their alma mater. Other, younger swimmers, such as Regan Smith, are committed to swim at certain universities but have not yet begun their NCAA careers.
Also worth a shoutout is Emory University, which via Andrew Wilson (who now trains nearby at the University of Georgia) has become the first NCAA Division III school to have a swimmer on the U.S. Olympic Team.
*Committed recruits that have not yet begun their NCAA careers with the program they are linked to in this article.
Women’s Roster
| Swimmer | NCAA Undergrad | Events |
| Emma Weyant | Virginia* | 400 IM |
| Paige Madden | Virginia | 400 free, 4×200 free relay |
| Alex Walsh | Virginia | 200 IM |
| Kate Douglass | Virginia | 200 IM |
| Allison Schmitt | Georgia | 200 free, 4×200 free relay |
| Hali Flickinger | Georgia | 400 IM, 200 fly |
| Olivia Smoliga | Georgia | 4×100 free relay |
| Katie Ledecky | Stanford | 200/400/800/1500 free, 4×200 free relay |
| Brooke Forde | Stanford | 4×200 free relay |
| Simone Manuel | Stanford | 50 free |
| Regan Smith | Stanford* | 100 back, 200 fly |
| Torri Huske | Stanford* | 100 fly |
| Abbey Weitzeil | Cal | 50 free, 100 free |
| Katie McLaughlin | Cal | 4×200 free relay |
| Natalie Hinds | Florida | 4×100 free relay |
| Lilly King | Indiana | 100 breast, 200 breast |
| Annie Lazor | Auburn | 200 breast |
| Erika Brown | Tennessee | 100 free, 4×100 free relay |
| Rhyan White | Alabama | 100 back, 200 back |
| Catie DeLoof | Michigan | 4×100 free relay |
| Phoebe Bacon | Wisconsin | 200 backstroke |
| Lydia Jacoby | Texas* | 100 breast |
| Erica Sullivan | Texas* | 1500 free |
| Haley Anderson | USC | Open Water |
| Ashley Twichell | Duke | Open Water |
| Claire Curzan | HS – Uncommitted | 100 fly |
| Bella Sims | HS – Uncommitted | 4×200 free relay |
| Katie Grimes | HS – Uncommitted | 800 Freestyle |
Men’s Roster
| Swimmer | NCAA Alma Mater | Events |
| Chase Kalisz | Georgia | 200 IM, 400 IM |
| Nic Fink | Georgia | 200 breast |
| Jay Litherland | Georgia | 400 IM |
| Gunnar Bentz | Georgia | 200 fly |
| Andrew Seliskar | Cal | 4×200 free relay |
| Ryan Murphy | Cal | 100 back, 200 back |
| Bryce Mefford | Cal | 200 back |
| Tom Shields | Cal | 100 fly |
| Caeleb Dressel | Florida | 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly, 4×100 free relay |
| Kieran Smith | Florida | 200 free, 400 free, 4×200 free relay |
| Bobby Finke | Florida | 800 free, 1500 free |
| Zach Apple | Indiana (transfer from Auburn) | 4×200 free relay |
| Blake Pieroni | Indiana | 4×100 free relay |
| Michael Brinegar | Indiana | 800 free, 1500 free |
| Townley Haas | Texas | 200 free, 4×200 free relay |
| Drew Kibler | Texas | 4×200 free relay |
| Jake Mitchell | Michigan | 400 free |
| Patrick Callan | Michigan | 4×200 free relay |
| Bowe Becker | Minnesota | 4×100 free relay |
| Hunter Armstrong | Ohio State | 100 back |
| Zach Harting | Louisville | 200 fly |
| Brooks Curry | LSU | 4×100 free relay |
| Andrew Wilson | Emory | 100 breast, 200 breast |
| Michael Andrew | N/A | 100 breast, 200 IM, 50 free |
| Jordan Wilimovsky | Northwestern | Open Water |
Swimmer Tally By University
- Georgia – 7
- Cal – 6
- Indiana – 4
- Florida – 4
- Stanford – 3 (5)
- Virginia – 3 (4)
- Michigan – 3
- Texas – 2 (4)
- Northwestern – 1
- Tennessee – 1
- Auburn – 1
- Louisville – 1
- Emory – 1
- LSU – 1
- Ohio State – 1
- Minnesota – 1
- Duke – 1
- USC – 1
- Wisconsin – 1
- Alabama – 1
What is that N/A college MA is coming from???
Missing 100 free for Zach Apple
Wasn’t Marcia Moery the first D3 swimmer to compete in the olympics, 1976 Montreal?
https://olympics.com/en/athletes/marcia-helen-morey
Andrew Wilson – Emory
So awesome.
Wasn’t Marcia Morey the first D3 swimmer to participate in the olympics. (Montreal 1976?)
https://olympics.com/en/athletes/marcia-helen-morey
Yes and no. Millikin women’s swimming is currently an NCAA Division III program, but at the time it was not.
Wilson’s first is related to programs that were classified as NCAA Division III at the time of qualification.
Haven’t looked back, but there were some very good swimmers throughout history from what are now Division III schools. It’s possible one or two made Olympic Teams. So we’d need to review that thoroughly to declare her the first.
Thanks and sorry about the double posting.
Add another category of “who counts as a University’s alumni”? Who are the most decorated Olympic medal winners in swimming? Michael Phelps. What about Olympic Track & Field: Allyson Felix. Michigan claims Phelps and USC claims Felix. Both are “alums” because they got their degrees there but neither ever competed in the school’s athletic programs because they went straight to the professional ranks. But they both count as a “hit” in these school alumni box scores.
A hybrid of this is dual “university citizenship” categories. Think distance legend Janet Evans. She swam competitively for Stanford but got her degree from USC. Both can rightly claim her in the official “Alumni” status.
As the saying goes: It gets complicated!
Go Dawgs!
Why isn’t Liberty University listed for Michael
Andrew. You know that Shellenberger will shout it out