Reviewing Third Year Head Coaches From the 2026 Season

The NCAA season wrapped up a little over a month ago, and we have been reviewing coach performances during their first few years on the job. We have already looked at the first and second year coaches and their performances, and today we are evaluating the third-year head coaches.

• See Also: First Year Head Coaches Review
• Second Year Head Coaches Review

Unlike the prior two reviews, we have narrowed the scope for the 3rd-year coaches to specifically Power-Four programs and other NCAA qualifying schools.

Michigan: Matt Bowe

The Michigan Wolverines have seen huge improvements under head coach Matt Bowe, who just wrapped up his third year at the helm of the program.

The women’s team received a huge boost with the transfer of Bella Sims, who had a huge junior year with the program, picking up three top -eight finishes at the NCAA Championships, helping the women earn the 6th overall finish, their highest since 2021.

At Big Tens, Sims won two of her three individual events, and helped the women earn the conference title, their first since 2018.

The men also had a huge year. They finished 2nd at the Big Ten Championships, matching their highest finish since 2021. Tyler Ray was the top Michigan male swimmer, earning two event wins. At NCAAs, Ray earned two top-eight finishes to help lead the Wolverines to an 8th place finish, their highest since 2018.

Big Ten Performance

NCAA Performance

Purdue: Alex Jerden

Alex Jerden took over at the Purdue men’s program following the retirement of longtime coach Dan Ross. The Boilermakers had another strong season, jumping up two spots from their 8th place finishes the first two years Jerden was with the program.

Just like they have been over the last few years, the team was supported by their diving program. The divers brought in 268 points total, more than 100 points ahead of any other team in the conference.

Evan Mackesy was their highest swimming point scorer at the Big Ten Championships, bringing in 51 points with three ‘B’ final finishes in the 400 IM, 500 free, and 200 IM. There were also six school records set during the season.

Kentucky: Bret Lundgaard

The University of Kentucky programs saw the men’s team continue to make jumps forwards under Bret Lundgaard, particularly in their distance freestyle events. They earned their highest finish since 2023, coming in 8th overall after finishing 10th in 2024 and 9th in 2025.

The women struggled, dropping to 12th at the SEC Championships. They sent three women to the NCAA Championships again this season, but did not score any points.

Princeton: Abby Brethauer

Abby Brethauer took over the program two seasons ago, and the Tiger women have excelled under her guidance.

This year, they picked up their fourth consecutive Ivy League Title, and they took back the Ivy League Dual Meet Title after they finished 2nd to Harvard in 2025.

The Tigers scored 2 points at the 2026 NCAA Championships, a few less than the six they brought in last year. They qualified five athletes, three swimmers and two divers to the meet, but they did not qualify any relays this season, though no mid-major schools did.

Northwestern: Rachel Stratton-Mills

Rachel Stratton-Mills took over for the Northwestern women at a time of major shifting in the Big Ten. The women’s conference saw a number of teams added with the realignments following the dissolution of the PAC-12. The women’s team maintained their 9th place position for the 2nd year in a row.

On the men’s side, the Wildcats had a huge year, jumping from 7th to 4th at the Big Ten Championships. The team, which was primarily led by sophomores and juniors, scored 100 more points than they did in 2025 and qualified seven men for the NCAA Championships, scoring 39 points.

The men finished 26th overall, bringing in 39 points after the 400 medley relay finished 12th overall. This appears to be the first time a Northwestern men’s relay has scored points since 2008.

Duke: Brian Barnes

The Duke men’s and women’s teams had opposite results in their 3rd season under Brian Barnes. The women’s team jumped up three places from 2025 to finish 8th at the ACC Championships with 432.5 points overall.

Tatum Wall brought in 70 points at the meet, finishing top eight in all three of her events. They finished 21st at the 2026 NCAA Championships with 35 points, the same place they earned in 2025 when they scored 33 points.

On the men’s side, the team dropped two places to finish 14th overall after they finished 12th in 2025 and 10th in 2024.