SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers if the NCAA will be slower this season:
Question: With such a large and accomplished senior class graduating, will the NCAA as a whole be slower this season?
RESULTS
- Yes – 72.2%
- No – 27.8
Outside of a few athletes who took redshirt years, such as Torri Huske, last season marked the end of the fifth-year era in the NCAA, resulting in a massive 2025 graduating class.
We’re losing a star-powered senior class, led by individual NCAA champions Gretchen Walsh, Luke Hobson, Jordan Crooks, Julian Smith and Anna Peplowski, but also exiting are the swimmers who used their fifth year of eligibility last season, including NCAA champs Alex Walsh, Emma Sticklen, Jassen Yep, and 2025 runner-ups Destin Lasco and Mona McSharry.
Looking at the data of individual NCAA ‘A’ finalists from last season who aren’t returning in 2025-26, the numbers are staggering.
Nearly half of all male NCAA ‘A’ final swims won’t be back this season, 51 out of 104, while on the women’s side, 45 have moved on.
2025 NCAA ‘A’ Finalists Not Returning In 2025
| WOMEN | MEN | |
| 50 FR | 4 | 3 |
| 100 FR | 2 | 4 |
| 200 FR | 3 | 6 |
| 500 FR | 4 | 4 |
| 1650 FR | 5 | 3 |
| 100 BK | 2 | 2 |
| 200 BK | 3 | 3 |
| 100 BR | 3 | 6 |
| 200 BR | 2 | 6 |
| 100 FLY | 5 | 3 |
| 200 FLY | 4 | 3 |
| 200 IM | 5 | 5 |
| 400 IM | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 45 | 51 |
| % (out of 104) | 43.27% | 49.04% |
Total 2025 ‘A’ Final Swims Lost: 96/208 (46.15%)
When doing our College Swimming Previews over the past month, using the times required to score ‘A’ or ‘B’ final points at the previous season’s NCAA Championships is generally a key reference point. However, this season, more than ever, it seemed we also had to acknowledge the number of scorers from last year who won’t be back this year, possibly resulting in slower scoring times in 2026.
In our latest SwimSwam poll, we asked readers if they think the NCAA, as a whole, will be slower than it was last season in 2025-26, and the vast majority, 72.2%, said they believe that will be the case.
There’s no doubt that the events Gretchen Walsh raced will be taking a step back this season, at least at the high end, as she set records in the women’s 50 free (20.37), 100 free (44.83) and 100 fly (46.97) that will likely be on the books for a while. The 100 fly is also tied for the most departures on the women’s side with five.
But some of the other events that jump off the page include the men’s 200 free, where the top six finishers from last year have graduated, both men’s breaststroke events, which also have six graduates apiece, and the 200 IM for both genders, with five of the eight ‘A’ finalists now gone.
There are, however, several exciting newcomers to the NCAA this season, including international standouts Sara Curtis, Eneli Jefimova and Mizuki Hirai for the women and Ahmed Jaouadi and Luka Mladenovic for the men, along with the domestic recruits that include 2025 U.S. World Championship team members Claire Weinstein, Campbell McKean and Thomas Heilman, and 2024 Olympic relay medalist Alex Shackell.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Which World Cup race are you looking forward to the most?
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The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
I wonder what the recruiting class going to be freshman will look like. Have the incoming classes become smaller with the house lawsuit? Rosters restricted?
How do those departure percentages compare to prior years?
Bigger, right? Because 5th years are spent.
I don’t think Torri huske has a fifth year bc she started at Stanford in 2021
Bound to be the case when you have current world record holders graduating.