The University of Texas men will carry 30 swimmers into the 2025-2026 collegiate swimming & diving season, in spite of an SEC-mandated cap of 22 swimmers for men’s programs beginning next season in light of the House settlement.
- See the full roster here (some of the classes are not correct).
Head coach Bob Bowman confirmed that the SEC will also allow Designated Student Athletes referred to in the settlement, namely those who were cut from rosters as a result of the House vs. NCAA roster-trimming.
While the House settlement requires roster to be reduced to 30 athletes for men and 30 athletes for women, the SEC independently further reduced rosters to 22 on the men’s side. After probing from the judge in the House settlement, the two sides agreed to a carveout that would allow athletes who were cut from rosters to be exempt from the new roster limits until they exhausted their eligibility, even if they transferred to a new school.
While DSA designations are not public, this does allow for a bit of a loophole. Namely, a coach could choose to ‘cut’ even star athletes with a wink, and then bring those athletes back as Designated Student Athletes. While it’s unclear which of Texas’ 30-man roster are Designated Student Athletes, by definition, some portion of their 22 returning athletes must be logged as DSAs.
DSAs were named on July 5 at the discretion of each school. After the settlement, the transfer portal was opened for DSAs to get a second chance at transferring.
The upcoming Texas roster includes Alec Enyeart, who didn’t compete for the Longhorns last season. After not racing from April 2024 until December 2024, and then competing back home in his native Kansas City, Enyeart had a huge bounceback performance at the USA Swimming National Championships.
There he finished 6th in the 400 free in a best time of 3:48.46, earning a spot on the World University Games team. He finished 7th in Germany at that meet. Enyeart last competed for Texas at the 2024 Big 12 Championships during Eddie Reese’s last season as a head coach. He raced at the 2023 NCAA Championships in the 500 free and 1650 free, finishing 13th in the latter to score four points.
The Texas men won the 2025 NCAA Swimming & Diving championship and return more points from that roster than any other team in the country for next season.
DSA isn’t a Texas loophole — it’s a nationwide settlement carve-out created by Judge Wilken. The real head-scratcher is the SEC’s 22-man cap, while other conferences stayed at 30. With DSAs, every SEC team will be over 22 anyway — and if not, they’re probably ignoring the spirit of their own agreement with the Judge.
Is UT’s schedule for this season available anywhere yet?
I don’t see it on their website, though that’s typical for this time of September for them (across time, across coaches) for some reason.
Kris used to be in charge of that stuff, and it seemed liked it was always up on time. Once Kris retired….
Are all current freshman considered DSAs?
No.
So help me understand this…Is a swimmer who got cut but then picked up by another school in a better position than a swimmer who did not get cut at all? Suppose both are now swimming at an SEC school with a roster of 22. Is the swimmer who did not get cut in the first place still protected under the “grandfathering in” clause?
Yes, because there’s no indication that schools will be able to do another round of DSAs next year.
Is your “yes” a response to my first question or my second question?
First question.
Second question is a “no I don’t think the swimmer who wasn’t cut last year is protected at all.”
I kind of suspected the grandfather clause would make the roster limits moot for 4 years (“cut” 10 freshmen, then you have 10 swimmers exempted from the roster limit for 4+ years).
Unfortunately, Bowman went ahead and cut a bunch of good swimmers last fall, basically torpedoing their seasons. He probably could have kept everyone, if he wanted to.
Every school post House may carry DSA’s and determine how many. Good to see it and thanks to the supporters who let the judge hear their voices. It made a difference for lots of swimmers and divers in every conference.
texas gonna cut Arch Manning before Bowman swimmers
is there any world where this team doesnt crush the NCAA team competition?
🔱 …. Go devils.
You can drop the alias Kyle