By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
It’s that time of the year again. SwimSwam will be previewing the top 12 men’s and women’s teams (and then some) from the 2025 NCAA Championships. Follow along with the College Swimming Preview Channel. Want to read even more? Check out the latest edition of the SwimSwam magazine.
#3 INDIANA HOOSIERS
Key Losses: Carson Tyler (49 NCAA points), Quinn Henninger (49 NCAA points), Jassen Yep (29 NCAA points), Caspar Corbeau (27 NCAA points), Finn Brooks (22 NCAA points, 3 NCAA relays), Matt King (15 NCAA points, 4 NCAA relays), Josh Matheny (10 NCAA points), Luke Barr (7 NCAA points, 1 NCAA relay), Brian Benzing (6 NCAA points, 1 NCAA relay), Tomer Frankel (4 NCAA points, 2 NCAA relays), Rafael Miroslaw (1 NCAA point, 2 NCAA relays)
Key Additions: #4 Luke Ellis (NV – distance free), #6 Josh Bey (IL – breast/IM), #18 Noah Cakir (NY – breast/free), BOTR Andrew Shackell (IN – fly), #1 Josh Hedberg (IN – diving), Aiden Sadler (Georgia transfer – diving), Aaron Shackell (Texas transfer – free/fly), Luke Whitlock (Florida transfer – distance free), Travis Gulledge (Texas A&M transfer – breast)
GRADING CRITERIA
Over the years, we’ve gone back and forth on how to project points, ranging from largely subjective rankings to more data-based grading criteria based on ‘projected returning points.’ We like being as objective as possible, but we’re going to stick with the approach we’ve adopted post-Covid. The “stars” will rely heavily on what swimmers actually did last year, but we’ll also give credit to returning swimmers or freshmen who have posted times that would have scored last year.
Since we only profile the top 12 teams in this format, our grades are designed with that range in mind. In the grand scheme of college swimming and compared to all other college programs, top 12 NCAA programs would pretty much all grade well across the board. But in the interest of making these previews informative, our grading scale is tough – designed to show the tiers between the good stroke groups, the great ones, and the 2015 Texas fly group types.
5 star (★★★★★) – a rare, elite NCAA group projected to score 25+ points per event 4 star (★★★★) – a very, very good NCAA group projected to score 15-24 points per event 3 star (★★★) – a good NCAA group projected to score 5-14 points per event 2 star (★★) – a solid NCAA group projected to score 1-4 points per event 1 star (★) – an NCAA group that is projected to score no points per event, though that doesn’t mean it’s without potential scorers – they’ll just need to leapfrog some swimmers ahead of them to do itWe’ll grade each event discipline: sprint free (which we define to include all the relay-distance freestyle events, so 50, 100 and 200), distance free, IM, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and diving. Use these grades as a jumping-off point for discussion, rather than a reason to be angry.
Also, keep in mind that we are publishing many of these previews before teams have posted finalized rosters. We’re making our assessments based on the best information we have available at the time of publication, but we reserve the right to make changes after publication based on any new information that may emerge regarding rosters. If that does happen, we’ll make certain to note the change.
2024-2025 LOOKBACK
Everything came together for Indiana last season. After roaring to their fourth straight Big Ten title with the largest margin of victory in conference history, the Hoosiers earned their best finish at NCAAs in six years, scoring 459 points to place 3rd and give Texas (490) and Cal (471) a close battle in the title race.
Indiana had the perfect mix of senior and fifth-year swimmers, star divers and new transfers on the team last season that helped push them to their successful results.
The dynamic diving duo of Carson Tyler and Quinn Henninger scored 49 points apiece, combining for more than 20% of the team’s total tally as they swept the diving events. Henninger won the 1-meter, Tyler topped the platform event, and then they went 1-2 on 3-meter, with Tyler claiming victory.
Owen McDonald and Zalan Sarkany, who both joined the Hoosiers as transfers from Arizona State in the offseason, were the team’s top scoring swimmers, as McDonald put up 42 points after placing 3rd in the 200 IM and 6th in both backstrokes, while Sarkany scored 32 points with a national title in the 1650 free and a 7th-place finish in the 500 free (also 17th in the 400 IM).
They also had a career-best performance from fifth-year senior Jassen Yep, who won an upset NCAA title in the 200 breast and scored 29 total points, while fellow fifth-year Caspar Corbeau scored 27 points, and senior Finn Brooks followed up a breakout Big Tens—winning the conference title in the 100 breast and placing 2nd in the 100 fly—with 22 NCAA points, highlighted by a 4th-place finish in the 100 breast.
They had four more double-digit point scorers in diver Max Weinrich, sprinter Matt King, backstroker Kai Van Westering and breaststroker Josh Matheny, while Luke Barr, Brian Benzing, Tomer Frankel and Rafael Miroslaw also chipped in points.
Indiana’s relays were incredibly consistent and played a significant role in their final performance, as they all placed between 5th and 7th at NCAAs, combining for 133 points, or nearly 29% of their final total.
They were 5th in the 400 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relays, while they placed 6th in the 800 free and 7th in the 200 free. The only other teams that finished in the top eight of all five relays were Texas and Cal, the two squads that edged out the Hoosiers in the NCAA standings.
Overall, Indiana broke school records in a staggering 11 events last season, including the 200 free, 400 free and 200 medley relays. New marks were also set by Brooks in the 50 free (18.86), King in the 100 free (41.14), Sarkany in the 500 free (4:09.22), 1650 free (14:21.29) and 400 IM (tied at 3:40.64), McDonald in the 200 back (1:37.15) and 200 IM (1:39.42), and Yep in the 200 breast (1:48.30).
The list of key losses this season is long, and it will be on the remaining swimmers to step up while the first-years will need to step in and contribute right away if Indiana is to remain in the fight for a top-three finish.
SPRINT FREE: ★★
Indiana had four scoring swims in the sprint free events last season, but with Matt King, Finn Brooks and Rafael Miroslaw all moving on, the Hoosiers enter rebuilding mode with plenty of depth but no surefires scorers.
Rising juniors Dylan Smiley and Mikkel Lee are the top pure sprinters returning this season, while rising senior Owen McDonald is the team’s fastest 100 and 200 freestyler coming back, though he won’t race the stroke individually at NCAAs.
Smiley set personal bests across the board at the 2025 Big Tens, most notably placing 3rd in the 100 free in 41.85 to qualify for his first career NCAAs while also setting PBs in the 50 free (19.21) and 200 free (1:33.62). At NCAAs, he brought his 100 free time down to 41.77, placing 17th to miss out on scoring by one spot. Coming off a successful summer, including new bests in the 50 free (22.50) and 100 free (49.03) in long course, he’s a good candidate to score in the 100 this season.
Lee, a Singaporean native, also showed career-best form at Big Tens, setting best times in the 50 free (19.07) and 100 free (42.20) while adding a 41.72 relay split in the 400 free relay. He was a relay-only swimmer at NCAAs, splitting 18.65 in the 200 free relay. This season, his best chance to score looks like the 50, where he’s 15 one-hundredths shy of what was required to make the top 16 last year (18.92).
Trailing Smiley and Lee, there’s plenty of sprint depth on the roster, including returnees Vidar Carlbaum (19.44/42.79), Max Lestina (19.87/43.55), Cooper McDonald (20.0/43.5) and Miroslav Knedla (19.57/43.94), though none figure to be individual scorers. Owen McDonald was 19.56 in the 50 and 41.41 in the 100 free last season, the latter coming off the 400 free relay. He’ll swim the 200 back instead of the 100 free in the postseason, but he’s crucial to the team’s relays.
The recruiting group bolsters that depth in the 50 and 100 free, including Texas A&M transfer Travis Gulledge coming in with a sub-20 50 free (19.99), while Aaron Shackell (20.3/43.6), Brandon Fleck (20.2/43.7), Lukas Paegle (20.4), Andrew Shackell (20.2/44.4), Josh Bey (43.5) and Noah Cakir (44.8) also hold competitive best times.
The 200 free is even stronger, led by Owen McDonald, who set a personal best of 1:31.14 leading off the 800 free relay at NCAAs, though it likely won’t be in his NCAA lineup.
The event should end up in Aaron Shackell‘s schedule, however, and though his long course performances haven’t yet fully translated to yards, he’s got a solid best time of 1:32.85. That’s just under a second outside of NCAA scoring (1:31.88), but he should be able to get down there given he’s been 1:46.35 on two separate occasions in long course.
Cooper McDonald (1:33.40), Kai Van Westering (1:33.54) and Smiley (1:33.62) are the three other sub-1:34 returning swimmers, and then there’s a big gap to Knedla (1:36.53) and Lee (1:36.98).
Among the newcomers, along with Aaron Shackell, there’s a strong crop of 200 freestylers with Bey (1:35.1) and Fleck (1:35.9) sub-1:36, and then Andrew Shackell (1:37.0), Luke Whitlock (1:37.1), Luke Ellis (1:37.4) and Cakir (1:37.7) all under 1:38.
From a pure scoring perspective, Smiley (100 free) and Shackell (200 free) look poised for top-16 NCAA finishes, but nothing is certain for this group with so many key losses.
DISTANCE FREE: ★★★★★
Indiana’s distance free group has the potential to be scary-good with defending NCAA champion Zalan Sarkany joined by three studs in Luke Whitlock, Aaron Shackell and Luke Ellis.
Sarkany won the 1650 free national title last season in a time of 14:21.29, shattering the IU school record to win the event by nearly four seconds. Although the addition of reigning 1500 world champion Ahmed Jaouadi to the NCAA means Sarkany will have a much tougher path to defending his title in the mile this season, he can still be counted on for some big points.
Sarkany also set a program record en route to placing 7th in the 500 free (4:09.22), scoring all 32 of IU’s distance points in 2025.
Now, the additions of Whitlock, Shackell and Ellis mean that total could easily double.
Whitlock joins the Hoosiers as a transfer from Florida, though he only raced through the midseason invites last season and has never contested at the NCAA Championships. Prior to his freshman year with the Gators, he was a revelation at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, placing 2nd in the men’s 800 free (7:45.19) to qualify for the Olympic team while also placing 3rd in the 1500 free (14:53.00) and 5th in the 400 free (3:46.42 in prelims).
His yards times, which sit at 4:15.76 in the 500 free and 14:49.90 in the 1650 free, are solid, but there’s plenty of room for improvement given what he’s done in long course. His conversions translate to 4:13.69 in the 500 free, 8:41.22 in the 1000 and 14:35.49 in the mile, but there should be more to give, especially in the 1650 where a sub-14:30 swim should land him a top-five finish.
Shackell, a transfer from Texas, was also a member of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team, having won the 400 free at the Olympic Trials in a time of 3:45.46. He then went 3:45.45 in the Paris prelims to qualify for the final, placing 8th (3:47.00), and then brought his best time down again at the U.S. Summer Championships in August, clocking 3:45.03.
His best time in the 500 free sits at 4:15.35, but similar to Whitlock, he should be capable of something much faster. His LC best time converts to 4:12.13, which would make the ‘B’ final at the 2025 NCAAs (4:09.52 was the ‘A’ final cut-off).
Ellis, the lone true freshman of the trio, is the top miler of the boys’ 2025 recruiting class with his best time of 14:29.48, which would’ve placed 6th at NCAAs last season. That swim came in December 2023, but he was still a solid 14:40.01 last season, and added a new best of 8:44.62 in the 1000 this past December.
Also in December, Ellis set a new best of 4:15.54 in the 500 free at Winter Juniors – West, putting him on par with Whitlock and Shackell in the event entering the season. Ellis is more mile-oriented than those two, but he’s still got a great chance to be a scorer in the 500 beginning this season.
In addition to Sarkany, Whitlock, Shackell and Ellis, the Hoosiers also have Cooper McDonald coming into his sophomore year after setting a PB of 4:15.79 in the 500 last season, which marked a two-second drop from his best time coming into the campaign. If he’s able to replicate that and get into the 4:13s, he has a chance to score.
There’s additional depth with Andrew Shackell (4:24.6) and Brandon Fleck (4:27.8) coming in with some 500 free pedigree.
BACKSTROKE: ★★★★★
The addition of Owen McDonald came at the perfect time for Indiana last season as they turned the page from the Brendan Burns era.
Burns won back-to-back NCAA titles in the 100 back in 2023 and 2024, and also reeled off four straight Big Ten titles in the 200 back (2021-24) and three in the 100 back (2022-24). Upon his graduation, the big hole left in the Hoosiers’ backstroke group was immediately filled by McDonald, who was coming off placing 3rd in the 200 back and 6th in the 100 back for ASU at the 2024 NCAAs.
In his debut season at Indiana, McDonald seamlessly took over for Burns at Big Tens, sweeping the 100 and 200 back conference titles, and then went on to place 6th in both races at NCAAs, setting a new PB in the 100 (44.16). Two of the swimmers who finished ahead of him in the 100 back have graduated, while three have moved on in the 200 back, making McDonald likely favored for 3rd entering the season behind Hubert Kos and Jonny Marshall. In the 100 back, McDonald trails Kos, Marshall and Ruard van Renen.
The Hoosiers have another returning NCAA scorer in backstroke events, Kai Van Westering, and one who has a chance to break through and put points on the board in Miroslav Knedla.
Van Westering, a Dutch Olympian, was an NCAA scorer in the 200 back in 2024, but hadn’t shown great form early in the 2024-25 season and was left off IU’s scoring roster at Big Tens. Racing exhibition, he qualified for NCAAs by clocking a PB of 1:39.24 in the 200 back, and then at NCAAs, set bests in the 100 back (44.76) and 200 back (1:38.37) to place 11th and 10th, respectively.
Knedla, a Czech Olympian who was a semi-finalist in the 50 and 100 back at the 2025 World Championships, was the SEC runner-up in both backstrokes as a freshman last season, clocking 45.02 in the 100 back and 1:39.26 in the 200 back. He then placed 21st in the 100 back (45.43) and 22nd in the 200 back (1:39.82) at NCAAs, narrowly missing out on scoring with the 16th-place cut-offs being 45.22 and 1:39.61.
With one year of NCAA swimming under his belt, and coming off setting elite LC best times of 24.52/53.15/1:58.45 in the summer, Knedla should be a scorer this season, and has ‘A’ final potential in the 100.
Those are the team’s three imminent scoring threats in backstroke. Raekwon Noel (46.13/1:41.56) and Utkarsh Patil (46.52/1:41.61) are the team’s next fastest returners and have Big Ten scoring value, though neither was a member of the scoring roster at the conference meet last year.
David Kovacs is the top freshman on paper with 47.5/1:44.2 backstroke bests.
BREASTSTROKE: ★★★½
Indiana incredibly had six men go sub-51 in the 100 breast last season, combining to score 52 points in the event at NCAAs, but all have graduated. They also had three NCAA scorers in the 200 breast, including national champion Jassen Yep, but none are returning, meaning the Hoosiers will be entering a new era in the stroke they are most known for.
Their fastest returning 100 breaststroker is Alexei Avakov, a rising sophomore who had one of the best under-the-radar performances of the summer at the U.S. Pro Championships in early August. Avakov won the men’s 100 breast at the meet in a time of 59.65, knocking 1.20 seconds off his previous best set two months earlier at U.S. Nationals (1:00.85).
Avakov also set bests in the 50 breast (27.55) and 200 breast (2:14.08) in early August, giving him plenty of momentum heading into his sophomore year.
As a freshman, he wasn’t on the scoring roster at Big Tens, but made a push for NCAA qualification at the IU Last Chance Meet in early March, setting a PB of 51.79 in the 100 breast to come just over two-tenths off what it took to make the big meet (51.58).
After going 59.65 in long course, which is two seconds faster than he was at this time last year, Avakov seems poised to go 50-point in the 100 breast this season and be a factor in the NCAA ‘A’ final. Of the eight ‘A’ finalists last season, six have graduated (and 11 of the 16 finalists have graduated), so things are wide open for Avakov to take a run.
His 200 breast is nowhere near the level of his 100 right now, with a PB of 1:55.56 from the midseason Ohio State Invitational, but there should be room to grow there.
Rising junior Toby Barnett is their top returning 200 breaststroker by a wide margin, having placed 3rd at Big Tens last season in a personal best of 1:51.73. He ended up placing 20th at NCAAs in 1:52.43, but his time from the conference championships would’ve snuck into the ‘B’ final (1:51.83 was 16th).
Jamaican native Collin McKenzie is another solid returning breaststroker for the Hoosiers, owning bests of 52.91/1:54.40 and coming off setting LC bests of 1:01.65/2:16.67 at Junior Pan Ams in August. He’s a tick below being a scoring threat, but could make his way there with some improvement.
Bolstering the group are two of the fastest breaststrokers in the boys’ high school class of 2025, Josh Bey and Noah Cakir, who could push to be NCAA scorers as freshmen.
Bey, ranked #6 in the re-rank of the boys’ incoming recruiting class, owns best times of 52.68/1:53.74 in yards and notably was a finalist at the 2024 Olympic Trials in the 200 breast (2:11.02 PB in the prelims) and won silver at Junior Pan Pacs in the event at the end of last summer.
This past summer, he re-lowered his 200 breast PB down to 2:10.89 to place 5th at U.S. Nationals, and given that he’s joining the best breaststroke school in the nation, it seems likely he’ll be an NCAA scorer this season in the 200 despite his best time sitting nearly two seconds back of the 16th-place cut-off last year. In the 100 breast, Bey’s 52.68 leaves him just over a second outside of scoring range (51.45), but it seems he’ll surely be somewhere in the 51s this season.
Cakir is also a top breaststroker in the domestic recruiting class, but the fact that he didn’t race a breast event, but placed 8th in the 200 IM and 10th in the 200 fly at World Juniors last month, shows how versatile he is. In breast, he set LC best times of 1:01.02/2:12.91 en route to wins at the NCSA Summer Championships in late July, and in yards, he’s been 52.34/1:54.45.
He’s slightly quicker than Bey in the 100 and just a step below him in the 200, and the duo should form a great training partnership that will lead IU’s breaststroke group for the next four seasons.
We’re this deep into the breaststroke section, and we’ve yet to mention the team’s fastest 100 breaststroker on paper, Travis Gulledge, who joins the Hoosiers as a transfer from Texas A&M with three seasons of eligibility.
Gulledge was an NCAA qualifier as a freshman last year, having set a PB of 51.56 in the 100 breast at the Texas A&M Last Chance Meet to book his ticket. He then took 36th at NCAAs (52.14), while in the 200 breast, he set a best of 1:53.89 at SECs and then placed 34th at NCAAs (1:54.48).
Gulledge’s 100 breast time is only 11 one-hundredths shy of what it took to score last season (51.45).
In terms of rating Indiana’s breaststroke group and their scoring outlook, it’s difficult because no one on their team has scored before, and only Barnett in the 200 breast has a time that would’ve scored last season. However, with Avakov’s long course progress, and Bey, Cakir and Gulledge all joining Ray Looze with times right on the cusp of scoring, they all have a very good chance of putting some points on the board. Even if the majority of them are in the ‘B’ final, the points will add up, putting the Hoosiers right in the three-to-four star range.
BUTTERFLY: ★
If there’s a weak spot for the IU men this season, it’s butterfly, though there is plenty of depth.
Their lone returning swimmer who entered a fly event at NCAAs last season is Dylan Smiley, who set a best time of 45.20 in the 100 fly in a time trial at Big Tens before taking 34th at NCAAs (45.65). It took just under 45 seconds to score last season (44.94), so Smiley is a contender, but on the outside looking in for now.
Behind him, there’s a ton of swimmers on the roster in the 46-47 range in the 100 fly, including returnees Raekwon Noel (46.36), Max Lestina (46.87) and Max Cahill (46.94), and newcomers Aaron Shackell and Andrew Shackell (47.04 – yes, the brothers have the same PB), David Kovacs (47.6), Lukas Paegle (47.8) and Noah Cakir (48.1).
In the 200 fly, Noel (1:42.35) is the team’s fastest returner, followed closely by Owen McDonald (1:42.77), who won’t be swimming the event at championship meets. Cahill (1:43.52) and Drew Reiter (1:43.99) are the other returners who were sub-1:44 last season.
There is a chance the Shackell brothers make an impact in the 200 fly this season, because, although Aaron’s best time is 1:43.40 and Andrew’s is 1:44.82, they’re both strong in long course. Aaron Shackell owns a best of 1:55.81, though that was more than three years ago en route to winning gold at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacs, and Andrew Shackell set a PB of 1:57.80 this past summer at Junior Nationals. Based on those times, they should be able to get into the 1:41 range and push for an NCAA spot—it took 1:41.45 to earn an invite last season and 1:40.89 to score.
Cakir (1:45.3), Kovacs (1:46.3), Luke Ellis (1:46.4) and Luke Whitlock (1:47.4) also have respectable 200 fly times, though none will likely be racing the event in the postseason.
IM: ★★★
Owen McDonald and Zalan Sarkany spearhead the Hoosiers medley group this season after setting new program records in the 200 and 400 IM, respectively, last season after transferring from Arizona State.
McDonald was 3rd at the 2025 NCAAs in a time of 1:39.42, just shy of the personal best of 1:39.23 he set at the 2024 NCAAs when he was the runner-up.
Of the eight swimmers in last year’s ‘A’ final, all but champion Hubert Kos, McDonald and Will Modglin (who was DQed) have graduated, making McDonald the early favorite to place 2nd behind his former Sun Devil teammate Kos.
Miroslav Knedla (1:42.35) and Toby Barnett (1:43.13) also raced the 200 IM at NCAAs, placing 33rd and 34th overall, and Knedla’s season-best wasn’t too far outside of what it took to score last season (1:41.73).
In the 400 IM, Sarkany tied the IU record last season at NCAAs, clocking 3:40.64 to place 17th for the second straight year, a quarter of a second shy of scoring. He was slightly faster the season prior at Pac-12s with ASU (3:40.50), but added a bit at NCAAs for 17th. Although his primary focus will be on distance free, Sarkany could easily break into the points this year.
Barnett was Indiana’s other 400 IM entrant at NCAAs last season, placing 32nd (3:45.59) after setting a PB of 3:41.27 to win the consolation final at Big Tens. Producing that swim at NCAAs would put him right on the cusp of scoring, with 3:40.38 being needed for 16th in the prelims last season.
McDonald was 3:41.69 in the 400 IM last season, but he won’t be racing it in the postseason.
The recruiting class brings plenty of medley talent to the table, with Josh Bey entering with bests of 1:43.96 in the 200 IM and 3:42.61 in the 400 IM. As a breaststroker, the 400 likely won’t be in his primary schedule, but his 200 IM could progress into scoring range if he continues to improve. Over the last three IHSA State Championships, Bey went from 1:48.22 (2023) to 1:44.89 (2024) to 1:43.96 (2025).
Noah Cakir will likely have the same 200 IM/100 breast/200 breast schedule as Bey, and although his 200 IM in yards is slower than Bey’s at 1:45.27, he’s faster in long course, having made the World Junior final last month, clocking 2:01.17.
Both have the potential to be future 200 IM scorers, but it’s unlikely to happen this season.
Luke Ellis brings scoring potential to the 400 IM, and he projects to have the exact same schedule as Sarkany, with the 500 and 1650 free being his other focuses. Ellis set a best time of 3:42.94 last December, just over two and a half seconds shy of what it took to score at NCAAs, and he’s also elite in the long course pool, winning silver at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacs in 4:16.84.
On paper, McDonald is the only surefire medley scorer for Indiana, with Sarkany likely to break through in the 400 IM after back-to-back 17th-place finishes. Beyond that, there’s plenty of potential, but nothing is set in stone for this season.
DIVING: ★★★★
Indiana had the top two divers in the NCAA last season, and both have graduated.
Carson Tyler and Quinn Henninger scored 49 points apiece at NCAAs, with Tyler winning the 3-meter and platform events and Henninger claiming the 1-meter title while placing 2nd on 3-meter and 7th on platform.
With those two gone, the Hoosiers return two NCAA qualifiers from 2025, Max Weinrich and Dash Glasberg, with Weinrich having scored 17 points last year after placing 7th on 3-meter and 10th on platform. Five of the six divers who finished ahead of him on 3-meter have graduated, so Weinrich could be in the hunt for the title this season.
Glasberg is unlikely to score based on his 2025 results, having placed 34th on platform and 48th on 1-meter at NCAAs, but he adds depth and experience to the group.
With the departure of Tyler and Henninger, the Hoosiers reload their diving squad with the addition of Josh Hedberg, the top-ranked diving recruit in the boys’ high school class of 2025.
Hedberg is the reigning U.S. National champion in the men’s platform event, and he also won bronze representing the U.S. at the 2025 World Championships this past summer in Singapore, doing so in the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform event with Tyler as his partner. Individually, Hedberg placed 20th overall on platform at Worlds, and he also won gold in the mixed team event and bronze individually on platform at the 2024 World Junior Diving Championships.
Hedberg looks like an NCAA title contender on platform, but his potential in the springboard events remains to be seen at this level.
The other key addition to the IU diving group is Aiden Sadler, who transfers as a redshirt freshman from the University of Georgia. Sadler, who has three Georgia 1-5A state titles to his name on 1-meter, recently placed 10th on 1-meter and 20th on 3-meter at the U.S. National Championships, so he’s clearly got some scoring potential at NCAAs.
The other diver on the roster is Joshua Sollenberger, who heads into his sophomore year after his best finish at Big Tens last year was an 11th-place showing on 1-meter.
Between Weinrich and Hedberg, the Hoosiers should be pushing for more than 50 diving points total, and Sadler may chip in as well. Given that Tyler and Henninger each scored 49 last year, there’s no doubt Indiana is taking a step back in this discipline, but they’re still one of the nation’s best.
RELAYS: ★★★
Note that the grading system doesn’t align perfectly for relays as double points.
Relay grading system:
5 star (★★★★★) – 31+ points per relay event 4 star (★★★★) – 22-30 relay points per event 3 star (★★★) – 12-21 relay points per event 2 star (★★) – 5-11 relay points per event 1 star (★) – 0-4 relay points per eventAs mentioned off the top, Indiana was one of three schools to land all five relays in the top eight at NCAAs last season, but they’ll be hard-pressed to do that again with so many key losses.
They lose half of all three of their free relays from NCAAs, their entire 200 medley relay is gone, and all but Owen McDonald have moved on from the 400 medley relay.
With Finn Brooks, Matt King, Rafael Miroslaw, Tomer Frankel and Brian Benzing out, the relays will need some new blood to fill in this season.
Indiana’s Relay Breakdown
Relay 2025 NCAA Result (Time) Lineup Losing Potential Adds 200 FR 7th (1:14.67) Brooks, King, Lee, Smiley Brooks, King Carlbaum, O. McDonald, Knedla, Gulledge, C. McDonald 400 FR 5th (2:45.08) McDonald, King, Smiley, Miroslaw King, Miroslaw Lee, Carlbaum, Bey, Aa. Shackell, Lestina, Fleck, C. McDonald 800 FR 6th (6:06.76) McDonald, Miroslaw, Van Westering, Frankel Miroslaw, Frankel Aa. Shackell, C. McDonald, Smiley, Bey, Whitlock, Fleck 200 MR 5th (1:20.92) Barr, Benzing, Brooks, King Barr, Benzing, Brooks, King Knedla, McDonald, Avakov, Cakir, Bey, Gulledge, Smiley, Lee 400 MR 5th (2:59.73) McDonald, Brooks, Frankel, King Brooks, Frankel, King Avakov, Bey, Cakir, Gulledge, Smiley, LeeThe team might be in decent shape in the 200 free relay despite no bonafide 50 freestyle scorers joining the roster this season and two exiting. Mikkel Lee and Dylan Smiley both split 18-mid on the relay last year, which is a good start, and then Owen McDonald will likely step in after he produced an 18.81 split last year at Big Tens.
Then they’ll look to either Vidar Carlbaum or Miroslav Knedla, both 19.5 from a flat start last year, to take over the fourth leg. On paper, the best-case scenario for the Hoosiers looks like something in the 1:15.3 range, and it took 1:15.25 to place 8th last year.
McDonald and Smiley return from last year’s 400 free relay, and then Lee is the logical next man up after he swam it at Big Tens and split 41.72. Like the 200, there’s an opportunity for someone to grab the fourth spot, with Carlbaum owning the fastest flat start on paper (42.89) and incoming recruits Josh Bey (43.5) and Brandon Fleck (43.7) both sub-44 coming in.
Taking McDonald and Smiley’s 2024-25 season-bests, Lee’s relay split and then a fourth leg at 42-flat, Indiana would come out at 2:46.9, which would narrowly miss out on the top eight (2:46.21 was 8th at NCAAs).
The 800 free relay returns McDonald, who led off last year in 1:31.14, and Kai Van Westering, who split 1:32.79 on the third leg at NCAAs. Aaron Shackell likely takes one of the spots with his PB of 1:32.85, and then Cooper McDonald and Smiley were both 1:33s last season among returners.
Last season, McDonald and Van Westering were joined by Miroslaw (1:31.30) and Frankel (1:31.53), and they placed 6th, so given they’ll likely lose one second on each of those two legs, the Hoosiers may fall a few spots in the standings, though top eight is still in the cards–there was a big drop from 8th (6:06.96) to 9th (6:09.00) last season.
With a complete overhaul coming in the 200 medley relay, we can’t expect them to replicate last season’s result, which, though they were only 5th at NCAAs in a razor-thin race, they broke the American Record in 1:20.92.
The new squad likely features Knedla on backstroke, Smiley on fly and Lee on free, and then there are several contenders for the breast leg.
Knedla went 21.06 leading off at the Ohio State Invite last season, and given he was 24.52 in long course this summer, he should be able to be 20-mid on the lead-off.
On fly, Smiley’s sprinting pedigree makes him the top pick, and although he didn’t have any tapered 50 fly relay splits last season, he did open his 100 fly from a flat start at Big Tens in 20.99, so he could likely get into the 19s if he trains for it.
Lee and Smiley could flip-flop who does fly and free duties, though fly is looking like Smiley given he raced the 100 consistently last season. Lee has some fly pedigree in meters (23.42 50 fly LCM best time), but has rarely done it in college. Both are capable of splitting 18-mid on free.
On breast, Alexei Avakov looks like the frontrunner after going 27-mid in the long course 50 breast this summer, but Travis Gulledge is also a contender, with a 23.30 breast split on his resume from last season at Texas A&M. Josh Bey and Noah Cakir could also snag this spot if they develop more speed as freshmen.
Given how competitive the 200 medley relay has gotten at the NCAA level, Indiana may slide out of the top eight if their not firing on all cylinders. They’re looking like a 1:22-low team on paper, which would be right around 8th place last year.
The 400 medley relay likely looks the same as the 200, but with McDonald on backstroke, where he’s among the nation’s best at 44.1. Then they’ve got Avakov and Gulledge as proven 51-point breaststrokers (with room to grow), followed by Smiley (45.2) and Lee (41.7) on fly and free.
Like the 200 medley relay, they’ll need to be firing on all cylinders, but a 3:00-high is realistic, likely earning them a 6-8th finish.
Unlike last year, where IU scored 133 relay points, averaging 26.6 per event (or 6th place), they’ll likely be closer to averaging 20 points per event (8-9th place). However, it’s possible that with so many graduations not only for Indiana, but in the NCAA as a whole, the relay times slow down a bit this season, which would help Indiana be closer to where they were last year.
Total Stars: 26.5/40
2025-26 OUTLOOK
It’s impossible to replace what Indiana lost in the offseason. The team scored a total of 326 individual points at the 2025 NCAAs, and 219 of them (67.2%) have walked out the door, not to mention they lost 13 of 20 NCAA relay legs.
The team’s main areas of strength in recent years have been breaststroke and diving, and they’ll be taking a step back in those areas this year simply due to the fact that they had seasoned seniors there last year with the likes of Carson Tyler, Quinn Henninger, Finn Brooks, Caspar Corbeau, Jassen Yep, Josh Matheny, etc. The team has brought in some exciting young talent in both diving (led by Josh Hedberg) and breaststroke (led by Josh Bey and Noah Cakir), but it will take time for them to reach their full potential in college.
This season, IU’s biggest strengths lie in distance freestyle and backstroke, with Zalan Sarkany and Owen McDonald leading the way, and then newcomers Luke Whitlock, Aaron Shackell and Luke Ellis bolstering the distance group and Czech sophomore Miroslav Knedla looking like he’s ready to take the next step in backstroke.
Indiana will surely remain in the top four this season, barring disaster, and it likely comes down to how the relays perform at NCAAs to see if they fall one spot to 4th or hold firm at 3rd. Florida looks dangerous, and Cal is weaker than last year, so the battle in the 2-4 slots could be wide open with Texas the overwhelming favorite to defend.
Men’s College Swimming Preview Index:
Rank (2024) Team Sprint Free Distance Free Backstroke Breaststroke Butterfly IM Diving Relays Total Stars 1 Texas Longhorns 2 California Golden Bears 3 Indiana Hoosiers ★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★½ ★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ 26.5/40 4 Florida Gators ★★★★ ★★★★½ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★½ ★★ ★★ ★★★★ 27/40 5 Tennessee Volunteers ★★★ ★ ★ ★★ ★★★★ ★ ★★½ ★★★ 17.5/40 6 Arizona State Sun Devils ★★★★ ★ ★★★ ★★ ★★★★ ★ ★ ★★★★★ 21/40 7 Georgia Bulldogs ★ ★★★ ★★★ ★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★ ★★★ 19/40 8 Stanford Cardinal ★★ ★★ ½ ★★ ★★ ★ ½ ★ ★★★ ★★ 16/40 9 NC State Wolfpack ★★ ½ ★★ ★★★½ ★★ ★★★★ ★★★ N/A ★★★★ 21/40 10 Virginia Tech Hokies ★★ ★ ★ ★ ★★ ★ ★ ★★ 11/40 11 Michigan Wolverines ★★★½ ★★½ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★ ★★★★ 23/40 12 Texas A&M Aggies ★★★ ★ ★ ★ ★★ ★ ★★★ ★★★ 15/40Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 College Swimming Previews: Freshman Class Partially Offsets Key Losses For #3 Indiana Men
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