By Madeline Folsom on SwimSwam
2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships
Dates: Wednesday, March 25–Saturday, March 28 Location: McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA Defending Champions: Texas (1x) Championship Central Psych Sheets Live Results Live Video Scored Psych SheetsMen’s 50 Free By the Numbers
U.S. Open Record: 17.63 – Caeleb Dressel, University of Florida (2018) American Record: 17.63 – Caeleb Dressel, University of Florida (2018) NCAA Record: 17.63 – Caeleb Dressel, University of Florida (2018) 2025 Champion: Jordan Crooks, Tennessee – 17.91 Returning 2025 Finalists: 2nd – Josh Liendo (FLOR), 3rd – Gui Caribe (TENN), 4th – Ilya Kharun (ASU), 7th – Jonny Kulow (ASU), 8th – Quintin McCarty (NCST)The men’s 50 freestyle has gotten exceedingly fast this year, as for the first time ever, swimmers who swam 18 seconds during the season missed earning individual event qualifications. Despite the race getting slower at the top end, the top seeds are about eight tenths away from the NCAA record in the event.
Tie at the Top
Florida senior Josh Liendo is the highest returning finisher from last year, winning the silver medal in 18.23. He touched about three tenths behind Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks, who swam 17.91.
Josh Liendo (photo: Jack Spitser)
This year, he shares the top seed with ASU junior Ilya Kharun at 18.40. Liendo is the only one of the two who has won an individual NCAA title in the event before, finishing 1st in 2024 with his personal best time of 18.07. Liendo has not been under 18.20 since setting that time back in 2024, and he will be shooting for a win and personal best time in his last individual SCY 50 free ever.
Kharun’s best is 18.31, which he swam to finish 4th at last year’s NCAAs. He has been having a very strong season at ASU, and could earn multiple titles next week in Georgia, particularly with the recently announced scratch of Luca Urlando in the 200 fly.
This battle goes a little deeper than just the two men being tied at the top. Until recently, Liendo and Kharun were teammates on the Canadian National Team. Earlier this season, Kharun announced that he would be changing his international citizenship from Canada to the United States beginning in October of 2026.
Best 50 Free Group in the NCAA
The ASU men are led by Ilya Kharun at the top, but they have three other men seeded in the top 16, and one seeded just outside in 18th.
Grad student Remi Fabiani has had an incredible season after transferring to ASU at the start of the season. He has seen significant drops, and is seeded tied for 6th in 18.62. This was a two tenth drop from his preseason best of 18.82, which he swam at his conference meet last year. Fabiani has never dropped time in the 50 free at NCAAs, though, and he will likely need to be at his best to earn a finals swim.
Sophomore Tolu Young is seeded 11th in 18.72 and senior Tommy Palmer is seeded 12th in 18.74. Young swam that time at a last chance meet in March to earn an invite after only swimming 18.93 at the Big 12 Championships. If he has more to drop, he could make the final, but he, again, will need to be at his best, and he typically performs far better in finals.
Palmer’s 18.74 comes from the CSCAA Dual Meet Tournament, and he has not been back under 18.90 since that swim. Again, prelims swims will be crucial, and everyone will be fighting for one of the eight spots in the final.
Grad student Adam Chaney is an interesting case. He is seeded 18th with the 18.81 he swam at the Big 12 Championships. His lifetime best stands at 18.71 from the 2023 SEC Championships. Chaney historically has been a very strong prelims swimmer, and over the last few years, he has either swam faster in prelims, or seen very little change between his prelims and finals times at conference meets and NCAAs. At Big 12s, he saw just three hundredths drop between prelims and finals, which was just under the five hundredths he dropped at the 2024 SEC Championships. At the 2024 NCAA Championships, he swam 18.99 in prelims, and added almost two tenths to swim 19.15 in finals.
Jonny Kulow (photo: Jack Spitser)
Just behind Chaney is last year’s 7th place finisher Jonny Kulow. He has had an okay year, but has been much stronger in the 100 freestyle than in the 50. At the Big 12 Championships, he finished 2nd in the 100, touching in 41.47, which is what earned him an individual NCAA invite. He was just outside of qualifying in the 50, swimming 18.82 at the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge in November which ranks him 20th. Kulow is very difficult to predict. He regularly has strong relay performances, but his individual 50 has been a little inconsistent this year. At Big 12s, the fastest he swam was 18.86, which isn’t going to be enough to make the final. He has a lifetime best of 18.56, which he went at last year’s NCAAs, but he hasn’t been under 18.8 since except on relays. He could easily earn a spot in the ‘A’ final, but he will need to be great in prelims.
The Reds and Oranges
There are five swimmers in the remaining top-12 that swim for teams who have red or orange as one of their primary colors.
Guilherme Caribe (photo: Jack Spitser)
Gui Caribe is the 3rd seed in 18.46, which he swam to finish 2nd at the SEC Championships. Last year, he finished 3rd in a lifetime best 18.26, which was 0.16 seconds faster than the 18.42 he swam at the SEC Championships. He will likely be in the mix to finish in the top spot with Liendo and Kharun. The past two years, he has set a new best time at the NCAA Championships, so we can potentially expect to see the same thing this year.
NC State junior Quintin McCarty finished 8th last year in 18.79. This year, he is seeded 4th in 18.55. He is one of a few athletes who could majorly benefit from a very fast prelims, because, while many swimmers get faster in finals, at both last year’s NCAA Championships and this year’s ACC Championships, McCarty actually added in finals. If he brings that same prelims speed to his races next week, it is likely he will earn a top-8 finish, though he will need to be exceptional in the final as well to stay in the top five.
Virginia Tech’s Brendan Whitfield is seeded 6th in 18.62, which he swam in prelims at the ACC Championships. This was a massive personal best time, dropping from the 18.89 he swam at last year’s ACCs. He swam 18.69 and 18.71 in his other two 50 freestyles at the meet (one leading 200 freestyle relay and one in the event final), which indicates that he will likely be in this range at NCAAs.
Matthew Klinge, from Ohio State is the last swimmer seeded under 18.70, coming in 9th at 18.68. He swam this at the Big Ten Championships, dropping exactly a tenth from the 18.78 he swam at last year’s Big Tens. Just like McCarty, Klinge historically swims faster in prelims. He is also slightly less consistent than some of the other swimmers on this list. At the same meet where he swam 18.68 leading off the 200 free relay, he was 19.00 in the event final and 18.94 in the prelims.
Louisville freshman Nikita Sheremet is seeded 10th in 18.71, which he swam to tie for 2nd at the ACC Championships. Sheremet has transitioned very well to SCY racing. He is also coming off a long course 50 free best time, which he swam at the Pro Swim Series in Westmont at the beginning of the month. It is his first NCAA Championships, but he could earn his way into the final.
The Other Contenders
LSU’s Jere Hribar had a huge meet at the SEC Championships, winning the 100 freestyle over reigning NCAA Champion Josh Liendo in a huge personal best time. He also did well in the 50, swimming 18.57 to finish 3rd overall. That was about a two tenth best in the event, dropping from his 18.65 that he swam at the 2025 SEC Championships. This will be his 3rd NCAAs, and it is hard to predict how he will perform. In 2024, he dropped in the 50 free, but in 2025, he added about a tenth. He still sits pretty comfortably in finals position, even if he adds a little time.
Jere Hribar (photo: Jack Spitser)
Tyler Ray from Michigan is seeded 8th in 18.66, which comes from the leadoff leg of the 200 freestyle relay. In the individual event, he swam 19.00 in prelims and 19.06 in finals to finish 3rd. He will need to be at least as fast as his relay swim to earn a finals spot next week, and anything over 18.90 will not be enough. In last year’s 50 free prelims, he swam 19.09 to finish 24th overall.
Mizzou’s Luke Nebrich sits tied for 12th with ASU’s Tommy Palmer at 18.74. He swam this to finish 4th at the SEC Championships, dropping one hundredth from the 18.75 he swam at the Mizzou Invite in November. This will be his 2nd NCAA Championships, and last year, he added a little under three tenths in the 50 to swim 19.30 in prelims.
The Verdict
The men’s 50 free is fast and close this year. With the elimination of ‘B’ finals, everyone will need to be in top form if they want to earn a second swim, and it is nearly impossible to predict what it will take.
Josh Liendo, Ilya Kharun, and Gui Caribe are pretty safely in the top eight and will likely be battling for the top spot. Liendo has had a good year, and he has previously won an NCAA title in this event, and he has the fastest best time, which gives him the edge for gold.
Kharun and Caribe could go either way, but Kharun seems to be stronger this season, giving him the nod for silver with Caribe just behind in bronze.
After those three, it is a toss up. The next five spots could go to any number of athletes, and there is not a lot that would be shocking. Jere Hribar and Quintin McCarty feel like safe bets to earn two of the spots with Remi Fabiani and Brendan Whitfield. The final spot was incredibly difficult to designate, but Sheremet seems to be on an upward curve.
There is also a world where four or more ASU swimmers make the final, and that wouldn’t be incredibly surprising.
Place Athlete School Season Best Lifetime Best 1 Josh Liendo Florida 18.40 18.07 2 Ilya Kharun Arizona State 18.40 18.31 3 Gui Caribe Tennessee 18.46 18.26 4 Jere Hribar LSU 18.57 18.57 5 Remi Fabiani Arizona State 18.62 18.62 6 Quintin McCarty NC State 18.55 18.55 7 Brendan Whitfield Virginia Tech 18.62 18.62 8 Nikita Sheremet Louisville 18.71 18.71Dark Horse: Alexander Painter (FLOR) — Sophomore Alexander Painter is seeded 22nd at 18.82. He is another swimmer with a very strong lifetime best of 18.60, which he swam in the final at last year’s NCAA Championships to finish 9th overall. Painter’s biggest obstacle to the final will be having a strong prelims swim in the event, since it seems likely he will need to be at or near his best time in prelims to qualify, but if he wasn’t fully rested at SECs, he could sneak in.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 M. NCAA Previews: Liendo and Kharun Lead a Fast 50 Free Field
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