By James Sutherland 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 Updated Psych Sheets (3/22) Live Results Live Video Scored Psych SheetsMen’s 100 Freestyle: By The Numbers
NCAA Record: 39.83, Jordan Crooks (Tennessee) – 2025 Championship Record: 39.83, Jordan Crooks (Tennessee) – 2025 American Record: 39.90, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018 U.S. Open Record: 39.83, Jordan Crooks (Tennessee) – 2025 2025 Champion: Josh Liendo (Florida), 39.99Josh Liendo has never been the top seed in the 100 freestyle entering the Men’s NCAA Championships. But he’s never lost.
Liendo is on the precipice of a rare accomplishment in the event, with a chance to complete the career grand slam and win his fourth straight title.
In the history of NCAA swimming & diving, the only athlete in history to win four straight titles in the men’s 100 free was Brazilian great Gustavo Borges, who did so while representing the Michigan Wolverines from 1992 through 1995.
Since then, we’ve seen Nathan Adrian (2009-11), Caeleb Dressel (2016-18) and now Liendo win three in a row, and now the Canadian native has a shot at running the table for his career.
LIENDO CHASING HISTORY
As we mentioned off the top, Liendo has never come in as the top seed in the 100 free at NCAAs, but he’s always left that way.
However, he’s been ranked either 2nd or 3rd in each of his first three seasons coming in, and now as a senior, he finds himself back in 6th.
Liendo’s NCAA Results – 100 Free
Year NCAA Seed (Entry Time) NCAA Finish (Time) 2023 3rd (41.22) 1st (40.28) 2024 2nd (40.82) 1st (40.20) 2025 2nd (40.45) 1st (39.99) 2026 6th (40.94) ?The Florida senior finds himself back on the psych sheets due to the fact that we’ve seen seven men break 41 seconds so far this season in the 100 free, which matches the total we saw all of last season and is two more than there’s ever been prior to NCAAs.
Men’s 100 Free – Swimmers Under 41 Seconds
Season Men Sub-41 Pre-NCAAs Men Sub-41 Post-NCAAs 2020-21 0 1 2021-22 1 2 2022-23 1 5 2023-24 5 6 2024-25 5 7 2025-26 7 ?Liendo has produced a new personal best in the NCAA final of the 100 free in three straight seasons, and after joining Jordan Crooks and Caeleb Dressel in the sub-40 club last year in 39.99, Crooks’ NCAA and U.S. Open Record of 39.83 could be in danger if he’s able to do it again.
And although 40.94 is the slowest Liendo has been in-season heading into NCAAs since his freshman year, he dropped a 39.47 anchor leg on Florida’s 400 free relay at SECs, showing he’s firing on all cylinders heading into his last collegiate meet.
HRIBAR, CARIBE & FABIANI LEAD FASTEST SEASON EVER
Jere Hribar (photo: Jack Spitser)
Leading the national rankings in the 100 free this season is LSU junior Jere Hribar, who beat Liendo head-to-head in last month’s SEC final, clocking a lifetime best of 40.42.
Hribar, a Croatian native, also unleashed a 39.84 split on the Tigers’ 400 free relay at the conference meet, showing he’s got the ability to turn up the heat when the chips are down. He made the ‘A’ final last year as a sophomore, placing 7th in 41.20 (after going 40.94 in the prelims).
Tennessee’s Gui Caribe, who was 3rd in the 2025 NCAA final in a time of 40.15, was the runner-up to Hribar at SECs in 40.45, which seeds him 2nd heading into NCAAs.
2025-26 NCAA Rankings, Men’s 100 Freestyle
Jere Hribar (LSU), 40.42 – 2026 SEC Championships Gui Caribe (Tennessee), 40.45 – 2026 SEC Championships Remi Fabiani (ASU), 40.67 – 2026 Big 12 Championships Ilya Kharun (ASU), 40.86 – 2026 Big 12 Championships Quintin McCarty (NC State), 40.88 – 2026 ACC Championships Brendan Whitfield (VA Tech), 40.93 – 2026 ACC Championships Josh Liendo (Florida), 40.94 – 2026 SEC Championships Julian Koch (Pitt), 41.00 – 2026 ACC Championships Kaii Winkler (NC State), 41.03 – 2026 ACC Championships Jerry Fox (NC State), 41.30 – 2026 ACC ChampionshipsGuilherme Caribe (photo: Jack Spitser)
Caribe has now produced nine career swims under 41 seconds, making him all but a lock for the ‘A’ final and a shoo-in for one of the top three or four spots. Whether or not he has the ceiling to upend Liendo, or even Hribar, if they’re pushing the 40-second barrier, is the question.
Arizona State’s Remi Fabiani is another threat, having taken his freestyle to a new level since moving to Tempe after transferring from Cal Baptist in the offseason.
Since breaking 42 seconds for the first time at the 2025 Western Athletic Championships last season while with the Lancers, Fabiani hasn’t had any swims over 42—a total of 15 performances—culminating with his new lifetime best of 40.67 set last month en route to winning the Big 12 title.
Fabiani had a trio of 41.1s during the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge in November, showing consistency when rested, and based on his swims last year from the WAC Championships to NCAAs, we should expect him to be on a similar level to Big 12s this week. He also managed a 40.00 relay split last month, showing that maybe his ceiling is a bit higher than the 40.67 he showed individually.
He made the consolation final last season while with CBU, placing 13th in 41.65.
His teammate, Ilya Kharun, ranks 4th in the nation this season but won’t race the 100 free individually at NCAAs.
ACC CONTENDERS
Coming off an electric 100 free final at the ACC Championships, five of the 10 fastest swimmers in the country this season come from the conference heading into NCAAs.
Brendan Whitfield. Photo: Hokie Sports
NC State’s Quintin McCarty holds the #4 seed after setting a new lifetime best of 40.88 in the ACC prelims, while Virginia Tech’s Brendan Whitfield is close behind in 40.93, a time he produced in the ACC final to win the conference title over Kaii Winkler (41.10) and McCarty (41.25).
NC State’s Winkler set a best time of 41.03 in the prelims, ranking him 9th in the country and 8th on the NCAA psych sheets, while Pitt’s Julian Koch sits one spot ahead of him at 41.00, a time he produced leading off the Panthers’ 400 free relay at ACCs.
Koch was 4th in the individual final in 41.26, while Louisville’s Nikita Sheremet (41.39) and NC State’s Jerry Fox (41.40) were close behind and will also be factors at NCAAs. Fox set a PB of 41.30 in the prelims, ranking him 9th on the NCAA psych sheets.
Among this group, Whitfield is the only one who had a top-16 finish in this event last season, tying for 15th in 41.69, while McCarty (19th), Fox (21st) and Winkler (26th) were on the outside looking in.
All six swimmers mentioned above set personal best times at ACCs, and the question becomes which of them is capable of going even lower at NCAAs.
Last season, it took 41.14 to make the ‘A’ final, and although four of those eight swimmers are no longer in the field, it will likely take a similar time to earn a finals appearance this year.
Six more men broke 42 seconds at the ACC Championships and will be in the NCAA field: NC State junior Hudson Williams, Stanford senior Andres Dupont Cabrera, FSU senior Max Wilson, Cal sophomore Lucca Battaglini, Cal freshman Martin Wrede, and Louisville senior Guy Brooks.
Among that group, Williams owns the fastest time this season at 41.48, set in the ACC prelims, followed closely by Battaglini, who went 41.56 at the Minnesota Invite.
KULOW’S RELAY MAGIC MAKES HIM A THREAT
Arizona State senior Jonny Kulow has consistently churned out elite relay performances throughout his career with the Sun Devils, and that was on full display again last month at Big 12s.
Jonny Kulow (photo: Jack Spitser)
After placing 2nd in the 100 free final in a season-best of 41.47, Kulow dropped a sizzling 40.08 anchor leg on ASU’s 400 free relay.
Although his relay swims have at times indicated he’s capable of going quicker individually, Kulow has scored in three straight seasons in the 100 free at NCAAs, making consecutive ‘B’ finals in 2023 and 2024 before placing 6th last year as a junior in a time of 40.84 (after setting a PB of 40.83 in the prelims). He also delivered 39.93 and 40.11 relay swims at the meet.
After his runner-up finish at Big 12s, Kulow finds himself back in 13th on the NCAA psych sheets, but he’s certainly capable of delivering a 40-mid-to-high swim and earning a lane in the ‘A’ final.
Joining Fabiani and Kulow for ASU in this event with a chance to score will be Sun Devil sophomore Quin Seider, who comes in seeded 19th after hitting a lifetime best of 41.69 at the GCU Last Chance earlier this month. That came after he set back-to-back best times in the Big 12 prelims (41.96) and final (41.91) en route to placing 4th.
OTHER CONTENDERS
There are 31 swimmers seeded in the field who have been faster this season than what it took to score last season, which was 41.95.
Given that, it’s going to be a bloodbath in the prelims as swimmers vie to score points, and it’s unfortunate we won’t be seeing a consolation final with eight men likely between 41.1 and 41.5 fighting it out in the evening session.
Tomas Lukminas (photo: Jack Spitser)
Arizona’s Tomas Lukminas is the top-seeded name we’ve yet to mention, coming in ranked 10th with his time of 41.33 set at the NC State Invitational in November. Having secured an invite with that swim early in the season, the Lithuanian native was able to save his taper for NCAAs and presumably swim through the Big 12 Championships—at least more than he would have otherwise. He took 3rd in the Big 12 final (41.89) and delivered a pair of 41-mid relay legs.
Lukminas also competed at the European SC Championships in early December, leading the heats of the men’s 100 free in 45.87 and then matching that time en route to placing 4th in the final.
Princeton sophomore Patrick Dinu is riding a wave of momentum coming into his first NCAA Championships, racing individually, having served as a relay-only swimmer last year. Dinu broke 42 seconds for the first time at the end of January in 41.49, and then backed that up by reeling off consecutive 41.36 swims in the prelims and final en route to winning the Ivy League title. A Romanian native, he also split 40.62 on the Tigers’ 400 free relay.
Texas freshman Rafael Fente Damers was only 11th at the SEC Championships last month in 41.98, but the Frenchman did set a big PB of 41.58 leading off the Longhorn 400 free relay, making him one to watch heading into this week.
Indiana junior Dylan Smiley is coming off winning the Big Ten title last month in a time of 41.81, though he was a bit faster, 41.59, at the Ohio State Invitational in November. He also split 40.60, anchoring IU’s 400 medley relay at Big Tens.
SWIMSWAM’S PICKS
RANK SWIMMER SCHOOL SEASON-BEST LIFETIME BEST 1 Josh Liendo Florida 40.94 39.99 2 Jere Hribar LSU 40.42 40.42 3 Gui Caribe Tennessee 40.45 40.15 4 Remi Fabiani Arizona State 40.67 40.67 5 Jonny Kulow Arizona State 41.47 40.83 6 Brendan Whitfield Virginia Tech 40.93 40.93 7 Tomas Lukminas Arizona 41.33 41.33 8 Quintin McCarty NC State 40.88 40.88Dark Horse: Luke Nebrich, Missouri – Coming into his sophomore year with a personal best time of 42.53, Nebrich has been faster than that nine times so far this season, led by a 41.63 clocking at the Mizzou Invite in November that earns him the 18th seed coming into NCAAs. The Lexington, N.C., native went 41.8 twice at SECs (along with a 41.54 relay split), and then swam the 100 free three more times at the Mizzou Qualifier at the end of February, cracking 42 seconds twice (41.88, 41.92). Having raced the event so many times recently, dialing in the details, Nebrich could make an impact here if everything goes perfectly in the NCAA prelims.
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