By Mark Wild 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) SwimSwam Preview Index Psych Sheets Preview Index Live Results Live VideoMen’s 200 Medley Relay — By The Numbers
NCAA Record: 1:20.03 – Florida (Marshall, de Groot, Buff, Liendo), 2026 Championship Record: 1:20.15 – Florida (Chaney, Smith, Liendo, McDuff), 2024 American Record: 1:20.92 – Indiana (Barr, Benzing, Brooks, King), 2025 U.S. Open Record: 1:20.03 – Florida (Marshall, de Groot, Buff, Liendo), 2026 Defending Champion: Texas (Modglin, Germonprez, Kos, Guiliano) – 1:20.28Last year, in writing the previews for the 200 and 400 medley relays, I opted to use a Game of Thrones theme to the article title and section headings, and well, the 200 medley relay lived up to the chaos of the series.
We picked Tennessee to win the event, as they were just .07 off the NCAA record and looked to be firing on all cylinders, as they beat the record holders at SECs. However, Florida pulled out that UNO reverse card, and when anchor Scotty Buff hit the wall, their old record was no more as the quarter of Johnny Marshall, Julian Smith, Josh Liendo, and Buff had undercut it by .10 to set a new record of 1:20.05. However, Buff was a little too eager and his -.06 reaction time caused Florida to be DQed, giving the win not to Tennessee, but to Texas, who dropped nearly half as second from their seed, setting a new school record of 1:20.28, in the process of claiming the first relay win of the meet and setting them up to win their 16th NCAA Championship.
This season, Texas is near the top of the pack again and would love to have a repeat from last year, but Florida is back (and better than ever) and looking to right the wrongs from last season.
“Intergalactic”
Florida’s roster at the start of the season and mid-season did not lend itself to a belief in a high finish in this event. While they retained three-quarters of the relay from last season, they lost Julian Smith, who split an eye-popping, out-of-this-world 22.14 50 breaststroke on that DQed relay. His loss showed as the Gators were just 1:23.64 at the UGA Fall Invitational (albeit without star Josh Liendo) and using Aleksas Savickas on breaststroke, with a 23.87 split.
However, Florida just looked to be locked into a holding pattern as they awaited the arrival of Dutch national record holder Koen de Groot, who announced he would join Florida in the spring semester. He took a little getting used to yards, splitting 24.68 in his first meet, but then a week later was 23.26, and a month later he went 22.61 to help the Gators win the event at SECs.
His contributions, while a major factor to the victory, were not the main talking point as Liendo dropped a hammer of a last 50, splitting 17.58 on the last 50 to help the Gators set a new NCAA, SEC, and U.S. Open record of 1:20.03. Liendo, who in the past has flipped back and forth between the fly and free, appears to have settled into the anchor leg, which suits junior Scotty Buff, who was 19.32 at SECs, the lone swimmer under 19.50. While not as fast as Adam Chaney on the backstroke leg (more on him later), Marshall’s 20.52 led off leg at SEC was a new personal best, and with Marshall our pick to finish 3rd overall in the 100 back, he could be looking at a 50 time much closer to Chaney’s 20.29
Former NCAA Record – Florida, 2024 2025 NCAA Swim (DQ) New NCAA Record– Florida, 2026 Back Adam Chaney – 20.29 Jonny Marshall – 20.59 Jonny Marshall – 20.52 Breast Julian Smith – 22.55 Julian Smith – 22.14 Koen de Groot – 22.61 Fly Josh Liendo – 18.97 Josh Liendo – 19.08 Scotty Buff – 19.32 Free Macguire McDuff – 18.34 Scotty Buff – 18.58 Josh Liendo – 17.58 1:20.15 1:20.05 1:20.03A rather international team, with de Groot hailing from The Netherlands, Liendo from Canada and with Marshall representing Great Britain internationally, the Gators are not eligible to set the American record, but based on how they swam at SECs, Florida is the odds-on favorite to be the first team under the 1:20 barrier, however with a DQ last year and a DQ in the 400 medley in 2024, nothing is for sure.
“Make Some Noise”
Will Modglin (photo: Jack Spitser)
The surprise defending champions, Texas, return all but one leg, but it is a key leg as anchor Chris Guiliano has exhausted his NCAA eligibility. The Olympian was 17.80 on the relay last year at NCAAs, and with no Longhorn ranked in the top 20, they will need to be out fast in order to give Garrett Gould (24th seed in the 50 free -18.89) any chance to stay ahead of Liendo and others.
Gould, a sophomore, was 18.52 on the relay at SECs, but giving up nearly a second to Liendo is too much for the strong front half to overcome. Will Modglin, the top seed in the 100 back, returns to the front of the relay and has only improved upon his results from last year. The Junior led off the 2025 NCAA relay in 20.32 before handing things over to Nate Germonprez, who was 22.83. This year, the pair has improved drastically, splitting 20.17 and 22.49 at SECS to hold a near half-second lead over the Gators. Modglin’s time would be even more celebrated had he not gone supersonically fast at the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational. In November, Modglin became the fastest in history, opening up the relay in 20.00, just the 3rd sub-20.15 split ever.
However, the Longhorns don’t carry over that speed to the back half. Once the calling card of Texas, the Bob Bowman-led program lacks a true sprint flier, and will call upon backstroker and IM star Hubert Kos to once again fill. In 2025 at NCAAs, he was 19.33 but was a little off at the 2026 SECs, splitting 19.67. His time combined with Gould certainly can keep Texas in the mix, and like at the SECs, they may lead at the 150-yard mark, but without that firepower on the end, the Longhorns dreams of a repeat event win are more likely to go out with a whimper than with a bang.
courtesy of Chris Pose
Certainly, setting off a bang and turning heads in the middle of the season were the ASU Sun Devils. Chaney, now at ASU, along with Andy Dobrzanski, Ilya Kharun, and Jonny Kulow, went 1:20.56 at the CSCAA Dual Challenge. Chaney opened in 20.56, a little off his time from the then NCAA record, with Dobrzanski following him in 23.12. If swum next to Texas at SECs, ASU would have been back by a full second, but Khraun, the fastest on the planet over the 50, went 18.72 on the fly leg before handing things over to the anchor leg, Jonny Kulow, who brought it home in 18.16.
At Big XIIs, the Sun Devils were a little slower. Chaney was a little faster, going 20.45, while Dobrzanski was a shade slower, splitting 23.20. However, Kharun and Tommy Palmer, who substituted in for Kulow, were 18.89 and 18.42, respectively, and the Sun Devils stopped the clock at 1:20.96, a time that still would have been fast enough to be the 3rd seeds, but still .40 off their season best.
Palmer’s inclusion in the relay isn’t definite. Kulow will likely be tapped to swim the team’s 800 free relay later on in the session, but could pull the double, as he likely won’t be the anchor on the 400 medley, and will have one free relay to swim on. If he does swim on the relay, he anchored this relay last year in 17.78, then ASU could be looking at joining Florida under the 1:20 barrier, but they will need both Chaney and Dobrzanski to be on point, as Florida is strong everywhere, and Texas’s front half may be too much to swim over.
“Fight For Your Right”
After the top three, all of whom are seeded under 1:21, the next five, and the last teams to earn a swim at night are all seeded within the 1:21 to 1:22 range. While the difference between Texas at 3rd (1:20.85) and LSU at 4th (1:21.23) is less than that between LSU and California (5th – 1:21.63), we’ve grouped LSU in this second tier, because they are a bit of an unknown.
Jere Hribar (photo: Jack Spitser)
The LSU Tigers entered the meet last year seeded with a 1:23.05 but added over half a second to finish 17th with a time of 1:23.66, and with losing their two middle legs, LSU looked to be in some hot water. All of that was quickly put to rest at mid-season when the Tigers beat Florida, finishing 3rd at the UGA Fall Invite in a time of 1:22.42, and mid-season, chopped another full second off that time, to hit the clock at 1:21.23. Volodomyr Lisovets provided a strong 22.65 split on the breaststroke leg, and Jere Hribar nearly out-split Josh Liendo, going 17.59 to single-handedly bring LSU from being tied at 4th to a bronze medal and a margin of separation of over .50 to 4th-place Kentucky.
Kentucky, ranked 6th, was equal with LSU, but closed in 18.16, which won’t cut it when going up against the likes of Liendo. That said, they did lead both LSU and Florida after the backstroke, as first-year Lysander Osman dropped a blistering 20.21. However, as fast as that was, their last three legs just can’t support the early speed, and Kentucky fell to 4th at SECs and will be under pressure to stay in the top 8.
They aren’t the lone team in the top 8 to be under threat. California is seeded 5th with a time of 1:21.63, but only recently accomplished that time at their last chance meet. At ACCs, the Bears finished 2nd behind FSU with a time of 1:22.39. However, a week later and perhaps with a little more rest, the quartet of Evan Petty (20.65), Luca Pusateri Gissendander (22.81), Lucca Battaglini (19.84), and Martin Wrede (18.33) cut .76 off their previous season best. From the ACC roster, only Petty remained the same, with Battaglini sliding to the fly leg and Pusateri Gissendander swapping in for Okadome on the breaststroke leg (22.69 at ACCs). With Okadome having the faster split, the Japanese star may sub back in, but with so much movement, it’s hard to see what Cal can do.
Rounding out the top 8 are Big Ten Rivals, Indiana and Michigan. Indiana finished 5th last year with an American record time of 1:20.92, but has lost the entirety of the relay and is starting fresh with a whole new squad. They finished runner-up to Michigan at Big Tens, going 1:22.09, but were actually faster at mid-season, where the same quartet went 1:21.99, with a strong back leg of 20.66 from Miroslav Knedla to kick things off. But much like Kentucky, their weakness on the last 50 (18.66 at mid-season and 18.58 at ACCs) does not lend itself to confidence in holding a lead.
Entered with an equal 1:21.99 but listed 8th and likely much to the chagrin of their fans to be placed behind Indiana are the Wolverines of Michigan. Michigan powered its way to the Big Ten title with a strong swim from Tyler Ray, with the senior splitting 19.27 on the fly leg. Last year, Ray split 19.62, but the relay was ultimately disqualified due to an early takeoff. First-year, Luka Mladenovic is the 5th seed in the 100 breast, and split 22.72 on the relay at conferences, but he will need to be closer to the times of Germonprez and de Groot, if Michigan hopes to improve upon their seeding.
“Sabotage”
Georgia leads a pack of nine schools, seeded with a time in the 1:22 range, and a further two are seeded within a second of UGA’s 1:22.18. With so many schools tightly packed, and close to Indiana and Michigan’s seed of 1:21.99, it wouldn’t be surprising to see one or more of them jump into the top 8 when the final heat swims at night. While these teams lose the crowd and hype of swimming at night, their swimmers do get the benefit of some extra rest, particularly as their breaststrokers and butterfliers have the 100 the next day.
Quintin McCarty (photo: Jack Spitser)
The Bulldogs are the 9th seed but are deeply hurt by the loss of Luca Urlando and likely won’t recover from it to fight for a top 8 spot. Right behind them are the ACC champs, Florida State, who will be looking to upset ACC rivals California, who jumped ahead of them at a Last Chance meet. FSU finished 7th last year, thanks in big part to Mason Herbet‘s 20.59 backstroke split and Michel Arkhangelskiy‘s 19.26 fly split. Herbert was a 5th-year, but his spot has been filled by Max Wilson, who was 20.64 at ACCs. Arkhangelskiy produced a strong 19.41 on the fly, with the team stopping the clock at 1:22.28. The quartet was .05 faster at mid-season, with Arkhangelskiy going 19.26, so FSU could find themselves back in the 1:21 range.
NC State lurks dangerously as the 15th seed and will be smarting at being seeded so low after finishing 6th last year in a time of 1:21.16. Their seed time of 1:22.80 is of their own doing, as the Wolfpack was one of three teams DQed at ACCs. If they had not been, their time of 1:21.93 would have put them right into the top 8, but now they must fight in the 3rd fastest heat to put up a time worthy of scoring A-final points. Quintin McCarty is a strong lead-off for NC State, but they will need help on the breaststroke if they wish to bump more than a few teams out of the way to get back to a podium finish.
Tennessee finished 2nd last year, after entering as the favorites, but have lost three of their legs from last year, including the 17.67 anchor leg of Jordan Crooks. Gui Caribe remains a strong leg on the fly, but with a backstroke leg of 21.08 at SECs and a breaststroke split of 23.23, Tennessee front half might be too much for Caribe to overcome without Crooks’s reliable anchor leg. Nikoli Blackman has tried to fill his shoes but 18.58 at SECs leave the Volunteers likely outside of the top 8.
The Verdict
IF ASU is firing on all cylinders, they can certainly win this relay.
IF Texas is firing on all cylinders, they can certainly win this relay.
But Florida can still be a little off from where they have been and still win this relay, and that’s what gives them the edge, not that there is any indication that the Gators will have an off NCAAs, as their past performances (an NCAA record in 2024, and an NCAA record albeit DQed last year) show. With Marshall, de Groot, Buff, and Liendo already having set the NCAA relay, some may ask whether they have peaked too soon, but the past precedent of Florida swimming well at SECs and NCAA should dispel such qualms.
The battle between Texas and ASU is a front-half vs. back-half duel. Can Modglin and Germonprez give the Longhorns enough of a lead to hold off Kharun? If Adam Chaney can get back down to the low 20 points, then ASU will certainly have a better chance of staying close to Texas, and allowing Kharun to pass Kos, leaving it up to the anchor legs. While ASU’s anchor isn’t known, Texas’s 18.52 just doesn’t seem like enough to hold on for the silver.
After that, it’s a tight battle; NC State and Florida State look likely to jump back up into the top 8, but it’s tough to see who gets left out. LSU’s improvement curve has been otherworldly this season, but it may have reach a point where they start to run out space to improve and those teams behind them may taper their way ahead of the Tigers. Kentucky’s reliance on a very strong backstroke split will likely expose them here, and then in a toss-up between Indiana and Michigan, the Wolverines get the edge as we think Mladenovic has more room to drop time than Travis Gulledge does, who, despite out-splitting him at Big Tens, is seeded .90 back of him in the 100 breast.
SwimSwam Picks:
Place Team Entry Time Last Season Finish 1 Florida 1:20.03 DQ 2 ASU 1:20.56 4th – 1:20.87 3 Texas 1:20.85 1st – 1:20.28 4 Cal 1:21.63 3rd – 1:20.76 5 NC State 1:22.80 6th – 1:21.16 6 LSU 1:21.23 17th – 1:23.66 7 Michigan 1:21.99 DQ 8 Florida State 1:22.23 7th – 1:21.60Dark Horse: Army (T-16th – 1:22.95): The United States Military Academy appears as the 17th seed in the psych sheet, but is actually tied for 16th with Northwestern. Army finished 3rd at the Patriot League Championships, with a time of 1:23.80, but were 1:22.95 at the all-important Army vs Navy Dual meet. With a 20.64 from Johnny Crush and a 22.80 from Kohen Rankin, both of whom are top 8 seeds in their respective 100s, to open things up for Army, the Cadets will be out very fast and may be enough to sneak well into the top 16, and hold an outside chance of earning those A-final points.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 M. NCAA Previews: Florida Hoping for a Sure Shot at the 200 Medley Title After 2025 DQ
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