By Robert Gibbs 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 2026 NCAA Championships. Follow along with the College Swimming Preview Channel. Want to read even more? Check out the latest edition of the SwimSwam magazine.
Men’s 9: Virginia Cavaliers
Key Losses: Jack Aikins (12 NCAA points — free/back), Matthew Heilman (breast), Nathan Szobota (distance free)
Key Additions: #11 Micah Davis (NC — fly/free), BOTR Ian Heysen (FL — breast/IM), Nathan Carr (NC — back/fly), Liam Mac Colla (NY — sprint free), Davide Passafaro (Italy — sprint free), Danis Volontir (Romania — breast), Seth Collet (UCSB transfer — free/IM),
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. Still, 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.
The final note is that we are not including athletes who graduated last spring after exhausting their college eligibility despite ongoing lawsuits against the NCAA regarding the new “Five-for-Five” rule.
2025-26 Lookback
And here we go.
Virginia entered last season looking to rebound from a 2025 NCAA Championships where the Cavaliers scored just 14 points and finished 32nd, the program’s lowest point total since 2018. That result came at the end of a multi-year slide after Virginia had climbed into the top 10 nationally. The Cavaliers finished 10th in 2019, 9th in 2021 and 10th in 2022 before falling to 15th in 2023, 17th in 2024 and 32nd in 2025. Meanwhile, the women’s team ripped off five-straight NCAA championships in that same timespan.
With a monster freshman recruiting class arriving in Charlottesville, it seemed like last season was the now-or-never time for the Cavaliers to emerge from their slump. The SwimSwam commetariat certainly thought so, with more than one member of our peanut gallery expecting #1 Maximus Williamson and #2 Thomas Heilman to end up somewhere else sooner rather than later in light of UVA’s recent struggles.
Turns out, Charlottesville worked out pretty well for that freshman duo.
Led by Williamson and Heilman, Virginia scored 192 points at NCAAs to finish 9th, an improvement of 178 points and 23 places from the previous season. The 192 points were the second-most in program history, trailing only the 200 scored by the 2011 team that finished 8th.
Maximus Williamson led the breakthrough with one of the best NCAA meets in program history, winning national titles in both the 200 free and 200 IM. His 200 free victory came with an unusual assist from teammate David King. The two tied for 8th in prelims at 1:31.17, which ordinarily would have forced a swim-off for the final spot in the A-final. Instead, King ceded the spot to Williamson, whose lifetime best was considerably faster, giving Virginia a better chance to maximize its team points. Williamson made the decision pay off, dropping to a program-record 1:30.03 from lane eight to win Virginia’s first men’s NCAA individual title since 2011. With no B-finals, King pocketed those 9th-place points before returning later in the meet to finish 3rd in his primary event, the 200 back.
Williamson wasn’t done, closing the meet by winning the 200 IM in 1:38.45. He became just the second Virginia man, joining Ed Moses in 2000, to win two individual NCAA titles at the same championship.
Thomas Heilman, who was US Olympian before graduating high school, also made an immediate impact in his first NCAA Championships. He finished 4th in the 100 fly in a program-record 43.58 and followed that with a runner-up finish in the 200 fly, lowering his own Virginia record to 1:38.16. Between Williamson’s two victories, Heilman’s two A-final swims and King’s 3rd-place finish in the 200 back, Virginia suddenly had the kind of individual scoring at the top of the meet that had largely been missing in recent seasons.
The relays were similarly improved. Williamson, King, Heilman and Jack Aikins opened the meet by taking 4th in the 800 free relay in a program-record 6:06.85, tied for the second-highest NCAA relay finish in Virginia history. The Cavaliers also finished 8th in the 400 medley relay, where King, Matthew Heilman, Thomas Heilman and Williamson broke the school record with a 3:00.55. Virginia added a 9th-place finish in the 400 free relay and a 10th-place finish in the 200 free relay, meaning all four Cavalier relays at the meet earned All-America honors.
By the end of the meet, Virginia had produced a program-record six individual A-final appearances and finished 9th with 192 points. More importantly for the program’s trajectory, much of that scoring came from a core that was only beginning its collegiate career.
Sprint Freestyle: ★★★ & 1/2
Maximus Williamson is the obvious headliner after winning the NCAA title in the 200 free in 1:30.03. He also dropped a 42.09 in the 100 free at ACCs before leading off Virginia’s NCAA 400 free relay in a lifetime-best 41.74. Williamson probably won’t use an NCAA individual event on the 100 free, but he’s one of the fastest relay options in the country.
The same goes for Thomas Heilman, who isn’t likely to swim a freestyle event individually with the 100/200 fly taking priority. Still, Heilman has been 41.74 in the 100 free and gives Virginia another elite relay leg, having also split 18.4 on the 200 free relay.
David King gives the Cavaliers another proven NCAA scorer in the 200 after going 1:31.30 in NCAA prelims and ultimately finishing ninth. Sebastien Sergile is slated to return after sitting out year, presumably due to medical issues, and he has been 1:32.38 in the event. That gives Virginia four swimmers with 1:32-or-better ability before getting into the younger depth.
In the shorter events, Noah Powers and Josh Howat both return after scoring at ACCs as freshmen. Powers owns a 19.39 50 free from ACC prelims and went 43.83 in the 100, while Howat was 19.46 in the 50 prelims and dropped to 43.04 in the 100 free. Powers also earned Second Team All-America honors on Virginia’s 200 free relay, splitting 19.0 at NCAAs after going 18.8 at ACCs.
Incoming French freshman Alexandre Chalendar adds another strong option across the sprint freestyle events. Chalendar owns SCM bests of 21.94/47.82/1:44.74 in the 50/100/200 free, which convert to roughly 19.77/43.08/1:34.36 in yards. He also brings plenty of international relay experience, winning five relay medals over two trips to the European Junior Championships, including silver in both the 4×100 and 4×200 free in 2023. Chalendar has continued to improve since then, dropping to 49.05 in the long-course 100 free in 2026.
Virginia also adds Italian sprinter Davide Passafaro, who owns SCM bests of 21.70/48.10/1:48.39 in the 50/100/200 free, which work out to roughly 19.66/43.58/1:38.20 in yards. Obviously, conversions have to be taken with a grain of salt, but they put him squarely in the conversation for relay duty right away.
Virginia loses Jack Aikins, but with Williamson, Heilman, King and Sergile at the top of the 100/200 group and Powers, Howat and Passafaro adding sprint depth, the Cavaliers’ free relays should remain strong, even if they can’t muster up any scorers in the 50 or 100.
Distance Freestyle: ★
Nathan Szobota, who was the team’s best true distance swimmer last season, recently announced his retirement, leaving this group thinner than it was a year ago.
Dillon Wright becomes the most obvious returning distance option. Wright went 4:22.68 in the 500 and 15:16.07 in the 1650 at ACCs last season, although his best 500 of 4:20.80 came the year before. Neither time is close to NCAA scoring range, but he gives Virginia an experienced distance swimmer at the top of the group.
UCSB transfer Seth Collet has been 4:19.73 in the 500 and 9:03.30 in the 1000, but he doesn’t appear to have any recorded 1650 swims, and at this point Virginia doesn’t have an obvious NCAA qualifier in either the 500 or mile.
Given how much scoring potential the Cavaliers have elsewhere, they can survive without much from the distance events. Still, this is easily one of the weakest areas on the roster, especially after losing Szobota.
Backstroke: ★★★
Virginia loses Jack Aikins, but the Cavaliers still have one of the best 200 backstrokers in the country in the form of David King. He won the ACC title in 1:38.14 and finished 3rd at NCAAs in 1:37.43, while his 45.05 leadoff on the NCAA 400 medley relay tied the Virginia record in the 100 back. His 100 back leadoff leg also puts him closer to the cutline of 44.82.
Will Thompson dropped to 1:40.68 in the 200 back at ACCs last season, about a second off of last year’s NCAA qualifying time, and went 46.47 in the 100. Those are both improvements from his previous collegiate bests and put him within striking distance of an NCAA invite in the 200.
Spencer Nicholas went a lifetime-best 45.28 in the 100 back at NCAAs and gives Virginia another option there, although he’s still half a second shy of NCAA scoring time, and the 100 fly remains his stronger event.
The Cavaliers also have several younger swimmers to develop. Sophomore Jackson Tishler owns bests of 47.88/1:44.18 from high school, while incoming freshman Nathan Carr has been 48.39/1:45.20. Neither is close to NCAA scoring yet, but both give Virginia more depth behind King and Thompson.
Keep an eye on Blake Amlicke, who was one of the top swimmers in the high school class of 2025, but didn’t swim after November. His high school bests include a 21.47 medley relay leadoff and times of 46.45/1:43.24, so he can be an integral part of this group if he’s able to bounce back.
King gives the group an NCAA A-final scorer at the top, and Thompson’s improvement makes the loss of Aikins a little easier to absorb than it first looked.
Breaststroke: ★
This group is still looking for a NCAA scorer since losing Noah Nichols, but there’s incoming talent that offers some prospect of that changing in the not-too-distant future.
The biggest addition is Ian Heysen, who was one of the top breaststroke/IM swimmers in the Class of 2026. Heysen dropped to 52.88 in the 100 breast and 1:54.61 in the 200 breast at Winter Juniors, winning the 200 and finishing 2ndin the 100. Those times don’t make him an immediate NCAA scorer, but he’s already close enough to be useful at the ACC level and gives Virginia a legitimate long-term answer in a discipline that has been a weakness.
Virginia also adds Romanian freshman Danis Volontir, who’s 26.93/57.92 in SCM convert to roughly 24.2/52.2, giving the Cavaliers another international breaststroker to develop alongside returners Jay Gerloff (52.97/1:57.29) and Davin Lindholm (53.10/1:59.01).
This still isn’t one of Virginia’s strongest groups, but Heysen’s addition raises the ceiling considerably. More importantly, the Cavaliers now have several options for the medley relays instead of simply trying to replace Matthew Heilman with whoever is available.
Butterfly: ★★★★
Thomas Heilman gives Virginia championship-level scoring in both events after finishing 4th in the 100 fly in 43.58 and second in the 200 fly in 1:38.16 as a freshman. He’ll enter his sophomore season as a legitimate title threat in both.
But Heilman isn’t the only potential NCAA scorer here.
Spencer Nicholas owns a lifetime best of 44.41 in the 100 fly, a time that would have scored comfortably at last season’s NCAAs. He didn’t match that swim last year, but even getting back near his freshman-year best would give Virginia another national scorer in the event.
Hayden Bellotti qualified individually for NCAAs in the 200 fly last season and dropped his lifetime best to 1:41.02 in ACC prelims. He finished 23rd at NCAAs in 1:41.35 and has also been 45.01 in the 100 fly. That puts Bellotti firmly in NCAA qualification range again in the 200 and gives Virginia another possible scorer with a relatively small drop.
Incoming freshman Micah Davis adds even more depth with a 1:41.90 200 fly, while Nathan Carr has been 47.73/1:45.10 in yards. Carr is more of a developmental option, but Davis is already close to NCAA qualifying speed.
Virginia had three individual NCAA qualifiers in the butterfly events last season and could easily have that many again. With Heilman at the top and Nicholas capable of getting back into the mid-44s, this remains one of the strongest groups on the roster.
Individual Medley: ★★★★
Virginia’s IM group goes well beyond defending NCAA champion Maximus Williamson, who won the 200 IM in 1:38.48 as a freshman.
Thomas Heilman owns a lifetime best of 1:41.71 in the 200 IM. He didn’t swim the event last year at NCAAs, probably due in part to it falling on the same day as the 200 fly, but with the schedule reverting to its classic format, watch out for Heilman to swim this on day three.
Spencer Nicholas has been even faster than his 1:44.10 ACC swim from last season, owning a lifetime best of 1:42.44 from his freshman year. Sebastien Sergile is right there as well with a 1:42.40, giving Virginia three additional swimmers behind Williamson with legitimate national-level 200 IM speed.
Sophomore Thomas Mercer adds another young option after going 1:43.88 in ACC prelims as a freshman. Mercer also has experience in the 400 IM and still has plenty of room to develop.
And incoming freshman Ian Heysen may ultimately be even better in the longer IM. His 3:43.23 in the 400 IM ranked near the top of the Class of 2026 and put him within roughly a second of last season’s NCAA invite range.
Williamson gives Virginia an NCAA-title favorite at the top, but the real strength of this group is the depth behind him. Nicholas, Sergile and Mercer have all been 1:43 or better, Heilman’s lifetime best is already NCAA-scoring caliber, and Heysen gives the Cavaliers another serious 400 IM prospect.
Relays: ★★★1/2
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 eventVirginia scored in all four relays it qualified last season and should have enough returning speed to remain dangerous despite losing a couple key legs.
The 800 free relay remains the most obvious strength. Maximus Williamson led off in 1:30.43 last season and David King split 1:31.09, while Thomas Heilman was also part of the 6:06.85 quartet that finished fourth at NCAAs.
Aikins leaves one hole, but Virginia has several legitimate options to replace him. Sebastien Sergile owns a 1:32.38 flat-start best, and Hayden Bellotti has previous 800 free relay experience, including swimming on Virginia’s NCAA relay in 2025. Between those two and the younger freestylers on the roster, the Cavaliers shouldn’t need a major breakthrough just to keep the relay nationally competitive.
The 200 free and 400 free relays will also need to replace Aikins, but Virginia returns Williamson, Heilman and Noah Powers from its NCAA group and has Josh Howat coming off a 43.04 100 free as a freshman. Freshmen Davide Passafaro and Alexandre Chalender give the Cavaliers two more possible sprint free relay legs. They have a lot of guys clustered around 19-mid and 43-low, and probably need one or more guys to take step a foward this year in order to push for top-eight relays.
The 400 medley relay should be at least as good as last year, if not better. King returns after leading off in 45.05, while Heilman and Williamson give Virginia elite speed on the fly and free legs. Replacing Matthew Heilman on breaststroke will be the key, with freshmen Ian Heysen and Danis Volontir among the most obvious candidates.
It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the Cavaliers will be able to put together a strong 200 medley relay without sacrificing one of the other. Spencer Nicholas, Davin Lindholm, Heilman, and Aikins combined for roughly a 1:23.0 at ACCs, before being DQ’d for an early takeoff by Lindholm. There are a few different combinations of six or seven different swimmers that could put the Cavaliers in that range without having to use Heilman or Williamson.
2026-2027 Outlook
The first thing to mention is that last year’s NCAA schedule effectively cost Williamson and Heilman each a third individual event. With the revision to last year’s schedule, there’s a strong chance that both could/should add a third scoring event, and simply adding third events for those two could make up a good portion of the points Virginia will lose with the graduation of Jack Aikins.
Williamson is coming off a very strong LCM season which saw him set numerous best times, and he will be a massive key to Virginia’s continued success.
David King should be a lock for an A-final in the 200 back, and has a chance to add points elsewhere. He finished ninth in the 200 free last season after tying Williamson for the final spot in the A-final and ceding the swim-off, and his versatility gives Virginia several options for his third event.
Beyond those three, there are several places where Virginia could find additional individual scoring. Spencer Nicholas was an NCAA qualifier in the 100 fly last season and has been 44.4 in the event, putting him within range of scoring with another step forward. Sebastien Sergile returns for a fifth year with a 1:32 200 free that gives Virginia another potential NCAA scorer there.
Years ago, Todd DeSorbo was on a podcast, and he mentioned that Eddie Reese had told him that it takes five years to develop a women’s team into NCAA championships, and ten years for a men’s program. This past year proved that the Cavaliers can turn the blue chip recruits into individual national championships, but they’ll need to develop some more depth in order to compete for a top five finish, much less a national title.
The names are there: veterans Hayden Bellotti and Spencer Nicholas are proven NCAA qualifiers, and they have a lot of talented underclassmen. They’ll need to some of those underclassmen like Thomas Mercer, Ian Heysen, Noah Powers, and Josh Howat to further develop to have chance of moving up the national rankings.
That depth will be especially important on the relays. Virginia scored in all four relays it qualified last season, including a fourth-place finish in the 800 free relay, but Aikins leaves a sizable hole. Williamson, Heilman and King give the Cavaliers an elite foundation, but finding the fourth swimmer in the 800 free relay and continuing to develop the sprint group will go a long way toward determining whether Virginia can maintain—or improve upon—last year’s relay production.
Virginia scored 192 points last season despite Williamson and Heilman swimming only two individual events apiece. There are enough obvious places to add points that another top-10 finish should be the expectation. The more interesting question is how high the ceiling goes if the Cavaliers get those extra swims from their stars, King continues to develop, and a few swimmers from the next tier turn into NCAA scorers.
MEN’S 2026-27 COLLEGE PREVIEW INDEX
Rank (2026) Team Sprint Free Distance Free Backstroke Breaststroke Butterfly IM Diving Relays Total Stars 1 Texas Longhorns 2 Florida Gators 3 Indiana Hoosiers 4 Arizona State Sun Devils 5 Tennessee Volunteers 6 NC State Wolfpack 7 California Golden Bears 8 Michigan Wolverines 9 Virginia Cavaliers 10 Stanford Cardinal ★★★½ ★★★ ★★ ★★½ ★★ ★ ★★★ ★★½ 19.5/40 11 Virginia Tech Hokies ★★★ ★ ★★ ★★ ★ ★ ★ ★★ 13/40 12 Louisville Cardinals ★★★ ★ ★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★★ 16/40Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026-27 College Swimming Previews: Williamson and Heilman Lead #9 Virginia Men Aiming to Move Up the Rankings
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