By Madeline Folsom on SwimSwam
Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) – Men and Women
Dates: Wednesday, February 25–Saturday, February 28 Location: Deaconess Aquatic Center, Evansville, IN Defending Champions: Indiana State women (1x); Miami-OH (1x) Live Video Championship Central SwimSwam Fan Guide Teams: Ball State, Evansville, Illinois-Chicago*, Illinois State (women), Indiana State (women), Little Rock (women), Miami-OH (men), Missouri State, Northern Iowa (women), Southern Illinois, UIC, UMass (men)*, ValparaisoSchedule
Wednesday, February 25
200 Freestyle Relay 400 Freestyle 200 IM 50 Free Men’s 1-Meter 400 Medley RelayThursday, February 26
100 Butterfly 400 IM 200 Freestyle Women’s 1-Meter 200 Medley RelayFriday, February 27
200 Butterfly 100 Breaststroke 100 Backstroke 3-Meter Diving 800 Freestyle RelaySaturday, February 28
1650 Freestyle 200 Backstroke 100 Freestyle 200 Breaststroke 3-Meter Diving 400 Freestyle Relay2025 Final Standings
Women
Men
Miami (OH) – 820 Southern Illinois – 691.5 Missouri State – 602.5 UIC – 553.5 Ball State – 387.5 Valparaiso – 139 Evansville – 127Last year, the Indiana State Women took home their first MVC title in program history with 1440.5 points, outscoring Southern Illinois by more than 100. The Salukis were the pre-conference favorites to win and came in 2nd, 300 points ahead of Missouri State.
On the men’s side, Miami (OH) took the top spot for the 1st time since 2003, again coming in more than 100 points ahead of Southern Illinois. Both meets are looking like they will be close this year as the defending champs try to hold off Southern Illinois.
Women’s Athletes to Watch
Olivia Herron – Senior, Southern Illinois
After having a breakout season last year for Southern Illinois, Olivia Herron is one of the favorites to earn multiple MVC Titles and to pick up an automatic qualifying swim for the 2026 NCAA Championships. Last year, she earned an NCAA qualification in both distances of breaststroke, and at the meet, she qualified for the finals in the 200 breaststroke, finishing 15th in 2:08.77.
This year, she has already swum 2:08.08 in the women’s 200 breaststroke, which will likely earn an NCAA qualification regardless of her finish in the event this week, but she is the top seed. She is also the top seed in the 100 breaststroke with her 59.42 making her the only swimmer under 1:01 in the event. This currently sits tied for 30th in the country and could also be within the cutline.
She has also swam under the automatic qualifying time in the 200 IM (1:57.20) and the 400 IM (4:12.81), and whichever she swims, she will be the favorite to win.
Grace Cummings – Freshman, Indiana State
Another swimmer to watch for a potential NCAA auto-qualification is Indiana State freshman Grace Cummings. She is the top seed in the women’s mile by 11 seconds, coming in at 16:23.09, which is two seconds under the NCAA Standard of 16:25.29.
If Cummings matches that performance en route to the conference title, she will earn an NCAA berth in her freshman season. She is also the 2nd seed in the 500 free (4:47.90), and the 9th seed in the 200 free (1:50.34). This is her first NCAA and SCY season, so her biggest obstacle will be handling her first conference championship meet, but she has made the transition incredibly well so far.
Jecza Lopez – Junior, Indiana State
Last year’s MVC diver of the year Jecza Lopez is back for Indiana State and she has been very strong this year, winning nine Missouri Valley Diver of the Week awards, picking up one each time she competed during the season.
In 2025, she won the 1-Meter and the 3-Meter diving events and her points will be crucial as she tries to help the Sycamores pick up their 2nd straight conference title.
Men’s Athletes to Watch
Willem Huggins – Sophomore, Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois backstroker Willem Huggins will be looking to turn his silver medal in the 200 backstroke and 4th place finish in the 100 backstroke from 2025 into two gold medals this year. He is coming in as the top seed in the 100 and 200 back with the lifetime best 46.53 in the 100 and 1:43.03 in the 200 that he swam at the Mizzou Invite in November. He is also the 2nd seed in the 50 free (19.75)
Huggins is also a potential NCAA qualifier in the backstroke events. He holds the top seed by about half-a-second in the 100 and three tenths in the 200 back and he comes in just off the NCAA standards of 46.29 and 1:42.14 in the events. He would need to drop in both, but we have seen huge drops when automatic berths are on the line over the last few weeks.
Kiefer Roemer – Freshman, Missouri State
Breaststroker Kiefer Roemer is another potential NCAA qualifier, coming in as the top seed in the men’s 100 breaststroke with the lifetime best 52.80 he swam at the House of Champions Invite in November of 2025.
Roemer is the 10th seed in the 200 breast (2:01.76) while teammate Luigi Da Silva leads the field (1:57.58).
Carter Ruthven – Freshman, Southern Illinois
Finally, Southern Illinois’ Carter Ruthven could earn an NCAA qualification. He is coming into the meet as the top seed in the 100 fly with the 46.37 he swam at the Mizzou Invite. This was a lifetime best for him, and it is only two tenths off the standard of 46.11.
He also holds the top seed in the 200 fly at 1:45.75, which is two seconds over the NCAA standard of 1:43.79, though he only leads the field by about three tenths, and will likely have steeper competition to the conference title. He ranks 9th in the 50 free (20.17), but could easily move into ‘A’ finals position, especially if he drops into the 19 second range.
Races to Watch
Women
50 Free
The 50 freestyle is generally one of the closest events at a meet, but the women’s 50 freestyle at the Missouri Valley meet might be one of the closest. Susana Hernandez Barradas and Zaria Terry, both from Southern Illinois, have the top two seeds at 22.81 and 22.91 respectively. Behind them sit Lena Nikolaeva from Little Rock and Mackenzie Kurre from Missouri State tied at 22.92. Just behind Kurre and Nikolaeva come a pair of Indiana State swimmers Kaleigh Kelley (23.06) and Raine Boles (23.07). It doesn’t seem like an NCAA cut will be on the line, but with how close the meet looks between Southern Illinois and Indiana State, every point will matter.
100 Fly
We are talking a lot about the close race between Southern Illinois and Indiana State, and the women’s 100 fly has a few races to watch, including that team battle. Leading the field is Illinois State’s Mia Snow, who sits at 53.64 to hold the top seed about two tenths ahead of Missouri State’s Lillie Freulon’s 53.89. Those two have separated themselves as a clear one and two, but behind them, there is a battle for 3rd that is also tight. Southern Illinois’ Liseska Gellegos Gutierrez is seeded in 54.43, just four hundredths ahead of Indiana State’s Raine Boles, who comes in at 54.47.
200 Free Relay
Southern Illinois is the top seed in the 200 freestyle relay with the 1:31.41 they swam at the A3 Performance Invite the week before their big midseason meet. This is a little faster than the 1:31.88 they swam last season to finish 6th overall.
Northern Iowa is seeded just behind them in 1:31.58. They won the race last year in 1:30.74 and returned two of their four relay swimmers and picked up a 22.19 relay split from Morgan Raether. If Morgan Meyer splits closer to the 22.79 she swam in 2025 rather than the 23.51 she swam in November, they should win, but if she doesn’t it could be close.
Men
200 Back
Southern Illinois and Miami (OH) are looking like they will be locked in a tight battle on the men’s side with the Swimulator predicting SIU to win the meet by just one point. One of the crucial events for the Salukis is the men’s 200 backstroke. Willem Huggins is the top seed in 1:43.03, just three tenths ahead of Miami’s Jensen Nelson, who is seeded 2nd in 1:43.30. The men will be racing for an individual conference title, but there is also the potential for the team title race being majorly impacted by this final day event.
200 Breast
The men’s 200 breast is also a final day event, and has the potential to be another tight race. Luigi Da Silva is the top seed in 1:57.58, just three tenths ahead of Miami’s Pablo Silva, who is seeded in 1:57.85. Last year’s champion James McCarthy, from UIC, is seeded 5th in 1:59.56, more than two seconds off the 1:57.12 he swam to win the title last year. Also in the mix is 3rd seed Maddax Thompson from SIU, who comes in at 1:58.50.
200 Fly
The men’s 200s are all looking like they will be fun races with major team implications. SIU’s Ruthven is the top seed in the 200 fly at 1:45.75, less than three tenths ahead of Miami’s Owen Hoban, who won last year’s meet in a personal best time 1:44.67. That was a massive best time for him, and Hoban is coming into the meet seeded at 1:46.01, which is his 2nd fastest swim ever in the event. There are a few other 1:46s coming in behind them in Missouri State’s Anderson Brown (1:46.24) and Miami’s Michal Piela (1:46.39), but the two at the front are looking like they will have a very exciting race for the win.
SwimSwam’s Picks
Women’s Top 3
Indiana State Southern Illinois Missouri StateThe Swimulator has Southern Illinois outscoring Indiana State by 15 points, 1198 to 1183. This difference is marginal, and Indiana State is coming into the meet with the best diver in the conference, while Southern Illinois does not seem to have the same level of star power with their top diver graduating after last season.
Missouri State is the clear choice for 3rd ahead of Little Rock, but they don’t appear to have the necessary weapons to catch the top two teams.
Men’s Top 3
Southern Illinois Miami (OH) Missouri StateWhere diving hurts the Southern Illinois women, it benefits the Southern Illinois men. They are projected to come out just one point ahead of the Miami men’s team according to the Swimulator. When looking at the diving results from last year, SIU retained junior Oliver Mebs, who scored in both diving events last season, whereas Miami graduated their top diver Jackson Miller.
The meet is going to be close and it will be important to pay attention to the ‘B’ and ‘C’ finals results because small changes as swimmers jump from 18th to 16th or 24th to 20th will make a big difference in a meet this close.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Fan Guide: Diving to Earn Crucial Points on Both Sides
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