2026 M. NCAA Previews: Nate Germonprez Eyes First Career Individual NCAA Title in 100 Breast ...Middle East

By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam

2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

Men’s 100 Breaststroke

Year after year, the men’s 100 breaststroke sits among some of the most intriguing and entertaining races of the NCAA Championships, and in 2026, that feeling is no different. With the departure of NCAA, American, and US Open Record holder Julian Smith, the door has opened for a new face to stand atop the 100 breast podium.

Among those looking to take home the gold is Texas Junior Nate Germonprez, who has consistently been in the 100 breast conversation since his arrival in Austin. He enters as the top seed and the only sub-50 performer this season in 49.71. Also in the hunt for their first NCAA title is Florida’s Koen de Groot, who has filled the Julian Smith-type role as a major contributor on both the medley relays and as a top-tier individual breaststroke talent. He sits just behind Germonprez as the #2 seed in 50.22.

Breaststroke is Bigger in Texas

Besides the headliner of Germonprez in this race, the Longhorns are represented by three other swimmers seeded in the top 10. Freshman Campbell McKean sits inside the pre-meet top 5 with his #4 seed 50.37. Texas’ double Will tandem of Will Modglin (50.91) and Will Sholtz (50.95) each sneak their way into the top 10 at #8 and #9 seeds, respectively. Germonprez is fresh off foo a pair of wins at SEC, sweeping both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. Just like many of his teammates, the Texas Hall of Fame Invite was where he swam his best; that’s where he broke the 50-second barrier individually for the first time in 49.71, and made him the favorite to pick up his first individual championship at NCAAs.

McKean swam 50.37 at the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational in November, which also stands as his fastest time ever. Since then, he has only been under 51 once, that was at the SEC Championships, where he finished 3rd in 50.42, only trailing Germonprez and de Groot. His potential to be an NCAA Champion is sky high, and with another full season of training with Germonprez, Modglin, and Scholtz still to come, he may be the one looked at as the perennial favorite to win this event.

Modglin, more commonly known for his backstroke, unleashed a monstrous 50.91 100 breast at the Texas Hall of Fame Invite in November, which was more than a two-second time drop from his time at the Indiana Senior State Championships in March of 2023 at 52.92. He has not swum this race since that Hall of Fame Invite, and could be on the cusp of a big swim here.

Scholtz leans a little bit more toward the side of the 200 breast, where he sits 4th for these championships, but here he is on the outside looking in, as he is 9th on the psych sheets with his Hall of Fame Invite time and career best of 50.95. His endurance is apparent, and, along with his size, is probably his biggest technical advantage. The field will be hungry for those final spots, so a big prelim swim and a best time could secure that.

In the Hunt

Several names could be big-time players in this race; among them is Army’s Kohen Rankin out of the Patriot League. The senior won his 4th straight 100 breast Patriot League title. And based on his times, he did not appear to be in top form, touching in 51.69, a near full second off of his lifetime and season best from December’s dual with Navy, where he went 50.76, making him the #6 seed here. Last season, Rankin did not advance out of the prelims in this event, finishing 29th with a time of 51.90. The same story goes for the year before, finishing 28th in 52.40, and missing the finals. In his final meet with the Black Knights, Rankin could explode for a major swim here.

Michigan freshman Luka Mladenovic enters here as the #5 seed; the intrigue for him follows the same reasoning as for de Groot: a lack of yards experience that could make for a big-time drop at these championships. He is coming off a Big Ten title in this event, where he swam a best time of 50.69, which was the 3rd time he has been under 51 in his young NCAA career (with his Big Tens prelims swim of 50.95 and CSCAA Challenge swim of 50.92 being the other two). With a loaded field and another championship environment, this could be a perfect combination for a big swim for the freshman.

Arizona State’s Andrew Dobrzanski is in an interesting position: having swept the breaststrokes at the Big 12s, notably touching in 51.32 in the 100 breast, he comes in here 10th. Still, he has been as fast as 51.00 this season at the Big 12 West Championships in January. He has hovered around the 51.0-51.5 range all season, and feels like he is primed for that barrier-breaking swim. He will also be relied upon heavily to contribute to an Arizona State team that is looking to finish high in the team standings for yet another season.

Returning Talent from 2025

This event was dominated by Seniors and 5th-year swimmers a season ago, as only Germonprez (3rd in 2025) and Cal’s Yamoto Okadome (7th in 2025) are looking to return to the top 8. Okadome is seeded #3 in 2026 with his ACC Championship-winning 50.32, which also stands as his career best to date. He is already faster than he was last season at these championships as a freshman, when he won in 50.69 to finish 7th; he entered finals in 7th but was 0.02 faster in 50.62. Okadome has been under 51 twice this season, also swimming 50.48 at the Minnesota Invite in December.

Dobrzanski is the only other returning finalist from last season, having finished 14th in 51.27. Aside from those three, this event features several fresh faces in the 100 breaststroke finals.

Louisville’s Jacob Eccleston was the 1st alternate and just three hundredths off of a finals swim in 2025 (51.48). He has been up and down in this event this season, with his fastest time coming at the Ohio State Invitational, where he went 51.92, earning him an invitation here as the 31st seed. At ACCs, he was 12th in 52.18, but could have a big swim looming here.

North Carolina junior Ben Delmar is in a similar boat to Eccleston, having finished 24th last season in 51.80, but has been as quick as 51.69 this season, which came at the ACC Championships, where he finished 6th. His career best is 51.44, set in a dual meet against NC State in January of 2025.

SwimSwam Picks:

Darkhorse Pick:

Logan Kelly, IU Indianapolis – Logan Kelly enters these championships in an odd position, sitting at #26 overall, despite not winning the Horizon League title in this event. In September, Kelly blasted a massive 51.56 in a quad meet with Cleveland State, Green Bay, and Milwaukee, a mark that still stands today as his season and career best. At those Horizon League championships, Kelly was disqualified in the 100 breast for multiple dolphin kicks on his breakout. Had he not been disqualified, he would have comfortably broken the meet record at those championships and secured his NCAA bid, but he would later win the 200 breast, which secured his spot. Kelly is one of the best racers in mid-major swimming, and with one more NCAA meet left, he could be a potential points stealer for some of the bigger schools.

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