2025-26 Men’s NCAA Power Rankings: Final Edition ...Middle East

By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam

As in previous years, SwimSwam’s Power Rankings account for a team looks at the moment, while keeping the end of the season in mind through things like a team’s previous trajectory and NCAA scoring potential. These rankings are by nature subjective, and a jumping-off point for discussion. If you disagree with any team’s ranking, feel free to make your case in our comments section. 

Braden Keith, James Sutherland, Anya Pelshaw, Madeline Folsom, and Terin Frodyma contributed to this report. 

The final edition of our Men’s NCAA Power Rankings is here, as we give our final predictions for the team standings at this week’s meet.

Coming out of the conference meets in February, there was a lot of changes among the top 25 compared to the women. Texas held firm at number one and Arizona State and Indiana maintained their spots at two and three. The biggest story heading into the meet, however, is Georgia’s dramatic slide from fourth to 15th following Luca Urlando‘s injury, which reshuffled much of the middle of the rankings.

Outside of the top 10, there was plenty of shuffling. Michigan vaulted six spots to ninth on the strength of a strong Big Ten showing, and Purdue climbed three spots to 19th.

Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Kentucky all cracked the top 25 after missing out pre-conferences.

Previous Rankings: 

Swimulator:

Honorable Mentions: Auburn Tigers, Missouri Tigers, Arizona Wildcats, Northwestern Wildcats, Penn State Nittany Lions, Miami Hurricanes

=#25: Pittsburgh Panthers — (Previous Rank: NR)

Sophomore Julian Koch headlines Pitt’s effort, seeded seventh in the 100 free and 12th in the 100 fly for 17 individual points, while 12 projected relay points provide some cushion. Leaning heavily on one swimmer is highly volatile, but having relays in scoring position offers the Panthers a bit of a safety net to challenge for the top 25. – S.G.

=#25: Army Black Knights -2 (Previous Rank: 23)

Johnny Crush is the clear leader her for the Black Knights but they’ve got solid relay pieces. Their fastest 400 medley time came in a time trial at their home pool and they will need to put together a swim like that again. – A.P.

Army’s top stars looked largely unrested at the Patriot League Championships, namely Kohen Rankin, who finished 29th and 33rd in the 100 and 200 breast at last year’s NCAAs and enters this year seeded sixth and 30th in those events after posting 50.76 and 1:52.85 in December, and Johnny Crush, seeded fifth in the 100 back at 44.10. That could foreshadow a big taper incoming, and if so, both are capable of ‘A’ final scoring swims. The key for the Black Knights, however, will be generating more than the four relay points they managed en route to a 30th-place finish last year. – S.G.

#24: Alabama Crimson Tide -3 (Previous Rank: 21)

Freshman Sean Niewold, 23, has shown signs of peaking at the right time, shattering his personal best from 21.99 to 21.66 in the long course 50 free earlier this month to become the #2 Dutch swimmer in history. He will now need to translate that form to short course yards (which he’s still adjusting to racing in) at NCAAs, where he is seeded 14th in the 50 free, 27th in the 100 fly, and 30th in the 100 free. Alabama’s other individual qualifiers are senior Tommy Hagar, seeded third in the 200 back, and junior Leonardo Alcantara, seeded ninth in the 500 free and 21st in the 1500 free. The key to the Crimson Tide cracking the top 25 may come down to eking out relay points where they are not currently seeded to score. – S.G.

#23: Yale Bulldogs +1 (Previous Rank: 24)

Noah Millard, seeded seventh in the 500 free and 11th in the 1650 with season bests of 4:10.19 and 14:41.17, guided Yale to a 20th-place finish a year ago. If he can return to his 2024-25 form of 4:07.68 and 14:28.43, he alone could push them into the top 25. Sophomore Nicolas Finch, seeded seventh in the 100 fly, gives the Bulldogs another big scoring opportunity.  – S.G.

#22: USC Trojans -6 (Previous Rank: 16)

The Trojans aren’t seeded to score any relay points and on the individual side are fully reliant on the Chmielewski twins. Michal is seeded 13th in the 100 fly and 15th in the 200 fly, while Krzysztof is seeded 12th in the 100 fly. If Krzysztof can climb into scoring range in the 500 free as he has in the past, and the relays can move into scoring range, a finisher in the upper tier of the top 20 finish seems inevitable. – S.G.

#21: North Carolina Tar Heels — (Previous Rank: HM)

The Tar Heels have three swimmers seeded to score, led by Ben Delmar (14 seeded points), who like Army’s top stars appeared to be in heavy training through ACCs and seems to be saving a full taper for NCAAs. Delmar is seeded fifth in the 200 breast with room to move up from 25th in the 100 breast. Seb Lunak (7) is seeded 10th in the 200 fly, while Louis Dramm (7) sits eighth in the 200 IM and just outside scoring range at 19th in the 400 IM. With no relay points projected, however, UNC’s ceiling seems limited to the upper end of the top-20. – S.G.

#20: Kentucky Wildcats — (Previous Rank: HM)

Kentucky looked great at SECs and enters with a nice 26 projected relay points. Levi Sandidge and Carson Hick combine for 20 individual seeded points in the 1650, while Lysander Osman adds four more as the 13th seed in the 100 back. The mile opens the meet, and it should tell us a lot about where the Wildcats will land. – S.G.

#19: Purdue Boilermakers +3 (Previous Rank: 22)

It’s all about diving for Purdue. The Boilermakers are sending six divers to the meet, and they always show up come March. Sophomore Kaden Springfield (16 seeded points) and junior Maxwell Miller (8) are returning scorers, with freshman Junior National Champion Nathaniel Grannis another big-time threat. Evan Mackesy is their sole swimming qualifier; he is not seeded to score. – S.G.

#18: Wisconsin Badgers — (Previous Rank: NR)

Dominik Mark Torok was 5th last year in the 400 IM and Wisconsin will be relying on a similar result if they are to crack the top 20 this season. The other event where the team is seeded to score big points is the 800 free relay, having clocked 6:08.87 at the Big Ten Championships, a performance which included a 1:30.43 leg from freshman Enzo Solitario. He’s currently seeded 17th in the 200 free, just outside scoring range, but given how wide open that race is, he could make an impact and possibly even break into the championship heat. – J.S.

#17: Princeton Tigers — (Previous Rank: HM)

Mitchell Schott has always been an a amazing story, and 2026 may be the perfect closing chapter. He raced at Ivies like he had something to prove, and he could be a big-time player in several individual events at NCAAs. – T.F.

#16: Virginia Tech — (Previous Rank: NR)

After a slower start to the season, the Hokie men got after it at ACCs, with Brendan Whitfield’s 50 and 100 free being the highlights. The program is in a bit of a rebuild after losing Carles Coll Marti and Youssef Ramadan. – A.P.

#15: Georgia Bulldogs -11 (Previous Rank: 4)

Luca Urlando‘s injury is a *massive* blow. The redshirt junior was a shoo-in for the 200 fly title and a factor in both the 100 fly and 100 back, not to mention his relay implications. The Bulldogs, who looked primed for a top five finish all season, will take a significant hit to their projected 52 relay points and all of 35 Urlando seeded individual points. All eyes will not be on Ruard van Renen (16 seeded points), Drew Hitchcock (11), Tomas Koski (9), and Elliot Woodburn (4) to aim for a top-15 showing. – S.G.

#14: Louisville Cardinals -3 (Previous Rank: 11)

The Swimulator projects 40 points coming to the Cardinals by way of relays, which will be a big boost, though outside of freshman sprinter Nikita Sheremet, there are not any other double-digit point-scoring threats. – T.F.

#13: Ohio State Buckeyes +1 (Previous Rank: 14)

The Buckeyes’ ultimate outcome may depend on how many diving points they can pick up, but the swimming side continues to look solid. Tristan Jankovics (20 seeded points) and Matt Klinge (16) headline the individual contributors, with Tomas Navikonis (12) and Jordi Vilchez (4) also factoring in, backed by a strong 36 projected relay points. – R.G.

#12. LSU Tigers +1 (Previous Rank: 13)

Jere Hribar has fully announced himself as a major sprint factor. LSU has not had this level of sprinter since Brooks Curry, who performed very well at NCAAs. He stacks up well with Caribe, Liendo, and the rest of the elite sprint talents. – T.F.

#11: Virginia Cavaliers +1 (Previous Rank: 12)

It feels like we haven’t seen the full potential of this UVA men’s team all season. NCAAs could be that display of full power, and a highly motivated Cavalier team could make big strides in the overall team standings. – T.F.

#10: Florida State Seminoles -1 (Previous Rank: 9)

Florida State had three individual scorers last season and the same trio are their only ones seeded to do so again this year. One of the reasons why they’re ranked 11th in psych sheet scoring after placing 18th last season is the development of Logan Robinson, who won the ACC title last month in the 200 fly (1:38.78) and was also the runner-up in the 200 free (1:31.18). He’s got a great shot at maintaining his place in the top 3-4 in the 200 fly, while the 200 free projects to be anyone’s race with the top 16 seeds all within one second. Robinson earning two ‘A’ final appearance will be key for the Seminoles, as will them maintaining their place as an elite relay school. They’re seeded to score 74 relay points, including owning a pair of top-eight seeds in the 400 free and 400 medley. – J.S.

#9. Michigan Wolverines +6 (Previous Rank: 15)

Like the women’s team, the Michigan men are on a roll. Tyler Ray swept the fly events at Big Tens and will look to challenge Liendo, Kharun, and Urlando. – A.P.

#8: Stanford Cardinal +1 (Previous Rank: 9)

Henry McFadden is in the hunt for the 200 free title, Ethan Ekk looks primed for a breakthrough, and Josh Zuchowski (who has had a nice breakthrough post-season) leads their individual scorers with 20 seeded points. Throw in 70 projected relay points and the Cardinal should see themselves into the top-10 fairly comfortably.

#7: Tennessee Volunteers +1 (Previous Rank: 8)

Gui Caribe has continued the Tennessee sprint success, but I’ve gotta highlight diver Bennett Greene here as he won the 1 meter, finished 2nd in the 3 meter, and 3rd in the platform event at SECs. Diving points are always hard to estimate but they’ve got a really strong diving squad. – A.P. 

#6: NC State Wolfpack — (Previous Rank: 6)

After dropping from 5th in 2024 to 9th last season, the Wolfpack will be aiming for a bounceback in 2026. The biggest difference on paper will be their high-end scoring. After Quintin McCarty led NC State with 15 individual points last season, the team has four swimmers seeded to score more than that this year, led by McCarty (37), Kaii Winkler (30) and stud freshman Max Carlsen (27). All three have a good shot at two ‘A’ final (or top eight in the 1650) finishes, which will be crucial if NC State is to hold its 5th place ranking. The top four look to be in a tier above, but the Wolfpack look solid for 5th…but we can never count Cal out from improving significantly from their seed. – J.S.

#5: California Golden Bears +2 (Previous Rank: 7)

Cal has faced a lot of scrutiny over the season after they graduated a huge number of scoring seniors following last year’s meet. They prevailed at ACCs, earning the overall team title, coming in 78 points ahead of Stanford. At NCAAs, it seems likely that NC State will jump them in the overall rankings due to their top end speed, but Cal seems very comfortable for a top 10 finish. – M.F.

#4: Florida Gators +1 (Previous Rank: 5)

Florida is hoping to move back into the top three this year, and the race is looking tight at the top. They have strong individual event swimmers including Josh Liendo and Ahmed Jaouadi, who will be crucial in their team totals. They will also need strong relay performances, meaning no DQs this year. – M.F.

#3: Indiana Hoosiers — (Previous Rank: 3)

The Indiana men are projected to finish 4th before diving, coming in just under 40 points behind ASU. They had a very strong showing at the Big Ten Championships, and it would not be unreasonable for them to move into the 2nd place spot if athletes like Owen McDonald, Josh Bey, and Zalan Sarkany are all at the top of their game. – M.F.

#2: Arizona State Sun Devils — (Previous Rank: 2)

Ilya Kharun is the team’s clear superstar; he’s now the undisputed favorite in the 200 fly and a legitimate title contender in both the 100 fly and 50 free. Beyond Kharun’s 52.5 seeded points, the Sun Devils are *deep*, with Remi Fabiani (41.5), Adam Chaney (28), and Andy Dobrzanski (13) all projecting for double-digit scores. JT Ewing (6.5), Tolu Young (6), Tommy Palmer (4.5), Jonny Kulow (4), and Michael Hochwalt (2) round out a deep scoring lineup, all backed by 182 projected relay points. Indiana will need to swim lights-out and step up in diving to close the 44-point gap they trail on paper. – S.G.

#1: Texas Longhorns — (Previous Rank: 1)

The top-end talent of Texas is hard to compete with. Maurer, Germonprez, and Modglin should all come away with at least one, if not multiple, individual titles, and they should have some epic relay showdowns with Florida and ASU. – T.F.

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