2027 College Swimming Previews: 11 Virginia Tech Men Look To Climb with Return of Brendan Whitfield ...Middle East

By Terin Frodyma 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 #11: Virginia Tech Hokies

Key Losses: Landon Gentry (2 NCAA Relays), Jacob Fisher (3 NCAA Diving Events)

Key Additions: Aidan Paro (Louisville transfer – butterfly), Alex Grocholski (VA – free/IM), Matthew Wolfe (VA – IM/breast), Alex Parent (MA – distance free)

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.

We’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

After three straight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, the Hokie men took a slight step back in 2026, finishing 11th with 86 points. Head Coach Sergio Lopez-Miro was dealing with a roster last season that did not bring back much NCAA scoring, as the Hokies were without Carles Coll Marti and Youssef Ramadan. However, they did manage to keep sprint ace Brendan Whitfield and key breaststroker Eli Martin, both of whom secured individual scoring points at NCAAs.

Whitfield, who was a member of all three Virginia Tech relays, also made the championship finals in both the 50 and 100 freestyles, finishing 8th in both in 18.66 and 41.22, respectively. Martin was another bright spot for the Hokies last season, finishing 8th in the championship final of the 200 breast in 1:52.04. That same event saw Oscar Bilbao earn a 15th-place finish through the prelims for another two points.

Levente Balogh also added two points to the team’s total in the 200 back prelims in 1:39.07, which was the extent of the team’s individual scoring last season.

Every relay that Virginia Tech competed in also earned them additional points, though their overall scoring still kept them 50 points behind fellow ACC foe Stanford and the top 10.

Sprint Free: ★★★

Possibly the brightest spot in the entire lineup for the Hokies is senior Brendan Whitfield, who has established himself as a serious threat on both the conference and national levels. After a two-time championship final showing at the 2026 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, there is a serious possibility that Whitfield can make that jump to a potential national podium finish. One big test will be within the ACC alone, as he will contend with the likes of NC State’s Quintin McCarty, Louisville’s Nikita Sheremet, and Cal’s Martin Wrede, among many other talents looking to take over the sprint freestyle events in the ACC.

Whitfield tied for silver at ACCs in the 50 free with Sheremet in 18.71. Had he repeated his lifetime best effort from the prelims of 18.62, he would have topped the podium in the finals. Along with his serious 50 speed, Whitfield did end up winning the 100 free at ACCs last season in 40.93, his first ever time touching under 41-seconds. His ability to also deliver big in the 200 free is also apparent, as he finished 12th at NCAAs in another best time of 1:31.49.

Whitfield can carry this sprint-free group to several championship finals at NCAAs. However, he is another talent who could make a jump and secure additional points at the national level.

Javier Nunez enters his sophomore year after anchoring both the 200 free and 400 free relays for the Hokies at the NCAA Championships last season as a freshman; on those relays, Nunez split 18.78 and 42.41 to help secure additional double points at NCAAs. If he can make an additional jump this upcoming season, he could be an ace in the hole for the Hokies.

Outside of those two, the rest of the roster will need some big drops to even be in contention at NCAAs, or ACCs for that matter.

Distance Free: ★

This season’s Virginia Tech team will still be helped by its fastest 500 and 1000 freestyler from a year ago, junior Jakub Poliacik, who finished 14th in the 500 free at ACCs in 4:18.76; it does not appear to translate well to the national level.

The Hokies are very strong in sprint freestyle (largely thanks to Whitfield), though the distance freestyle is a bit lacking. With the departure of Lee Naber, a bulk of the load will fall on Poliacik to deliver in the distance department.

The Hokies bringing in Alex Parent as a member of the freshman class, whose best times of 4:26.99 in the 500 and 15:14.31 in the 1650 would have ranked 4th and 2nd on the Hokie roster last season, does raise an eyebrow, though it does not totally move the needle. Parent’s 1650 would have placed 20th at the ACC Championships last season, and with a year of college coaching, that placing could get inside the top 10. If he managed to get inside the 15-minute mark, he would immediately be in contention for a top-8 spot at the conference level, and it would inch him closer to scoring at NCAAs.

Another eye-opening freshman is Alex Grocholski, who comes to Blacksburg with a best 500 free time of 4:19.98, which would only trail Poliacik’s 4:16.09 and Naber’s 4:16.31 from last year’s roster.

With both freshmen potentially able to make a splash in year 1 with the Hokies, it may be a duo that the Hokies lean on for several years to come, as well as a distance group that will be relatively untouched for another two seasons.

Backstroke: ★★

Virginia Tech keeps both of its sub-46-second 100 backstrokes from a season ago in Levente Balogh (45.47) and Connor Johnson (45.84). The team also returns Andy Roose, who was just outside of that sub-46 second with his 46.07 prelims swim at the NCAA championships.

It is a promising sign for the Hokie men to be returning a pair of ‘B’ finalists in the 100 back from ACCs: Balogh (12th, 45.67) and Johnson (13th, 45.84). There is a good chance that, with several departures from the event’s final from ACCs, either of these men will be able to make a jump up to the scoring range this upcoming season. All three returning swimmers could make for a competitive race for relay duties, which may push all three to some big performances throughout the season.

The 200 back features the same top three names from last season, as Balogh (1:39.07), Roose (1:39.37), and Johnson (1:39.64) all pose a significant threat in the event at the national level.

Balogh, as previously mentioned, secured points in this event with that 1:39.07, with the other two performers’ times right on his heels. If Roose and Johnson can find another gear and potentially lower their times from a season ago, we could be looking at several points scorers in the event at this season’s ACC and NCAA Championships. A safe place to secure points will likely be somewhere in the 1:38 mid-to-high range, and these three men are not too far away from those times.

Breaststroke: ★★

Eli Martin returns as the Hokie ace in the breaststroke events, having been a finalist at NCAAs last season in the 200 breast. He also comes into this season as Virginia Tech’s fastest performer from a season ago in the 100 breast, which came at the ACC Championships in 51.29, a time that was good enough to secure him the #2 spot out of prelims before finishing runner-up to eventual ACC and NCAA Champion Yamato Okadome in the ACC final in 51.36.

Martin, the junior, will be the breaststroke guy for the Hokie men this upcoming season, though it will not be without some challengers. Though the team will not have the services of Ethan Maloney, who finished 8th in that ACC final in the 100 breast, they still have Oscar Bilbao, who raced the 100 breast at the NCAA Championships, finishing 27th in 51.96.

Bilbao also finished last season as the 2nd-fastest performer on the roster in the 200 breast with his 1:51.41 at the VT Last Chance Meet, which would have placed 10th in the event at the NCAAs. He finished 15th at the NCAAs in the event in 1:52.00.

One of the newcomers to the Hokie Program, Matthew Wolfe, an in-state recruit from Richmond, comes into his college career with lifetime breaststroke bests of 53.19 and 1:55.86. Both of which are well outside NCAA scoring times, though with an entire season of collegiate training, Wolfe could be part of the next great surge of ACC breaststrokers.

Butterfly: ★

The butterfly may be where departures will hit the Hokies the hardest; with Landon Gentry (44.99), Will Hanyon (45.31), and Carl Bloebaum (45.65) all gone from the program, the team’s fly area is thin. The fastest returning sprint butterfliers are Whitfield (46.30), Nunez (46.77), and Clem Camacho (46.97).

The 200 fly will see a ton of turnover as well, as Gentry (1:40.35) and Bloebaum (1:42.84) led the team last season, leaving Benedek Toth as the top returner with his 1:44.23 from the Tennessee Last Chance Invite.

This is where Louisville transfer Aidan Paro will be an immediate impact. Paro comes in with best times of 45.23 and 1:42.74, which will immediately rake over the top times in both events by over a second in each from last season’s team.

Butterfly will be a big area to monitor for the Hokies this upcoming season, as the loss of several top performers will also be visible on the relays, as Paro will likely be the fill-in for Hanyon and Gentry. However, the time difference between them could put Virginia Tech at a disadvantage at both the conference and national championships.

IM: ★

Each of the top three 200 IMers return for the Hokies in 2026, with Camacho (1:43.84), Eli Martin (1:44.03), and Oscar Bilbao (1:44.21) manning the shorter of the two IM races.

The 200 IM was not the most powerful group for the Hokies last season, as Martin was the only swimmer to have qualified for the ‘B’ final at ACCs, finishing 15th in 1:44.79. Camacho clocked that 1:43.84 at the Tennessee Last Chance Invite, a time that would have finished 25th at NCAAs.

The 400 IM will also see the return of top performers in Roose (3:44.56), Martin (3:48.37), and Camacho (3:48.98), all back for this upcoming season. Roose was the highest finisher at the ACC championships, finishing 19th in 3:44.56.

This event will heavily feature the freshmen in Grocholski and Wolfe; Grocholski holds best times of 1:46.57 and 3:46.30, while Wolfe comes to Blacksburg with lifetime bests of 1:45.85 and 3:44.64. Both of which could make big freshman season strides and be an impactful duo right out of the gate for the Hokies.

Diving: ★

A big keep for the Hokies comes in the form of senior Rocky Ramsland, who finished 6th in the 1-meter and 19th in the 3-meter at the ACC Championships last season, and competed in all three diving events at NCAAs. He joins fellow returner Nathan Cox, who also contested all three events at NCAAs.

They do lose Jacob Fisher, who, once again, dove in three events at the NCAA Championships last season. However, they reload with several strong diving talents, including Aly Hassan and Luke Rawlings.

Ramsland finished 31st at the NCAA Championships in the 1-meter, 30th in the 3-meter, and 30th in the 10-meter; Cox finished in similar spots last season, including 26th on 3-meter, 32nd on 1-meter, and 33rd on 10-meter. Both will need to see a big jump from their 2026 results to bring home points for the Hokies at NCAAs.

Relays: ★★

Note that the grading system doesn’t align perfectly for relays as double points.

Relay grading system:

The relays this season are in a slightly different place than they were a season ago, especially in the medleys.

We have already touched on the absence of Will Hanyon and Landon Gentry, though Aidan Paro will slide into that fly leg pretty well. Whitfield and Martin are pretty much locks, though the enticing battle for the backstroke will be a season-long clash, with any options seeming like valuable inserts into the lineup.

The free relays will be interesting, as Whitfield seems like the usual leadoff, and Javier Nunez as a strong anchor. Diego Aranda also returns for this sophomore season after swimming the 2nd leg of the 200 free relay (18.83). However, it seems like there will be some competition to fill some of the other spots on the relays, with Lucas Humling (44.51 last season) and Hayden Annan (44.60) as potential suitors for that 400 free relay.

The relays are not in a bad place; with both Whitfield and Martin back, those two alone give some pretty high ceilings to reach for, though it will be the rest of the swimmers on those relays who will determine the team’s fate.

Total Stars: 13/40

2026/2027 Outlook:

All in all, the Hokies are in a strong position this upcoming season, with a surefire star in Whitfield and an already proven breaststroke talent in Martin; it is not crazy to see them potentially finish inside the top 10 once again at NCAAs.

The backstroke battles between Balogh, Johnson, and Roose should be one of the more intriguing intersquad stroke battles in the ACC this season, and the new-look IM and Distance freestyles will look to help get Virginia Tech back on track to compete in a tight ACC gauntlet.

With the returning firepower and some newcomers to the squad, this Hokie team will be a change of pace from what we have seen in the past, though under Lopez Miro, this Hokie men’s team could certainly make some noise as we draw closer to the start of the college season.

Men’s 2026-27 College Preview Index

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