2023 Swammy Awards: NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

2023 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 22-25, 2023
• Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center | Minneapolis, MN
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• SwimSwam Pick ’em Contest
• Live Results
• Women’s Swammys

After an epic week of racing that saw eight NCAA records go down in Minneapolis, here are the 2022-23 NCAA Swammy Award winners for the men.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1. Cal — 482
2. Arizona State — 430
3. Texas — 384
4. Indiana — 379
5. NC State — 373.5
6. Florida — 367.5
7. Tennessee — 216.5
8. Stanford — 143.5
9. Virginia Tech — 133
10. Auburn — 127
11. Ohio State — 112
12. Georgia — 96
13. Louisville — 92
14. Texas A&M — 80
15. Virginia — 78
16. LSU/Missouri — 62.5
17. (tie)
18. Notre Dame — 62
19. Alabama — 57
20. Michigan — 37
21. Minnesota — 36
22. USC — 31
23. Miami (FL)/UNC/Wisconsin — 27
24. (tie)
25. (tie)
26. South Carolina — 15
27. Utah — 14
28. Princeton/Southern Illinois/Kentucky — 13
29. (tie)
30. (tie)
31. Columbia — 12
32. Arizona — 11
33. Penn St/Pitt — 4
34. (tie)
35. Georgia Tech — 3
36. Air Force/Towson — 2
37. (tie)
38. Purdue — 1

SWIMMER OF THE MEET – LEON MARCHAND, SOPHOMORE, ARIZONA STATE

The reigning Swimmer of the Meet dazzled at his second NCAAs, somehow surpassing sky-high expectations by clocking the fastest times ever in six different events within the span of 72 hours.

Marchand sent warning shots on Wednesday night when he followed up the fastest 50 breaststroke split in history (22.27) on Arizona State’s 200 medley relay with a 1:28.42 anchor on the Sun Devils’ 800 free relay, becoming the first ever under 1:29 while nearly chasing down Texas standout Carson Foster in the process. His time would have won the 200 free individual event by more than two seconds.

Over the next two days on Thursday and Friday, Marchand broke his own NCAA and U.S. Open records in both the 200 IM (1:36.34) and 400 IM (3:28.82), annihilating the latter mark by nearly three seconds. On Friday night, he added the fastest 100 breast relay split (49.23) on ASU’s 400 medley relay, helping the Sun Devils finish under the previous NCAA record even though they placed third in the final.

By the time Saturday rolled around, it was understandable how Marchand “only” went 1:46.91, still lowering his previous NCAA and U.S. Open record of 1:47.67 that he set earlier this month at the Pac-12 Championships. With his fifth individual NCAA title He capped his meet by helping ASU place third in the 400 free relay with the second-fastest split in the field (40.55). The 20-year-old Frenchman is simply in another stratosphere right now, and he proved it again this week in Minneapolis.

Honorable Mentions

• Josh Liendo, freshman, Florida – The Canadian Olympian only seemed to grow stronger throughout the meet. After earning runner-up finishes in the 50 free (18.40) and 100 fly (43.40) behind Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks and Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan, respectively, Liendo bounced back on Saturday with his first individual NCAA title in the 100 free. His winning time of 40.28 made him the second-fastest man in history behind former Gator Caeleb Dressel (39.90). Liendo was also a force to be reckoned with on Florida’s relays, throwing down the first sub-43 100 fly split in history during the Gators’ record-breaking 400 medley relay victory on Friday night.
• Destin Lasco, junior, Cal – He couldn’t quite take down former Bear Ryan Murphy‘s seven-year-old NCAA, American, and U.S. Open record of 1:35.73 from 2016, but Lasco defended his 200 back title with a personal-best 1:35.87. That time ranks as the third-fastest ever behind only Texas A&M’s Shaine Casas (1:35.75) and Murphy. Lasco added podium finishes in the 200 IM (1:38.10 for second place) and 100 back (43.94 for third place), totaling 53 points — more than Cal’s 52-point margin of victory over second-place ASU.

COACH OF THE YEAR: BOB BOWMAN, ARIZONA STATE

ASU’s rapid rise makes it easy to forget where the program was less than a decade ago. When Bowman first took over the Sun Devils in 2016, they placed 44th at NCAAs. Before this year, they had never finished higher than 6th, a feat they accomplished in both 1982 and 2022. Last year’s result was historic, and they cleared their 2022 point total after just the 10th event this week en route to a 2nd-place showing behind Cal.

Yes, Marchand’s once-in-a-generation talent was crucial in carrying ASU to a runner-up finish this season — the program’s best showing ever at NCAAs by four places — but the Sun Devils were far from a one-man show. Bowman and his coaching staff deserve credit for developing a deep Sun Devils squad featuring freshmen Hubert Kos (37 points) and Owen McDonald (27 points) along with veterans Grant House (30 points) and Jack Dolan (25 points). Kos, McDonald, and Dolan all made multiple A-finals, highlighted by a third-place finish in the 200 back by Kos (1:37.96).

Honorable Mentions

• Dave Durden, Cal – During his first year guiding both the men’s and women’s programs in Berkeley, Durden managed to lead the Bears to its second consecutive national title. With 482 points, Cal became the first back-to-back champion since Texas won four straight from 2015-18. The Bears dominated despite having only one individual champion (Destin Lasco), showing off their depth with a trio of swimmers making three A-finals: Lasco (53 points), Hugo Gonzalez (50), and Gabriel Jett (46).
• Ryan Wochomurka, Auburn – The second-year Tigers coach brought his group back into the top 10 for the first time since 2016. Last season in his first year at the helm, Wochomurka led Auburn to a 25th-place finish, the team’s best showing in four years. This time around, he helped the Tigers jump 15 spots in the standings, tally 28 All-America honors from 12 different athletes, and break three school records. Most impressively, Wochomurka achieved significant improvement without a star on his roster, instead relying on a team effort powered by senior Aidan Stoffle (14 points), Nate Stoffle (11 points), and Reid Mikuta (7 points).

NEW-HIRE COACH OF THE YEAR: CHRIS LINDAUER, NOTRE DAME

Longtime Louisville assistant Chris Lindauer engineered a quick turnaround in his first year as head coach of the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame totaled 62 points en route to an 18th-place finish, the best result in program history, jumping up 15 spots from last year. Lindauer’s crew scored 47 more points than projected, breaking seven school records with only three individual qualifiers.

Under Lindauer’s leadership, Jack Hoagland capped off his senior season with a 5th-place finish in the 1650 free (14:38.64) along with B-final appearances in the 500 free (4:12.49 for 10th place) and 400 IM (3:40.82 for 12th place). The future of the Fighting Irish program appears bright with sophomore Chris Guiliano (9th place in 200 free, 10th in 100 free) and freshman Tommy Janton (14th in 100 back, 10th in 200 back) putting up breakout performances.

BREAKOUT SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: VAN MATHIAS, FIFTH YEAR, INDIANA

The 100 breast was a late addition to Mathias’ event lineup at his final NCAAs for the Hoosiers, but it turned out to be a great decision. Traditionally a butterfly and IM specialist, Mathias switched to training for the 50/100 free this season while also adding the 100 breast to his slate to fill a team need.

“I just told Ray and John and Cory, I just want to go fast,” Mathias said, describing a preseason with Indiana’s coaches. “I wanted to help the team as much as I could point-wise, and that happened to be 100 breast. “We kind of took a gamble coming in — didn’t know if it was going to work this well.”

The gamble paid off as Mathias dropped over four seconds in the 100 breast this season, culminating in a runner-up finish in 50.60 behind three-time champion Max McHugh (50.00). Mathias was just a blink slower in the final compared to his personal-best 50.57 from prelims. Making the accomplishment all the more remarkable is the fact that he didn’t swim the 100 breast for an official time from 2018-22.

Mathias wasn’t done helping the Hoosiers, placing 7th in the 100 free (41.39) on Saturday night, shaving more than two seconds off his best time coming into this season. Overall, he contributed 35 individual points, tied for third-most on Indiana’s 4th-place squad.

Honorable Mention

• Jack Alexy, sophomore, Cal – After serving as a valuable piece of the Bears’ freestyle relays last season, Alexy took a huge step forward as a sophomore. The 6-foot-7 New Jersey native placed 6th in the 50 free (18.87) and 2nd in the 100 free (40.92) just a year after placing 23rd in both events. One of only 11 swimmers to have ever broken the 41-second barrier in the 100 free, Alexy dropped more than half a second off his lifetime best to move up to No. 7 in the all-time rankings.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: JOSH LIENDO, FLORIDA

Liendo’s first NCAAs was nothing short of spectacular, racking up more points than any other swimmer besides Marchand. On Thursday night, Liendo became the fastest freshman ever in the 50 free with an 18.22 leadoff on the Gators’ record-breaking 200 free relay (1:13.35), just a few events after missing out on the individual title (18.40) less than a tenth behind Jordan Crooks (18.32).

After another runner-up finish in Friday’s 100 fly (43.40), he once again shined on the relay at the end of the session, recording the first sub-43 split in history on the 100 fly leg of Florida’s 400 medley relay. Then on Saturday, Liendo pieced together his finest performance of the meet, capturing his first individual NCAA crown in a time of 40.28. The victory made him the second-fastest performer ever behind only Caeleb Dressel. At 20 years old, it’s worth noting that Liendo is a year older than the typical college freshman.

Honorable Mentions

• Hubert Kos, Arizona State – A mid-year arrival from Hungary, Kos was responsible for the second-most points on the Sun Devils (37) thanks to his 11th-place finish in the 200 IM (1:41.61), 4th-place finish in the 400 IM (3:37.00), and 3rd-place finish in the 200 back (1:37.96).
• Owen McDonald, Arizona State – McDonald was close behind Kos with 27 points, also making multiple A-finals in the 100 back and 200 back. He has now dropped over two seconds this season in the 100 back and more than three seconds in the 200 back after placing 6th and 5th, respectively, with times of 44.85 and 1:39.34 in the finals.
• Baylor Nelson, Texas A&M – The top high school class of 2022 recruit led the Aggies with 19 points to cap his rookie campaign, highlighted by an A-final appearance in the 200 IM. Nelson placed 7th with a time of 1:40.88, taking over a second off his previous best from 2021. He added a 10th-place finish in the 400 IM (3:38.11), shaving more than three seconds off his previous best from last March.