Courtesy: Pac-12
The Pac-12 Conference announced the recipients of the 2024 Pac-12 Men’s Swimming & Diving postseason awards on Thursday, as voted on by the league’s coaches. For the first time in program history, the Arizona State Sun Devils swept all three swimming postseason awards with Leon Marchand earning his third consecutive Swimmer of the Year nod, Ilya Kharun taking home Freshman of the Year and Bob Bowman earning his second Coach of the Year honor and first since 2017. Stanford Cardinal Jack Ryan, and his head coach Patrick Jeffrey, earned Diver of the Year and Head Coach of the Year respectively while Arizona’s Gage DuBois was named Diving Freshman of the Year after his first competitive season.
PAC-12 MEN’S SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: Leon Marchand, Jr., ASU (Toulouse, France)
For the third year in a row, Arizona State’s Leon Marchand has been named the Pac-12 Men’s Swimmer of the Year. In what was another record breaking season, the junior Sun Devil went undefeated in the regular season, helping the Devils to their consistent No. 1 CSCAA ranking.
Coming into the postseason, Marchand was a 17-time Pac-12 Champion, 5-time NCAA Champion, three-time NCAA record holder and the owner of the regular season NCAA DI top time in the 200 IM. At the Pac-12 Championships, the junior went 3-for-3 in his individual events taking home wins in the 500 free, 400 IM and 200 breast, setting a new NCAA record in the 500 Free (4:06.18). Alongside his individual wins, Marchand swam as a part of a Pac-12 record breaking 800 Free relay and 400 Medley relay quad. At the conclusion of the Championships, Marchand contributed to a tenth of the Sun Devil’s overall points (100).
The records just kept coming for the junior as he took down two individual and two relay NCAA records at NCAAs. Going 3-for-3, and being the only league swimmer to sweep their individual events, Marchand saw NCAA record wins in the 500 Free (4:02.31), shaving four seconds off the record he set just one month prior, and 200 Breast (3:32.12), where he saw his third consecutive win in the event. Marchand capped off his wins with a 400 IM pool record, the Sun Devil’s first ever relay win with an NCAA record in the 400 Medley relay (2:57.32) and an NCAA record 400 free relay win (2:43.40).
In total the junior Sun Devil went undefeated in individual events for the entirety of the regular and postseason, earning him his third consecutive Swimmer of the Year award. He is now just the fifth swimmer to win three consecutive Swimmer of the Year Awards and was recently named the CSCAA DI Swimmer of the Year.
PAC-12 MEN’S SWIMMING FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Ilya Kharun, ASU (Las Vegas, Nev.)
After scoring the second most points in the conference, and the most of any freshman, Arizona State’s Ilya Kharun has been named Men’s Swimming Freshman of the Year. At the conclusion of the regular season, Kharun held the top-time amongst NCAA DI swimmers in the 200 fly (1:37.93). At the Pac-12 Championships, the freshman took home two individual titles, two relay wins and one individual runner-up finish. In the 100 Fly the freshman set a new Sun Devil record (44.32) for the win, going on to swim an NCAA A Standard in his 200 Fly (1:38.64) for the win. Alongside Jack Dolan, Leon Marchand and Jonny Kulow, Kharun helped the Devils to an NCAA record in the 200 Medley Relay (1:20.55) and a Pac-12 record in the 400 Medley Relay (2:58.49). He wrapped up his Conference Championship run with a runner-up finish in the 50 Free (18.84).
At the NCAA Championships, Kharun was the youngest league swimmer to take home a title after he competed, and won, as the only newcomer in a 200 Fly final of all upperclassmen. In addition, the Freshman had a hand in the Sun Devils’ first ever NCAA relay win, after swimming an NCAA record time in the 400 Medley relay (2:57.32), and in ASU’s second place finish in the 200 Medley relay (1:20.55).
Kharun is now the third consecutive Sun Devil to earn the honor, while Arizona State is the only program to churn out three Freshmen of the Year in a row.
PAC-12 MEN’S SWIMMING COACH OF THE YEAR: Bob Bowman, ASU
After leading the Sun Devils to their first ever NCAA Championship, Arizona State’s Bob Bowman has been named the Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year. During the regular season Bowman led the Devils to an unbeaten record (9-0-1) that kept them atop the CSCAA Top-25 rankings for the entirety of the season. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Sun Devils held NCAA DI top-times in five events and led the conference in 11 of the 18 events.
At the Pac-12 Championships, Bowman oversaw a program that took home 16 titles, 31 podium finishes and the second highest winning margin in Conference history, scoring 303 points more than the runner-up, securing their second consecutive Pac-12 title. In the process the No. 1 team swept the 200 IM, 50 Free and 200 Breast, blazing through the record books by setting two NCAA records, four Pac-12 records and five Pac-12 Championship meet records.
Bowman and the Sun Devils made history at the NCAAs as they took home their first ever National title, becoming just the sixth Pac-12 program to win and the third consecutive. The Devils walked away with seven first place finishes, including their first ever NCAA relay win, 15 total podium finishes and four NCAA records to close out the monumental season. Bowman was recently named the 2024 CSCAA DI Swimming Coach of the Year and the 9th-year Head Coach breaks California’s Dave Durden’s six-year Head Coach of the Year win-streak as he picks up the second honor of his career and first since 2017.
PAC-12 MEN’S DIVER OF THE YEAR: Jack Ryan, Jr., STANFORD (Denver, Colo.)
After being the highest scoring Conference diver this season, Stanford junior Jack Ryan has been selected as the Pac-12 Men’s Diver of the Year. The Cardinal entered the postseason with the league’s highest regular season scores in the 1 Meter and 3 Meter, looking to earn his first Pac-12 Diving titles.
The junior achieved his goals, becoming a two-time Pac-12 Champion in the springboard competitions. Ryan opened the competition with a win in the 1 Meter (434.35), going on to earn the highest score in the country, and his personal Pac-12 Championship record, on the 3 Meter (474.05). His two wins earned him his first Pac-12 Diver of the Meet honor.
At the NCAA’s, Ryan earned his second career NCAA podium finish, and first in the event, as he secured a third place finish in the 3 Meter. His final score of 444.20 and third place finish, marked the conference’s sole podium diver and the Cardinal’s sole podium finisher. The junior went on to place fourth in the 1-meter (402.55) to earn All-American honors in the event.
Finishing the season with 71 combined points on the season, Jack Ryan earns his first Diver of the Year award after being named the Diving Freshman of the Year in 2022. He is the first Cardinal to receive the honor since 2019 (Noah Vigran).
PAC-12 MEN’S DIVING FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Gage Dubois, ARIZONA (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Arizona redshirt freshman Gage DuBois has been named the Pac-12 Diving Freshman of the Year. After medically redshirting during the 2022-23 season, DuBois competed in his first season as a Wildcat in 2023-24, scoring the second most points of any league diver and the most of any first year diver (60).
At the Pac-12 Championships, DuBois saw two podium dives and a 5th place finish amongst the events. In his Pac-12 debut, the redshirt took home third in the 1 Meter (357.80). In the Platform dive event DuBois took home second after scoring a career-best 370.70 to solidify his place as the only first-year, and Arizona, diver to podium at the Championships. Dubois also picked up a fifth place finish in the 3 Meter to earn the Cats 14 points.
As the only male diver to represent the Wildcats at NCAAs, DuBois qualified for all three diving events at his first NCAA diving zones. In his sole Championship final, the Wildcat took home sixth in the 1 Meter event (381.95), making him one of just three Pac-12 divers to participate in a diving Championship final.
DuBois is the fifth Arizona Wildcat to be receiving the honor and the first since 2013 (Rafael Quintero).
PAC-12 MEN’S DIVING COACH OF THE YEAR: Patrick Jeffrey, STANFORD
For the third time in his career, Stanford’s Patrick Jeffrey has been named the Pac-12 Men’s Diving Coach of the Year. After heading a diving program that led the regular season scores in both the 1 and 3 Meter events, the Cardinal went on to score a combined 68 points at the Pac-12 Championships. The conference championship performance was headed by Jack Ryan, who took home two wins in the springboard events, and Hunter Hollenbeck, who competed in, and scored seventh, in two Championship finals.
At the NCAAs, Jeffrey saw two qualifiers in Ryan and Hollenbeck with both qualifying for the springboard events. In the end, Ryan was the program’s sole podium finisher on both the swim and dive side, taking home third in the 3 Meter competition (444.20).