2025 M. NCAA Previews: Tennessee Look To Sprint Away From The Field In The Free Relays

2025 Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 26-29, 2025
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center, Federal Way, Washington
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• SwimSwam Pick’Em Contest
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Psych Sheet

MEN’S 200 FREE RELAY

• U.S. Open Record: 1:12.80 – Tennessee (Crooks, Caribe, Taylor, Blackman) – 2025
• American Record: 1:14.13 – NC State (Henderson, Miller, Fox, McCarty) – 2024
• NCAA Record: 1:12.80 – Tennessee (Crooks, Caribe, Taylor, Blackman) – 2025
• 2024 NCAA Champion: Florida (Liendo, Chaney, Smith, McDuff), 1:13.49

After both freestyle relay records were broken in 2023, we got to see another one go down in 2024. Not only that but there were multiple new entries into the all-time top-10 in both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.

Florida, Cal and Arizona State were all under the 1:14 barrier in the 200, making it five swims in 12 months quicker than Auburn’s 2008 record.

The same three teams were on the podium again two days later, with Leon Marchand leading the Sun Devils to a new NCAA record as the first team under 2:44

However none of those three are the favourites this year – there’s a new sheriff in town.

Titans by name, Titanic by nature

Tennessee had a phenomenal showing in the 200 freestyle relay at SECs, breaking Florida’s NCAA and SEC record and becoming the first school sub-1:13. This was a huge drop from their previous school record of 1:13.96 from just November, and all four of the swimmers responsible will be at NCAAs.

The Vols have an unmatched first 100 in Jordan Crooks and Gui Caribe, the top two finishers from SC

Guilherme Santos (photo: Jack Spitser)

worlds this season and currently ranked 1st and 3rd in the NCAA. At SECs they went through halfway in 36-flat, four tenths ahead of Florida and over a second quicker than anyone in the NCAA has managed bar the Gators and Arizona State.

Lamar Taylor is the new swimmer on this relay after transferring in from D2 Henderson State and swam 18.25, quicker than his best time of 18.82. Nikoli Blackman was then six tenths quicker than his NCAA split last year to bring them home in 18.55. There’s no weak spot here, and they’ve got Micah Chambers and Pedro Sansone as backup (both 19.2 this season).

They also won’t need to worry about whether to leave someone like Jordan Crooks off a relay. Tennessee have only entered four, eschewing the 800 free relay entirely having hit the ‘A’ cut back in November. That indicates they might be all-in on the 200 medley relay on Day 1, so could have some momentum behind them by the time they get to this event.

Chomping on their heels

Close behind them in any case will be defending champions Florida. The Gators swam 1:13.29 at SECs, the second-quickest time in history behind Tennessee’s and faster than they went to win NCAAs in 2023 and 2024.

This will almost certainly be the relay that Florida leaves Julian Smith off, with their sprint freestyle depth already replenished after losing Macguire McDuff and Adam Chaney. The  fact that their time from SECs was a new school record shows just how quickly they’ve rebounded.

Josh Liendo is the only swimmer from last year’s quartet who also swam on the relay at SECs, with Alex Painter, Ed Fullum-Hout and Scotty Buff coming in. All three of them split under 18.5, with the pick of the bunch being Painter’s 18.18.

Sun Devils go from Strength to Strength

Amid the exodus from Arizona State last summer, one group notably added to its ranks instead. Herbie Behm’s sprint group had seen fantastic success and has hit new heights this season, aided by transfer Tommy Palmer.

The Sun Devils were DQed at Big-12s as Ilya Kharun had a -0.04 reaction time, but they went 1:13.18. That would be #2 in history behind Tennessee, although it’s tough to see where they would find improvement on that time.

1:13-low still puts them in with a shot at the top step of the podium, but the leadoff will be key to keep up with Josh Liendo and Jordan Crooks. Kharun is the best bet for that responsibility – his sprint events have levelled up in the post-Bowman era, especially in the 50’s. He’s fourth seed into the 50 free, and has been on a tear in the 50 fly as well.

Split Comparison (best legal add-ups this season)

Arizona State has the most room to move up, and could push Florida down to third. Fatigue could play its part too – eight of these 12 are seeded for a second swim in the individual 50 on Day 2.

Silver Bears No More?

Cal has finished second with 1:13s in this event in the last two years, but looks like taking a step back this season. Jack Alexy and Bjorn Seeliger give them a tremendous 1-2 punch but the graduation of Liam Bell hurts them here.

Without him, joining those two and Destin Lasco will likely be Matthew Jensen or Nans Mazellier, neither of whom were on their ACC relay and both are best suited to the 100. Luca Battaglini led off in Greensboro, but didn’t qualify individually and Cal had no room for relay-only swimmers. They still have the personnel to drop down to a 1:13-high, but that may only be enough for fourth this year.

It would be something of a shock if they were to break through and make it three runner-up finishes in a row. Seeliger will be key if that is to happen – he was well off in the individual 50 at ACC’s and the Golden Bears will need him at 18-low pace here.

Quintin McCarty (photo: Jack Spitser)

NC State set a new championship record in winning ACCs in 1:14.29, just under their previous time of 1:44.44, and should have a little more to give this week. Drew Salls is the new swimmer on this relay this year, replacing Noah Henderson, with all four of their swimmers this year capable of either a sub-19 leadoff or an 18.5 split.

Quintin McCarty was this year’s ACC champion in 18.63, and Luke Miller appeared to absolutely nail his taper last year. If he’s back down at 18.2 again the Wolfpack will be a huge threat for the podium and to the 1:14 barrier.

2024-25 NCAA Rankings, Men’s 200 Free Relay

1. Tennessee, 1:12.80 – 2025 SECs
2. Florida, 1:13.29 – 2025 SECs
3. Arizona State, 1:13.93 – 2025 Big-12s
4. NC State, 1:14.29 – 2025 ACCs
5. Michigan, 1:14.83 – 2025 Big Tens
6. Texas, 1:14.94 – 2025 SECs
7. Wisconsin, 1:15.02 – 2024 Big Tens
8. Cal, 1:15.10 – 2025 ACCs
9. Ohio State, 1:15.19 – 2025 Big Tens
10. Indiana, 1:15.33 – 2025 Big Tens

Texas were only 19th last year, but the addition of Chris Guiliano and some internal improvements have them seeded over two seconds faster than in 2024. It’s difficult to predict them dropping much time in this event given the women’s struggles last week, but they should still have enough for the top eight.

The Big Ten had the closest conference battle for the 200 free relay title. Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Indiana were all within half a second as the Wolverines won with a new conference record of 1:14.83. Only two of the 16 legs between them were over 19 seconds, both of which were leadoffs, with the fastest flying split coming from Michigan sophomore Tyler Ray (18.35).

Indiana has the most time still to give of those four and may not have been fully tapered for their conference meet. They’ll likely need a big start from Matt King, but could benefit from being in clean water in the penultimate heat.

He was only 18.6 anchoring this relay, and wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders at Big Tens. He did set a new PB of 18.92 individually in the 50, but given his prowess in long course should have more to drop.

Florida State made a statement at ACCs with a pair of 18.6s, but Michael Arkhangelskiy was only 19.45 on the leadoff and they could have more to give. The same goes for Virginia Tech, as Youssef Ramadan’s PB is half a second quicker than he led off in as they went 1:15.53.

There could be a lot of teams in the 1:14-high to 1:15-low range, and exchanges will be key. Don’t be surprised at a DQ or two.

SWIMSWAM PICKS

Dark Horse – Wisconsin

It might feel like an underhanded compliment to designate the 7th-ranked school this season as a dark horse, but a top-8 finish would be major for the Badgers. They added over a second from Big Ten’s last year to finish outside the points in 18th, and ended up with only 16 points in the overall standings. All four swimmers from their school-record setting relay will feature here including 18.7 sprinter Taiko Torepe-Ormsby, and the women’s relays all dropped time last week – something similar for the men would almost guarantee All-American status and the big points that brings.

MEN’S 400 FREE RELAY

• U.S. Open Record: 2:42.41 – Tennessee (Caribe, Blackman, Taylor, Crooks) – 2025
• American Record: 2:44.31 – NC State (Held, Ress, Molacek, Stewart) – 2018
• NCAA Record: 2:42.41 – Tennessee (Caribe, Blackman, Taylor, Crooks) – 2025
• 2024 NCAA Champion: Arizona State (Marchand, Dolan, Sammon, Kulow), 2:43.40

Just like the 200 free relay, we’ve got three main contenders and a shiny new NCAA record to aim for.

Only one of those, Florida, is a contender for the overall championship, and it may well be that the true fight in this event is between Indiana and Texas further down.

Last year Arizona State made the most of Leon Marchand’s final college race to smash the 2:44 barrier to cap off their first team title. They led wire-to-wire, and although that’s unlikely to be the case this year they’ll be in with a shout if they can match their splits from Big-12s

Behind them Cal and Florida maintained their sprint freestyle rivalry, with Florida once again coming out on top by a hair. NC State and Tennessee made up the rest of the top five, and are likely to do so again this year.

The Force Awakens

Jordan Crooks and Gui Caribe have provided a phenomenal 1-2 punch for Tennessee in the last couple of years, but both them and Tennessee have levelled up this year.

Crooks swam the first ever sub-40 split back in November, and promptly did so again at SECs with a 39.52. That kind of top-tier talent is invaluable, and no one else has been within a second of that time so far this season. Given that his teammates combined to swim no slower than 41.13 on the first three legs, he could already be in clean water if he anchors at NCAAs.

It’s the rest of the team that have contributed most to the drop from last season however. Their time at SECs was nearly three seconds faster than the school record they swam at NCAAs last year, with Lamar Taylor (40.65) and Nikoli Blackman (41.13) replacing Micah Chambers (42.21) and Bjoern Kamman (41.82).

There’s even more depth behind them too, as Pedro Sansone and Chambers give them six swimmers in the top-50 this year, two more than anyone else.

Taylor’s split at SECs was a full 1.3 seconds under his flat start best, and he could regress to the mean slightly this week. The Volunteers still have a buffer of over a second to Florida and probably have another half a second to get out of Caribe. Even if they’re slightly off like the women were last week, they’re still the favourites here.

ASU and Florida

These two teams each lost half of last year’s quartet but you almost wouldn’t know.

Florida: 2024 NCAAs vs 2025 SECs

Arizona State: 2024 NCAAs vs 2025 Big-12s

Ilya Kharun has stepped into the gap left by Leon Marchand, and with a best time of 41.03 provides the Sun Devils with a more than solid lead off. Patrick Sammon’s split is huge, and if he’s able to replicate it Florida may have a fight on their hands.

The Gators, reloading on the fly, have managed to get even faster. Alex Painter (40.85) and Scotty Buff (41.21)

Julian Smith (photo: Jack Spitser)

have come in without the relay skipping a beat, and Julian Smith (40.76) has turned into a Marchand-esque utility swimmer this year.

Liendo was ‘only’ 40.78 leading off at SECs so there’s room for them to improve further, and they’re the best-placed team to capitalise on any hiccups from Tennessee. If they can get out in front and make the Vols chase them down this could be one of the best races of the championship

Next Door Neighbours

Cal and NC State were locked in a close battle at ACCs, with Cal running out eventual winners. Of the two, Cal has more room to improve, with Bjorn Seeliger’s 41.77 leadoff an obvious place to start.

Both schools had relatively safe starts, a combined 0.68 for Cal and 0.85 for NC State. By this final relay the conference was already wrapped up. Cal were already champions, and historically go for safe starts in that position. NC State meanwhile needed a Stanford DQ to move up into 2nd, so had nothing to gain in the team race from pushing the envelope.

Each could take off around three-tenths just on exchanges at NCAAs, where they’ll have more to fight for.

Cal can bring in Destin Lasco as they look to go under 2:44 for the first time, but that quartet is likely the one that will roll out for the Wolfpack. Luke Miller led off last year in 41.31 and both Quintin McCarty and Jerry Fox have split under 41. If all goes right, they have a chance to break their school record of 2:44.31

The Title Contenders

The Hoosiers can bring in Rafael Miroslaw, who split 41.05 last year, and have Tomer Frankel and Casper Corbeau available as hail-mary options. They could get down to the 2:44s, but don’t quite have the star power to aim for the podium, although NC State is in their sights.

Chris Giuliano was a big part of Notre Dame’s relay success last year. He’ll try to do the same for Texas in 2025 (photo: Jack Spitser)

Texas swam their likely NCAA lineup at SECs, but have a lot more to give than the 2:46.65 they swam there. Chris Guiliano and Luke Hobson should both be sub-41 which would take them down to the low 2:45s, but Hubert Kos and Will Modglin would have to be on top form to take them further.

2024-25 NCAA Rankings, Men’s 400 Free Relay

1. Tennessee, 2:42.41 – 2025 SECs
2. Florida, 2:43.60 – 2025 SECs
3. Arizona State, 2:44.03, 2025 Big-12s
4. Cal, 2:44.81 – 2025 ACCs
5. NC State, 2:45.43 – 2025 ACCs
6. Indiana, 2:45.62 – 2025 Big Tens
7. Texas, 2:46.65 – 2025 SECs
8. Stanford, 2:47.09 – 2025 ACCs
9. Virginia Tech, 2:47.18, 2025 ACCs
10. Ohio State, 2:47.47 – 2024 Big Tens

Youssef Ramadan hasn’t quite been at his best this season, and Virginia Tech will need a 41-low from him if they want to crash the top-eight. They were 6th last year so certainly have the potential, but will need to be on their ‘A’ game.

Stanford will need a big Andrei Minakov leadoff in the final heat. They were 7th last year in 2:46.06, with Minakov only going 42.09. It’s looking like it will take a 2:45 for the top-eight here though, which is over a second faster than their season best and may be just out of reach.

Ohio State and Florida State both had big conference championships and come in with 2:47s, but don’t seem to have much room to move up. Matching seed and getting some points on the board would be a boon to both

SWIMSWAM PICKS

Dark Horse – Alabama

Alabama is strongest in the 800 free relay, but broke their school record in the 400 free relay at SECs in a 2:47.67. That leaves them on the outside looking in, but they’ve certainly got potential to drop. Kaique Alves, Charlie Hawke and Toni Dragoja are all individual qualifiers in the 200 free so will have the back half strength to stay in the mix, and they’ll be swimming next to a Virginia Tech squad with something to prove. Hang on to their coat tails and they could end the meet with a double whammy of another school record and a top-8 finish