Texas men’s swim and dive will travel to Atlanta for the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming Championships with hopes to defend its title and solidify its dynasty.
Longhorns men’s swimming head coach Bob Bowman can capture his third consecutive NCAA Championship if the Longhorns can return to Austin with a trophy in hand.
This season, Texas has continued to reestablish its identity in the Southeastern Conference with one of the most versatile rosters in collegiate swimming.
Junior Rex Maurer swam season bests in the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard individual medley at the SEC Championships in February. He heads into the championships as the No. 1 seed in the 500-yard freestyle with 4:08.46 and the No. 6 seed in the 400-yard IM at 3:36.74.
Additionally, the Longhorns exhibit one of the fastest breaststroke groups in the nation, headlined by junior Nate Germonprez, who is the only SEC swimmer to break 50 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke this season at 49.71.
Germonprez heads into the NCAA’s as the top seed in the 100-yard breaststroke, followed by freshman Campbell McKean, seeded fourth at 50.37 and junior Will Modglin, seeded eighth at 50.91.
In 2025, Texas outscored Cal by 19 points to win the national title with 490 points. Indiana took third place with 459 points and Florida finished fourth with 315 points. However, this year the Florida Gators serve as the most direct threat to the Longhorns, as the team has been consistently ranked among the top collegiate swimming programs in the nation this season.
With Florida’s addition of two world champion distance swimmers from Tunisia, North Africa, Ahmed Jaouadi and Ahmed Hafnaoui, the Gators look to dominate the 800 and 1650-yard races at the NCAA Championships.
Both Texas and Florida are favored in this year’s 200-yard medley relay with entry times around 1:20. However, Arizona State has the top times in the country in all three other relays, including the 400-yard freestyle, where Ilya Kharun, Remi Fabiani, Jonny Kulow and Adam Chaney swam an NCAA record of 2:42.15 at this year’s Big 12 Championships.
The road to repetition will not come easily for the Longhorns, as the margin of error is thin between themselves and dominant teams like Florida and Arizona State.
The NCAA Championships will open with the 1650-yard freestyle on Wednesday and conclude with platform diving on Saturday.
