SwimSwam McIntosh Shines In Westmont, NCAA Roster Cuts & Cal Poly Cuts Swim & Dive Program

McIntosh Marvels In Westmont: Summer McIntosh kicked off the 2025 Pro Swim Series schedule in style over the weekend in Westmont, setting a new U.S. Open Record in the 400 IM and a PSS Record in the 200 fly as she went three-for-three in her events.

Also: NCAA teams make seismic roster cuts ahead of this week's transfer portal opening, Cal Poly cuts its swimming & diving program, and everything you need to know about the Women's and Men's NCAA Championship psych sheets.

McIntosh Dominates, Mijatovic Resets NAG Record At Westmont Pro Swim

The opening Pro Swim Series event of 2025 was a star-studded affair, and it was the world's best female swimmer who stole the show in Westmont.

Summer McIntosh had already shown she's on incredible form in early 2025, and that continued over the weekend as the 18-year-old Canadian won all three of her events, setting new records in two of them.

McIntosh opened the meet in the women's 200 fly, posting a world-leading time of 2:06.40 in the prelims before dropping down to 2:04.00 in the final, shattering Regan Smith's Pro Swim Record (2:04.80) in what was the eighth-fastest performance in history.

The next night in the 400 IM, McIntosh put up an eye-popping time of 4:26.98 to break her own U.S. Open Record of 4:28.61 from 2022 while marking the fourth-fastest swim ever. It's also faster than she went en route to winning gold in the Olympic final (4:27.71).

McIntosh closed the meet by dominating the 200 IM in 2:07.42, making her the fastest swimmer in the world this season by three seconds.

Other PSS Highlights

• American Regan Smith had a strong showing with wins in the women's 100 back (58.64), 200 back (2:08.33) and 100 fly (56.85) to go along with a runner-up finish behind McIntosh in the 200 fly (2:06.87).
• Winning four events on the women's side was Kate Douglass, who topped the 50 free (24.62), 100 breast (1:06.51), 200 breast (2:22.60) and 50 fly (25.71), with the 50 fly time marking a new PB.
• Australian Sam Short won the men's 400 free (3:44.83) and 800 free (7:45.02), setting a new Pro Swim Record in the latter.
• Pleasanton Seahawks' Luka Mijatovic placed 4th in the 400 free final in a time of 3:48.95, breaking his 15-16 NAG Record of 3:49.24 from the 2024 Junior Pan Pacs.
• Shaine Casas was a dominant force for the men, winning six events: 100 free (48.31), 200 free (1:47.17), 50 back (24.23), 100 back (53.54), 200 back (1:58.51) and 100 fly (50.82).

You can find full Pro Swim coverage here.

College Programs Make Significant Roster Cuts

College programs across the country made significant cuts to their roster last week in anticipation of the opening of the transfer portal.

Beginning next season, if the House settlement is approved (with the final approval hearing less than one month away), teams will be required to cut their rosters down to 30 men and 30 women, with the exception of men's teams in the SEC, which will have to go all the way down to 22.

• You can check out current roster numbers at the College Swim Connect Roster Cut Tracker.

The transfer portal for women will open on Wednesday, March 12, while the men's portal will open one week later, on March 19.

Read more on the roster cuts here.

Read about the NCAA transfer portal rules here.

Cal Poly Cuts Swim & Dive Programs Beginning Next Season

The Cal Poly Athletic Department announced it was cutting its men's and women's swimming & diving programs effective immediately on Friday.

The Mustangs, which represent California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., are a Division I school competing in the Big West conference.

Cal Poly president Jeffrey D. Armstrong said “financial realities” were at the root of the decision, specifically pointing to the House v. NCAA settlement as the cause of their programs losing at least $450,000 per year.

“While this is disappointing news to share, the financial realities made the decision unavoidable," he said.

“Unfortunately, Cal Poly is not immune to the rapidly evolving and changing NCAA Division I landscape, which presents many challenges and uncertainties for collegiate athletics programs. The House vs. NCAA settlement, which addresses past and future compensation for student-athletes related to name, image and likeness (NIL) rights, will have a significant financial impact—resulting in a loss of at least $450,000 per year for our programs. This comes amid additional national class-action lawsuits pending against the NCAA, further compounding financial and operational challenges for collegiate athletics.”

Armstrong said "the overall financial health of the athletic department is the primary season" for the cuts, but the House settlement "has an impact on the department finances' impacting the entire university.

The school isn't planning on cutting any other athletic programs.

Cal Poly has 58 swimmers and divers on their current roster, 29 men and 29 women.

In an FAQ published by the athletics department, the question: "Why swimming and diving and not a different sport" was given the following answer:

“A combination of factors, including conference stability, lack of current investment from alumni and donors, and the gap in current funding to be competitive vs. what is presently afforded."

The Mustangs are coming off competing at the Big West Conference Championships in mid-February, where the women’s team placed 6th out of six teams and the men finished 3rd out of five teams.

Read more here.

Women's NCAA Psych Sheets Finalized, Men's Pre-Selection Released

The official psych sheets for the 2025 Women's NCAA Championships were released last Wednesday after the pre-selection entries gave us a glimpse of what everyone will be racing at the meet next week.

The official psych sheets told us which swimmers qualified for the meet and where the cutline fell—one line into row 38—with NC State's Casaundra Moses initially listed as the first alternate.

However, Nevada's Scarlett Ferris was forced to withdraw from the meet with an injury, moving Moses into the meet.

• See the Women's NCAA psych sheet scoring breakdown here.
• Read about the 26 mid-major qualifiers for Women's NCAAs here.
• See the Women's NCAA Pick 'em Contest here.

The pre-selection psych sheets for the Men's NCAA Championships were released on Tuesday, with the official document set to drop on Wednesday.

Notable entries for the meet include Tennessee's Jordan Crooks opting for the 200 free over the 100 fly, Cal's Gabriel Jett entering the 200 back instead of the 200 fly, and Cal's Lucas Henveaux picking the 400 IM over the 200 free.

• You can find a full psych sheet breakdown here.
• See where the cutline projects to fall here.

The 2025 Women's NCAA Championships will run from March 19-22, and then the men's meet will follow on March 26-29, both at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way, Washington.

Quick Hits

• Florida Gulf Coast plans to offer 18 scholarships to its women's swimming & diving team next season, an increase from the previous limit of 11.
• Maryville University, a Division II program, has cut its swimming program after consecutive last-place finishes at the GLVC Championships.
• Indiana's Luke Barr recorded the fastest time ever in the men's 100 IM (SCY) at the IU Last Chance Meet on Saturday, clocking 45.74 to top the previous mark of 46.33 set by Shaine Casas in 2020.
• Augustana University's Bryn Greenwaldt is set to compete at the Division II NCAA Championships for both swimming & diving and track & field next weekend.
• The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has received a $100 million donation that will see U.S. Olympians receive $200,000 in benefits ($100,000 in payments, $100,000 in life insurance benefits) for every Olympics they compete in beginning in 2026.
• USA Swimming released its demographic report for the 2024 registration year, showing stable membership but a declining retention rate.
• Keep up to date with the NCAA Zone Diving Championships, which kicked off on Sunday and will run through Wednesday.
• USA Swimming's Board of Directors Chair Chris Brearton has outlined how the organization will approach the second round of searching for a new CEO after Chrissi Rawak's surprise withdrawal.
• Fishers Area Swimming Tigers (FAST) head coach Joe Keller has been diagnosed with a meningioma brain tumor. Keller is scheduled for surgery on April 3 and has been given a positive prognosis.
• Luke Ellis, Maximus Williamson and Claire Weinstein all had impressive performances at the Speedo Sectionals in Justin, Texas— see full recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Summer McIntosh Breaks Own 400 IM US Open Record with 4:26.98

College Swimming & Diving Programs Make Huge Roster Cuts Ahead of Portal Opening

Cal Poly Cutting Men’s & Women’s Swimming & Diving Programs Effective Immediately

NCAA Releases Pre-Selection Psych Sheets For 2025 Men’s NCAA Division I Championships

Luka Mijatovic Breaks His Own 15-16 NAG Record in the 400 Freestyle

Virginia Looking for Five-Peat: Scoring the 2025 Women’s NCAA Championships Pysch Sheets