Longhorns Reclaim NCAA Title: The Texas men have returned to the top of the NCAA swimming & diving mountain, as the Longhorns won the national title for the first time since 2021 after an exciting battle with Cal and Indiana in Federal Way. Also: All of the highlights and records broken at Men's NCAAs, Bella Sims accepts "no fault or negligence" after a positive doping test in September, and the second Pro Swim Series event of the year is set to get underway in Sacramento. Texas Men Win NCAA Title In Bowman's First Year When Bob Bowman was announced as the new Director of Swimming and head men's coach at the University of Texas on April 1, 2024, the Longhorn men were coming off a 7th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, their lowest finish since 2005. Fast forward 12 months, and Bowman has led Texas back to the top of the mountain, as the Longhorns won the NCAA title on Saturday, their first championship since 2021 and 16th in program history. They finished with 490 points at meet's end, with the Cal Golden Bears (471) a close runner-up and Indiana placing 3rd with 459 points. Leading the charge for Texas was Hubert Kos, who followed Bowman to Austin from Arizona State, as the Hungarian swept the 100 back (43.20), 200 back (1:34.21) and 200 IM (1:37.91), setting new NCAA and U.S. Open Records in both backstroke events. Kos lowered Luca Urlando's 100 back record of 43.35 set in 2022, and in the 200 back, he knocked more than a second off Destin Lasco's all-time record of 1:35.37 set last season. Kos scored the maximum 60 points individually, and Texas had three more swimmers score more than 40 points en route to the team title. Sophomore Rex Maurer, who, like Kos, is a transfer addition to the Longhorns this season, won the 500 free (4:05.35) and 400 IM (3:34.00), and was also the runner-up in the 1650 free (14:25.22) to score 57 points. Senior Luke Hobson made it three straight titles in the 200 free, re-lowering his NCAA, American and U.S. Open Record in a time of 1:28.33. Hobson set the previous record of 1:28.81 en route to winning the 2024 title. Hobson was also the runner-up to Maurer in the 500 free (4:06.34) and 9th in the 100 free (41.31) to score 45 points, while Chris Guiliano, another transfer addition this season, put up 44.5 points after finishing 2nd to Hobson in the 200 free (1:29.42), and placing 5th in both the 50 free (18.48) the 100 free (40.53). Texas also grabbed a win in the 200 medley relay after Florida was disqualified after touching first (under the all-time record), with the Longhorns' squad of Will Modglin (20.32), Nate Germonprez (22.83), Kos (19.33) and Guiliano (17.70) combining for a time of 1:20.28, just 13 one-hundredths off the NCAA Record set by Florida at SECs (1:20.15). Texas added runner-up finishes in the 800 free and 400 medley relays, while David Johnston (30), Germonprez (25), Modglin) and diver Jacob Welsh (20) were also key contributors with 20+ points. Read more on Texas' title here. Final Team Standings – Top 10 - Texas – 490
- California – 471
- Indiana – 459
- Florida – 315
- Tennessee – 266.5
- Arizona St – 248
- Georgia – 238.5
- Stanford – 216
- NC State – 178
- Virginia Tech – 107.5
Six NCAA & U.S. Open Records Go Down At Men's NCAA Championships The Men's NCAA Championships got off to a blistering start on Wednesday night and didn't slow down the rest of the meet as a total of six all-time records were broken over the course of the meet. After Florida went under its own 200 medley relay record before getting DQed in the first event of the meet, the Cal Golden Bears and Texas Longhorns engaged in an epic battle in the 800 free relay on Wednesday, with both teams going well under the U.S. Open and NCAA Record. The Cal quartet of Jack Alexy (1:30.02), Gabriel Jett (1:29.16), Destin Lasco (1:29.10) and Lucas Henveaux (1:31.47) combined for a time of 5:59.75, shattering the previous NCAA and U.S. Open Record of 6:02.26 they set at last year's meet while becoming the first team under six minutes in history. Texas was a close runner-up in 6:00.08, putting them well under the American Record of 6:03.24 set by the same four swimmers—Luke Hobson, Rex Maurer, Chris Guiliano and Coby Carrozza—at the SEC Championships in February. In individual events, in addition to Hobson's 200 free and Kos' double in the 100 and 200 back, we all saw new all-time records come from Tennessee's Jordan Crooks and Georgia's Luca Urlando. After winning the 50 free (17.91) on Night 2, Crooks took down Caeleb Dressel's NCAA and U.S. Open Record in the prelims of the 100 free, clocking 39.83 to erase Dressel's mark of 39.90 set in 2018. In the final, Florida's Josh Liendo made it three straight titles, running down Crooks on the last 25 to win the event and become the third swimmer sub-40 in 39.99, with Crooks 2nd in 40.06. We also saw Urlando break his own American, NCAA and U.S. Open Record in the 200 fly on the final night of racing, as he went out like a rocket through the 150 and despite fading a tad on the last two lengths, Urlando held on to touch in a time of 1:36.43, knocking off his previous record of 1:37.17 set in January. In the last event of the meet, Tennessee's Gui Caribe (40.57), Lamar Taylor (41.02), Nikoli Blackman (41.35) and Crooks (39.36) combined for a time of 2:42.30 in the 400 free relay, inching under their own record of 2:42.41 set at the SEC Championships in February. Additionally, the Vols also won the 200 free relay in 1:12.84, just four one-hundredths shy of the all-time record they set at SECs (1:12.80). We also saw new American Records broken by Indiana in the 200 medley relay (1:20.92) and NC State in the 400 medley relay (3:01.34) despite them finishing 5th and 9th, respectively. Other Event Winners Bella Sims Agrees To Finding of No Fault After Positive Doping Test American Olympian and University of Florida sophomore Bella Sims has agreed to a finding of fault after testing positive for the banned substance hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) in September 2024. The International Testing Agency (ITA) announced Monday that due to the "no fault or negligence" finding and Sims accepting it, there were no sanctions imposed. A sample collected from Sims during an unannounced out-of-competition doping test on September 29, 2024, returned an adverse analytical finding for HCTZ, the ITA reported. The drug is a diuretic that’s considered a specified substance under class S5 Diuretics and Masking Agents on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. While diuretics are commonly prescribed to treat hypertension and cardiovascular disorders, the United States National Institute of Health (NIH) states that they can cause rapid weight loss and act as a masking agent for other prohibited substances which is why they are on WADA's Prohibited List. Sims, 19, was able to establish that the presence of HCTZ in her testing sample came from an anti-inflammatory prescription medication that she was taking that did not have HCTZ listed on its label but was found to have been contaminated by the banned substance following an analysis. The Aquatics Integrity Unit (AQIU) noted in its statement on the decision that Sims declared the use of this medication on the doping control form during the unannounced drug test. Sims released a statement on Instagram following the announcement of the news on Monday: “It was announced today by World Aquatics that I have been cleared of any wrongdoing after a full investigation determined I was not at fault for the presence of a banned substance called Hydrochlorothiazide detected in my urine sample collected on September 29, 2024. World Aquatics’ investigation found that the banned substance was in a contaminated medicine I was prescribed after being diagnosed with a torn labrum in my hip. Until this happened to me, I never understood that prescription medicine could be contaminated with substances not listed on the label. This has been a very stressful time for me, but I am grateful to my family, the University of Florida, and World Aquatics for supporting me and standing by me.”
The NCAA is not a WADA signatory, so Sims was still eligible to compete throughout the 2024-25 NCAA season, most recently at the Women's NCAA Championships where she had two runner-up finishes in the 100 and 200 backstroke. On Tuesday, Sims entered the NCAA transfer portal. Read more here. 2025 Pro Swim Series – Sacramento To Kick Off Wednesday The second of three Pro Swim Series stops on the 2025 schedule is on the slate this week, as an international field heads to Sacramento. The field includes a strong contingent from Australia, including world champion Sam Short, and a strong French squad headlined by Maxime Grousset and Beryl Gastaldello. There are also several swimmers scheduled to be in attendance coming off the NCAA Championships, including the likes of Luca Urlando, Matt Fallon, Carles Coll-Marti and Youssef Ramadan, plus some domestic pros including Katharine Berkoff, Michael Andrew and Trenton Julian. Full Meet Info: You can find full meet coverage here. Quick Hits
By Madeline Folsom on SwimSwam The Texas men are your 2025 Men's NCAA Division I Champions, scoring 490 points to officially earn their 16th NCAA Title, and their first under Bob Bowman Read the full story on SwimSwam: In Bowman Year #1, Texas Men’s Swimming & Diving Retakes Throne as 2025 NCAA Champions
By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam Crooks has been sub-40 on relays four times now and holds the top three relay splits of all-time. Caribe also led off faster today than at SECs. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Tennessee Breaks Own NCAA Record In 400 Free Relay, Crooks Swims #1 Split All-Time With 39.36
By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam Texas junior Hubert Kos absolutely obliterated the NCAA record in the 200-yard backstroke, swimming a time of 1:34.21 to secure the national title. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Texas’ Hubert Kos Rockets To 1:34.21 200 Back, Smashes NCAA Record By More Than Full Second
By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam Bella Sims tested positive for banned substance HCTZ in a fall drug test but the ITA cleared Sims of wrongdoing after an investigation announced Mar. 31. Read the full story on SwimSwam: ITA Finds Bella Sims Had “No Fault Or Negligence” For Positive Drug Test After Investigation
By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam Texas swept the CSCAA's Men's DI Swimmer and Swim Coach of the Year honors, which Indiana matched by winning both diving awards. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Texas Sweeps Swimming CSCAA Men’s DI Honors, Indiana Does The Same On The Boards
By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam Gretchen Walsh wins the Swammy for Women's NCAA Swimmer of the Year for a second-straight season following a historic outing at 2025 NCAA Championships. Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 NCAA Swammy Awards: Women’s NCAA Swimming and Diving
By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam Nelson just finished his junior season while Wimberly just finished his first year at Texas A&M. Wimberly was a relay-only swimmer at NCAAs. Read the full story on SwimSwam: NCAA ‘A’ Finalist Baylor Nelson And Teammate Jacob Wimberly Enter Transfer Portal
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The Texas men are your 2025 Men's NCAA Division I Champions, scoring 490 points to officially earn their 16th NCAA Title, and their first under Bob Bowman
Crooks has been sub-40 on relays four times now and holds the top three relay splits of all-time. Caribe also led off faster today than at SECs.
Texas junior Hubert Kos absolutely obliterated the NCAA record in the 200-yard backstroke, swimming a time of 1:34.21 to secure the national title.
Bella Sims tested positive for banned substance HCTZ in a fall drug test but the ITA cleared Sims of wrongdoing after an investigation announced Mar. 31.
Texas swept the CSCAA's Men's DI Swimmer and Swim Coach of the Year honors, which Indiana matched by winning both diving awards. 
Gretchen Walsh wins the Swammy for Women's NCAA Swimmer of the Year for a second-straight season following a historic outing at 2025 NCAA Championships.
Nelson just finished his junior season while Wimberly just finished his first year at Texas A&M. Wimberly was a relay-only swimmer at NCAAs.
