By Annika Johnson on SwimSwam
2026 SEC Championships — Men
- Dates: Monday, February 16–Saturday, February 21
- Location: Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, Knoxville, TN
- Defending Champions: Texas (1x)
- Live Results
- Live Video: SEC Network+
- Schedule of Events
- Championship Central
- Teams: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M
Event Schedule
Monday, February 16
- Men’s 1-meter diving
Tuesday, February 17
- 1650 freestyle
- Women’s 1-meter diving
- 200 medley relay
- 800 freestyle relay
Wednesday, February 18
- 100 backstroke
- 200 butterfly
- 100 breaststroke
- Men’s 3-meter diving
Thursday, February 19
- 100 butterfly
- 400 individual medley
- 200 freestyle
- Women’s 3-meter diving
- 400 medley relay
Friday, February 20
- 200 breaststroke
- 50 freestyle
- 500 freestyle
- Men’s platform diving
- 200 freestyle relay
Saturday, February 21
- 200 individual medley
- 100 freestyle
- 200 backstroke
- Women’s platform diving
- 400 freestyle relay
2025 Final Standings
- Texas – 1474.5
- Florida – 1325
- Tennessee – 977.5
- Georgia – 796.5
- Texas A&M – 790
- Alabama – 667
- LSU – 579
- Auburn – 554.5
- Kentucky – 431.5
- Missouri – 362.5
- South Carolina – 338
Last year, Texas continued four decades of conference dominance on a new playing field by winning its first SEC title and snapping the Florida Gators’ 12-year win streak. The Longhorns immediately shook up the SEC after entering it last season under new head coach Bob Bowman. Their first conference championship was a relatively close battle for 1st place, with only the top two teams breaking 1000 points, though the Longhorns still beat the Gators by 149.5 points.
The 2026 SEC Championships have tight races forming down the standings, most notably between Florida and Georgia. The Bulldogs are set to jump up from their 4th-place finish last year and challenge the Gators for 2nd place. If they succeed, this would be Georgia’s first time back in the top two at SECs since 2021, and Florida’s first time outside of it since 2001. There are also strong matches shaping up in the middle of the pack between Auburn and Tennessee, and between LSU, Texas A&M, and Alabama.
Multiple Olympians are on NCAA record-watch, led by Georgia graduate student Luca Urlando, who already shattered the 200 fly NCAA and American records in November. Florida senior Josh Liendo is closer than ever to Caeleb Dressel’s 100 fly NCAA record after setting the SCM world record in October, and Tennessee senior Gui Caribe has been aiming to lower his former teammate Jordan Crooks‘ 100 free NCAA record. The meet is hosted by Tennessee at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center–a fitting stage for Caribe’s record chase.
Swimmers to Watch
Alabama – Leonardo Alcantara (Jr – free), Tommy Hagar (Jr – fly/back), Joao Pierre Campos (Fr – free), Sean Niewold (Fr – free/fly)
Last year, the Crimson Tide moved up the ranks, from 7th place in 2024 to 6th with 667 points. Junior Leonardo Alcantara has made massive strides to fill the gap left by the graduation of Charlie Hawke, the team’s top point scorer in 2025. Alcantara is ranked 3rd in the SEC in both the 500 and 1650 free, a huge improvement from where he finished at last year’s championship (30th and 7th, respectively). He’s going into this meet with momentum after lowering his 1000 free team record at their dual meet against Auburn in January. Joao Pierre Campos, a first-year from Brazil, adds depth to their distance freestyle and is ranked 19th in the SEC in the 500 and 24th in the 1650.
Junior Tommy Hagar has continued to be a powerhouse for Alabama this year, notching lifetime bests in the 50 back, 100 back, and 200 back. Dutch midseason addition Sean Niewold is ranked 11th in the 100 fly in the SEC, ahead of some big names from Texas, and on the cusp of breaking into the ‘A’ final.
The quartet of Hagar, sophomores Noah Saylor and Zarek Wilson, and senior Drayden Bell owns the 8th-fastest 400 medley relay time in the SEC. They could give Alabama crucial ‘A’ final points as our Swimulator projections–based on in-season swims–put them at risk of slipping down the rankings in a close battle with Texas A&M and Missouri.
Auburn – Ivan Tarasov (Fr – back), Daniel Krichevsky (Fr – free/fly), Abdallah Nasr (Fr – fly/free), Sohib Khaled (Sr – back/fly)
Auburn has had a much stronger season this year than last, after dropping down from 2nd place at the 2024 Championships to 8th in 2025. Young blood seems to be the main difference maker for the Tigers. Ivan Tarasov, a first-year from Russia, is on track to challenge top teams in backstroke and has swum a faster 100 back than Alabama’s Hagar this season, by .06.
Freshmen Daniel Krichevsky and Abdallah Nasr will also be a duo to watch out for in butterfly. Krichevsky just blasted a lifetime best 100 fly at the Auburn Invitational in February, a time that ranks him 16th in the SEC. Nasr’s current best 200 fly time makes him a strong B-final contender, and he’s already dropped about 7 seconds in this event across the season.
Senior Sohib Khaled holds the 9th-fastest 100 fly time in the SEC and has come within .06 of his lifetime best from March 2024. They’ll have to step up in prelims, but Auburn has the right stuff to challenge Tennessee, LSU, Texas A&M, and Alabama to rejoin the top end of the conference in team scores.
Florida – Josh Liendo (Sr – fly/free), Ahmed Jaouadi (Fr – free), Gio Linscheer (Sr – breast/free/IM), Jonny Marshall (Jr – back)
Florida faces a challenge this year after Texas joined the SEC and broke its 12-year win streak by 150 points. With Georgia surging, the Gators may find themselves fighting for second place this year.
Senior Josh Liendo is coming off a phenomenal 2025 NCAAs, where he scored the second-most individual points and came within one-third of a second of Caeleb Dressel’s 100 fly NCAA record at last year’s NCAA Championships. His momentum has clearly continued after he blasted the fastest pre-championship meet 100 butterfly of all time with a 43.42 at a midseason meet in Georgia. Liendo’s dominance is best described by the list of the top-10 100 SCY fly times of all-time in college swimming, of which he owns eight. All eyes will be on Liendo to see if he can crack 43.00 and dethrone Dressel.
First-year Ahmed Jaouadi, who was recently named SEC co-freshman of the week, owns the #1 1000 and 1650 free times in the SEC. He’s ranked #2 in the 500 free, less than half a second behind Texas star Rex Maurer. Beating Maurer, who won SEC high point scoring last year, in any event would be a big help for the Gators as they try to close the gap on Texas. Seniors Gio Linscheer and Eric Brown will add to the Gators’ distance free depth, ranked #7 and #8 in the 1650 in the SEC. Three Gators in the top eight in this event could earn the team critical points in their efforts to fend off Georgia for second place.
Junior Jonny Marshall, the two-time defending SEC champion in both the 100 and 200 back, has the chance to three-peat in both events. In breaststroke, the Gators will feel the absence of defending 100 breast champion Julian Smith, who scored the third-most individual points last year and has graduated.
Georgia – Luca Urlando (Gr – free/back/fly/IM), Ruard van Renen (Sr – free/back/fly), Elliot Woodburn (So – breast), Tomas Koski (Jr – free)
The Georgia Bulldogs are surging into this championship with newfound momentum after dropping to 4th place at last year’s SECs from their 3rd place finish in 2024. Georgia’s depth and relay performances make it a formidable challenger for Florida. Georgia swimmers hold 18 top-eight SEC times in individual events and are ranked above Florida in the 200 and 400 medley relays.
Graduate student Luca Urlando is leading the charge. Retaining Urlando, their top scorer at the 2025 NCAA championships, was already huge for the Bulldogs, and he’s been on fire this season. In November, Urlando shattered the 200 fly NCAA and American records with a 1:36.41, and he clinched his eighth NCAA qualifying time on senior day at the end of January.
Georgia’s butterfly and IM groups are one of their biggest strengths. The most critical point-scoring races shaping up for Georgia are the 100 fly–led by Urlando, senior Ruard van Renen, and sophomore Drew Hitchcock–and 400 IM–headlined by Hitchcock, Finn Hammer, and Cale Martter all in the top eight. Van Renen is also a force to be reckoned with in the 100 back with the 2nd-fastest time in the SEC, ahead of last year’s top two finishers, Florida’s Jonny Marshall and Texas’ Hubert Kos.
Sophomore Elliot Woodburn has gone off this season, logging personal bests in the 50, 100, and 200 breast. He’s a big part of Georgia’s medley relay prowess. Junior Tomas Koski had breakout swims in the 200/500 free at last year’s championships. While he hasn’t matched his best times from that meet yet this year, he’s a formidable podium threat in both, ranked 3rd and 5th in the SEC, respectively. Georgia has a real opportunity here to break back into the top two at SECs for the first time in five years.
Kentucky – Carson Hick (Jr – free), Levi Sandidge (Sr – free/IM), Lysander Osman (Fr – back/fly), Adomas Gatulis (So – free/IM)
Kentucky moved up in standings last year, from 10th in 2024 to 9th, but they may have more work to do to fend off Missouri and South Carolina in the lower half of the pack this year. Junior Carson Hick is in reach of the top of the podium in the 1650. His season-best ranks him 4th in the SEC, but his time from last year’s championship meet would put him in 2nd. Senior Levi Sandidge adds to their distance group, ranked 18th in the 1650 this year. Similarly, Sandidge’s best times are from last season.
Sophomore Adomas Gatulis is set up to have an opportunity to fend off Mizzou breaststrokers in the 100 breast. Gatulis is ranked #11 in the SEC this year, narrowly ahead of Mizzou’s Brady Johnson and Logan Ottke. Fending them off will be critical for Kentucky to maintain a lead over them.
Freshmen Lysander Osman and Falemana Tuufi have been strong additions to the team this year. Osman just blasted a best 100 back time of 45.91 in November, which puts him 15th in the SEC. Tuufi is coming off of setting the Kentucky 50 free program twice in one week in January. Ranked #10th in the SEC, Tuufi is in finals contention and a pivotal relay swimmer for the Wildcats.
LSU – Jere Hribar (Jr – free), Stepan Goncharov (Jr – free/back), Jovan Lekic (Jr – free/IM), Nikola Simic (So – free)
One thing LSU continues to deliver on is its relays. Their 200 medley quartet of junior Stepan Goncharov, sophomore Volodymyr Lisovets, redshirt junior Caleb Ellis, and junior Jere Hribar rivaled Georgia at the UGA Fall Invitational in November, pushing themselves to swim the #2 time in the SEC (1:22.42). This ranks them above Auburn, Florida, and Missouri.
Hribar blasted a personal best 200 free in November that ranks him 8th in the SEC. He’s ranked 3rd in the 50 free in a tie with Mizzou’s Luke Nebrich. Hribar has been a strong sprint free star for LSU since last year’s SECs, where he made two ‘A’ finals and one ‘B’ final, participated in three relays, and swam best times in all individual events that he raced. Goncharov is ranked 38th in the 200 IM in the SEC and was a relay staple for LSU last season, racing on four relays that placed in the top 8.
On the distance free side, LSU has junior Jovan Lekic ranked 8th in the SEC in the 500 and 9th in the 1650 free. His sophomore teammate, Nikola Simic, is 10th in the 1650, giving them an opportunity to score big together. After beating Alabama in their dual meet earlier this season, LSU is on track to edge out Texas A&M and Alabama.
Missouri – Luke Nebrich (So – free), Brady Johnson (So – back/breast/free ), Jan Zubik (Sr – fly), Logan Ottke (Jr – breast/fly)
Missouri is on course to inch closer towards the middle of the pack this year after placing 10th at the 2025 SECs. Sophomore Luke Nebrich has hit his stride this season after swimming a relay leadoff 50 free split of 18.75 that ranks him 3rd in the SEC in a tie with LSU’s Hribar. He placed 11th in this event at last year’s SECs.
Mizzou has a strong breaststroke group this year, led by sophomore Brady Johnson and junior Logan Ottke, who are ranked 12th and 14th, respectively, in the SEC in the 100 breast. Junior Matthew Mortenson is their fastest 200 breaststroker, in 17th, and is in range of scoring some critical ‘B’ final points as well. Mortenson had a stellar midseason performance in this event, dropping a 1:54.98 best time that smashed his fastest time last season by nearly four seconds. He’s mostly a 400 IM-er, ranked 12th in the SEC.
Senior Jan Zubik has notched a few lifetime bests this season, in the 200 free, 50 back, 100 back, and 400 IM. He’s the 6th-fastest 200 butterflyer in the SEC after coming within .6 of his best time from the 2024 SECs, where he placed 2nd (1:40.95).
Their 200 free relay will be a game-changer. The quartet of Nebrich, junior Darden Tate, sophomore Ethan Vance, and junior Francois Malherbe is ranked 2nd in the conference, just half a second behind Florida.
South Carolina – Pierre Largeron (Jr – free), Connor Fry (Jr – free), Einar Agustsson (Fr – breast), Ryan Hufford (Jr – free/fly/back)
South Carolina is one of two SEC teams with a roster that’s smaller than the maximum number of scoring team members they’re allowed, the other being LSU. They placed 11th last SECs, maintaining their position from 2024. While they aren’t projected to make much progress climbing out of the bottom of the conference this year, our Swimulator projection places them within striking range of Kentucky.
There are also multiple opportunities for them to rewrite their record board and score second swims. Freshman Einar Agustsson has already made progress toward this goal after blasting the second-fastest 200 breast in program history in November (1:52.58). He’s ranked 6th in the SEC and stands to score major points for the team.
South Carolina has two swimmers ranked in the top eight in distance free: Junior Pierre Largeron, who is 6th in the 500 after swimming a personal best in November, and Junior Connor Fry, who is 6th in the 1650. Junior Ryan Hufford is tied for the 5th fastest 100 free in South Carolina program history.
Tennessee – Gui Caribe (Sr – free/fly), Nikoli Blackman (Jr – free), Ulises Saravia (Fr – back/free), Koby Bujak-Upton (R-Fr – free)
Tennessee is coming off a strong performance at the 2025 SECs, finishing in 3rd place, nearly 200 points ahead of Georgia. While they will have the home pool advantage, our Swimulator projection shows the Vols moving down in rankings this year after graduating their top point scorer and relay pillar Jordan Crooks.
Senior Gui Caribe is coming close to filling the gap left by Crooks, who won the 50 for the Vols at SECs from 2022-2025. Caribe has been vocal about aiming for Crooks’ 100 free NCAA record, and he has one-third of a second to shave off to get there. Caribe helped the Vols reset their entire relay team record board last season. Caribe is ranked 1st in the 100 free in the SEC and 2nd in the 50 free.
The Vols have built up a strong freestyle group with a total of four swimmers ranked in the top 10 of the 100 freestylers in the SEC: Caribe (1st), sophomore Pedro Sansone (6th), junior Nikoli Blackman (7th), and redshirt freshman Koby Bujak-Upton (10th). First-year Ulises Saravia was pushed to personal bests in the 100 and 200 back times during the Vols dual meet against Georgia in January. His highest ranking in the SEC comes in the 100 back, where he sits 5th.
Texas – Will Modglin (Jr – back/IM), Nate Germonprez (Jr – breast/IM), Rex Maurer (Jr – free/IM), Hubert Kos (Sr – back/fly/IM)
The Texas Longhorns are the defending NCAA and SEC champions, and are projected to be the only team to score in the 1000s by our Swimulator. They have built a breaststroke and IM empire this season, holding 10 top-eight times in the NCAA across the 50, 100, and 200 breast. Junior Nate Germonprez leads the breaststroke pack–despite only starting to train breaststroke at Texas last year– and has good company in first-year Campbell McKean, junior Will Scholtz, junior Will Modglin, and senior Baylor Nelson.
Germonprez has been the only SEC swimmer to crack 50.00 in the 100 breast this season after swimming a personal best 49.71 in November, and the only swimmers under 51.00 are Longhorns (McKean, Modglin, and Scholtz). Texas is ranked 1-2-3-4 in the 200 breast, led by Scholtz, who swam an SEC record-setting time of 1:49.59 in November at the same meet.
On the IM side, Nelson, Modglin, and McKean hold the #1, #2, and #4 200 IM times in the NCAA. Nelson, a two-time SEC champion in the 400IM, transferred from Texas A&M to Texas after last season and has been a huge gain for the Longhorns. Modglin, the current back-breast king of college swimming, is knocking on the door of becoming the first college swimmer to ever go sub-20 on a 50 back split after logging a 20.00 in November.
Senior Hubert Kos #3. Kos, who scored a perfect 60 points at the 2025 NCAA Championships, has been on fire this season, lighting up two backstroke world records in short-course meters in the fall. He holds the top 200 back time in the NCAA and the third-fastest 400 IM time.
Retaining senior Rex Maurer, who won SEC high-point scoring last year, also sets Texas apart. Maurer, the fastest SEC swimmer in the 500 free, is in good form after blasting a lifetime best 200 fly time in February (1:41.71). He’s the defending 400 IM SEC champion, although Nelson, who snagged 2nd last year, holds the current fastest time in the conference. With both of them on the same team, it will be difficult for other teams to stop Texas’ momentum.
Texas A&M – Logan Brown (Jr – breast/IM), Bucky Gettys (Fr – free), Chase Swearingen (So – fly/IM), Batuhan Filiz (Fr – free)
Texas A&M’s breaststroke and IM lineup took a hit when Baylor Nelson transferred to Texas after last season, but junior Logan Brown has had great swims this season to narrow that gap. Brown is ranked 5th in the 200 breast in the SEC–behind four Texas swimmers–, 5th in the 200 IM, and 9th in the 100 breast.
Underclassmen are set to be real difference makers for the Aggies. Sophomore Chase Swearingen is ranked 4th in 100 fly in the SEC, and first-years Bucky Gettys and Batuhan Filiz are their top distance freestylers, ranked 17th and 23rd, respectively, in the 1650.
Our Swimulator projects that Texas A&M will have work to do to avoid moving down in rankings and to compete with LSU, but this doesn’t account for their strong diving crew.
Showdowns
500 freestyle – The SEC is the most competitive conference in mid-distance free this year, with four of the current top-eight times in the NCAA belonging to swimmers from Florida, Texas, and Alabama. All eyes will be on Texas’ Rex Maurer, the defending SEC champion, who narrowly beat Georgia’s Tomas Koski last year. They pushed each other well under 4:10, separated by just over one second. This season, Maurer will first have to contend with Florida first-year Ahmed Jaouadi, who is ranked 1st in the SEC and 2nd in the NCAA. Koski is ranked 5th in the SEC, and Alabama’s Leonardo Alcantara, ranked 3rd, will also be in the mix.
200 backstroke – The SEC backstroke field runs deep this year, setting up explosive rematches in what could be one of the most competitive A-finals of the meet. Florida’s Jonny Marshall is the defending champion, but Texas’ Hubert Kos, who placed 2nd last year, is ranked 1st in the NCAA and has swum one second faster than Marshall this season. Five of the top-eight spots in the NCAA rankings in this event belong to SEC swimmers, with Alabama’s Tommy Hagar ranked 3rd, Texas’ Will Modglin 7th, and Georgia’s Hayden Meyers 8th. This is a big improvement for Hagar, who placed 6th at SECs last year.
50 freestyle – The 50 free is the most unpredictable it has been in the SEC since 2022, when Jordan Crooks began a four-year title streak. With Crooks graduated, last year’s 2nd and 3rd-place finishers–Josh Liendo and Gui Caribe–are set for an exciting rematch. LSU’s Jere Hribar was 4th last year, and is tied for the #3 spot in the SEC with Missouri first-year Luke Nebrich. Liendo and Caribe are the favorites, but with all four swimmers separated by just .35 this year, the podium order is far from set.
100 butterfly – Florida’s Josh Liendo and Georgia’s Luca Urlando will go head-to-head in the 100 fly after placing 1st and 2nd, respectively, last season. Their times rank them 1-2 in the SEC, one full second ahead of third-ranked Ruard van Renen. This could be Liendo’s final NCAA postseason, and one of the last times we could see these two butterfly powerhouses race this event against each other in short-course yards. Urlando has another year of eligibility left and has said he plans to use it. This highly anticipated race will help set the tone for NCAAs in March as Liendo sits 2nd and Urlando 3rd in NCAA rankings. This is a pivotal race for Georgia, whose swimmers own three of the top eight 100 fly times in the conference.
SwimSwam Picks
- Texas
- Georgia
- Florida
- Tennessee
- Auburn
- LSU
- Texas A&M
- Alabama
- Missouri
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
Undefeated in the regular season, Texas’ dominance has been on display all year, and the Longhorns look to defend their 2025 SEC title in their second year in the conference. By midseason, they had the most swimmers with top three times in the NCAA, led by Rex Maurer (500 free/400IM), Nate Germonprez (100 breast/200 breast), Will Modglin (100 back/200back), and Baylor Nelson (200 IM).
Based on Swimulator projections, Georgia’s depth and contributions from the likes of Luca Urlando, Ruard van Renen, and Tomas Koski seem to be enough to rival Florida for 2nd place. In November, Georgia lost its dual meet to Florida, but that was without the help of Urlando. If the Bulldogs succeed, this would be their first top-two finish at SECs in five years. These projections do not factor in diving, which will make it a closer battle. Florida retained their 2025 3-meter silver medalist Conor Gesling, while Georgia still has their top two diving scorers from last year’s SECs.
Auburn is set to make big strides back toward the top of the conference, improving upon its 8th-place finish last year. After back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2023-2024, the Tigers dropped sharply, but head coach Ryan Wochomurka’s rebuilding efforts are paying off in his fifth season at the helm.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 SEC Men’s Fan Guide: Texas in Driver’s Seat, Gators and Bulldogs in Historic Race for Second
