Luka Mladenovic Transferring to Texas, Joining Loaded Breaststroke Group
On the way to a national title in men’s swimming and diving this season, the Texas Longhorns scored a whopping 59 points in the breaststroke events. All four swimmers responsible for those points will return for the 2026-27 campaign, and another strong swimmer will join the group. Luka Mladenovic, a native of Austria, has signed with Texas after one year representing the Michigan Wolverines.
The Texas program announced Mladenovic’s addition in an Instagram post Monday. Mladenovic is coming off a strong freshman season in which he finished third in the 200 breast at the NCAA Championships and fifth in the 100, less than a tenth behind new teammate Nate Germonprez for a top-three finish in the shorter event. Mladenovic also scored as the 15th-place swimmer in the 200 IM. His time of 1:49.34 in the 200 breast made Mladenovic the 15th-fastest performer in history, and his 50.47 in the 100 sits in a tie for 16th.
His addition will put Texas in position for an enormous breaststroke haul once again next season. At the 2026 national meet, Campbell McKean and Germonprez finished second and third, respectively, in the 100 while Will Modglin also reached the championship final. Germonprez was fifth in the 200 while Will Scholtz scored a point with his 16th-place result. Even following the graduation of Hubert Kos, Texas figures to enter the season favored for a third consecutive national title with mid-distance star Rex Maurer as the most accomplished swimmer on the roster.
Aside from his collegiate racing, Mladenovic is also emerging as an international contender in the breaststroke events. Last year, he tied for eighth in the semifinals of the 50-meter breast at the World Championships, and he defeated France’s Antoine Viquerat in a swim-off to advance to the final. Mladenovic again ended up eighth in that heat. Later in the year, he captured bronze medals in the 100 and 200 breast at the European Short Course Championships. Prior to that, Mladenovic was the world junior champion in the 100 breast in 2022.