{"id":608318,"date":"2025-03-25T04:31:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T11:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=608318"},"modified":"2025-03-25T04:31:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T11:31:46","slug":"ncaa-mens-championships-preview-cal-seeking-return-to-the-top-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-mens-championships-preview-cal-seeking-return-to-the-top-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Men’s Championships Preview: Cal Seeking Return to the Top (Predictions)"},"content":{"rendered":"

NCAA Men’s Championships Preview: You Can Count on Cal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amid all the changes that have happened since last year\u2019s NCAAs \u2014 jumpstarted by Arizona State\u2019s national championship coach, Bob Bowman<\/strong>, replacing legendary Eddie Reese<\/strong> at Texas as head coach \u2014 some things remain the same: In March, the Cal men never miss. And that\u2019s why Swimming World projects this team to come out on top after the final splashes of the 2025 NCAA Championships.<\/em><\/p>\n

Last March, the Arizona State Sun Devils captured their first national title in men\u2019s swimming and diving with a dominant performance at the NCAA Championships. Superstar Leon Marchand<\/strong> scored three individual victories and spearheaded two further relay wins, while Zalan Sarkany<\/strong> and Ilya Kharun<\/strong> also had individual wins, and Hubert Kos<\/strong> and Owen McDonald<\/strong> each recorded multiple individual top-three finishes. Arizona State scored 523.5 points to defeat two-time defending champion California by a 79-point margin.<\/p>\n

Arizona State is returning a strong group for the title defense, but of the standout performers from last year\u2019s team, only Kharun returns. Less than 48 hours after securing the win, head coach Bob Bowman<\/strong> departed for the University of Texas, and an exodus of high-level talent ensued. Marchand has turned professional, while Kos went with Bowman to Texas, and both Sarkany and McDonald joined the Indiana Hoosiers.<\/p>\n

For 2025, an epic contest for the national title could be in store. Texas, which finished outside the top-three last season for the first time in a decade-and-a-half, has reloaded, while Cal never went anywhere and will be favored to finish in the top-two for a 15th consecutive NCAA Championships. Indiana might have its best team during Ray Looze\u2019s<\/strong> long tenure with the program, while Florida, ASU, NC State and Tennessee should be in the chase.<\/p>\n