﻿{"id":641435,"date":"2026-04-15T08:48:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=641435"},"modified":"2026-04-15T08:48:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:48:36","slug":"which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/","title":{"rendered":"Which College Swim Programs Improved the Most in 2026? (See Charts)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Which College Swim Programs Improved The Most In 2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Best times. Meet records. Podium finishes. For every swimmer, championship season is about achieving a new goal, reaching heights they\u2019ve never seen. Athletes work for months for an opportunity to meet the moment, to finally see their work pay off.<\/p>\n<p>In the midst of this focused journey, however, there\u2019s often an unsung hero: the coach. As leaders of their respective programs, coaches look to take their teams to new heights every year, just like their swimmers. The direction of the team is essential to their future, making it essential that the group grows and flourishes.<\/p>\n<p>With the championship season now on the backburner, we can take a look at the direction of the NCAA\u2019s top programs. Which teams improved the most in 2026? And can they continue the growth?<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Division I Men: UVA Leads the Way<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Growth was a common theme across the top of Division I Men\u2019s NCAA\u2019s this season. Six of the top 10 teams scored more points in 2026 than in 2025, four of them by at least 50 points.<\/p>\n<p>Of these improved squads, though, Virginia stood out above the rest, scoring 178 more points in 2026. The Cavaliers were led by an incredibly strong group of underclassmen, as first-years <strong>Maximus Williamson<\/strong> and <strong>Thomas Heilman<\/strong> delivered clutch performances for the team. Williamson led the way with a pair of individual titles in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-mens-championships-maximus-williamson-pulls-off-lane-8-stunner-in-200-free\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">200 freestyle<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-mens-championships-maximus-williamson-adds-200-im-title\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">200 IM<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>With a plethora of young talent and a strong recruiting class coming in, the sky is the limit for the Cavs in 2027.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"641437\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/untitled-design-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Division 1 Men&#8217;s Teams Who Improved Most This Season(by points)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;A chart of the top 5 most improved Division 1 Men&#8217;s Teams in points at NCAA Championships&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641437 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Division I Women: Golden Bears Barely Beat Out Wolverines<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>While the amount of program-wide improvement was less on the women\u2019s side, the battle for which team improved the most was tighter than any other meet. In the end, Cal beat out Michigan by just half a point for the top spot, with both programs making waves in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Cal\u2019s influx of youth was huge towards their success, bringing in top recruits <strong>Claire Weinstein<\/strong>, <strong>Mia<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>West<\/strong> and <strong>Teagan O\u2019Dell<\/strong>. While O&#8217;Dell is leaving the program after one season, the Bears could be a force for years to come as Weinstein, West and others continue to improve and\u00a0<strong>Rylee Erisman<\/strong> prepares to join the roster.<\/p>\n<p>The Wolverines\u2019 improved success mostly came in a different form: from internal growth, and a key transfer. The addition of <strong>Bella Sims<\/strong> was huge for the team, giving them a podium finisher in three events.<\/p>\n<p>The team\u2019s internal improvement should be emphasized as well, however. Junior <strong>Hannah Bellard<\/strong> and <strong>Letitia Sim<\/strong> both saw significant growth this season, becoming finalists. Both will be key cogs in this team\u2019s future, as they look to build on their strong season.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"641438\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/untitled-design-2-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Top 5 Most Improved Division 1 Women&#8217;s Teams by NCAA Points\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;A chart of the top 5 most improved Division 1 Women&#8217;s Teams in points at the NCAA Championships&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641438 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Division II Men: Colorado Mesa Rises to the Occasion<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Amongst the Division II men, one team clearly stood out as the biggest riser. Colorado Mesa scored a whopping 260 more points in 2026 than in 2025, the biggest turnaround of any program in college swimming.<\/p>\n<p>The Mavericks\u2019 rise was a multi-faceted one, The team\u2019s strong recruiting class was a huge boost, with first-year <strong>Guillaume Gath<\/strong> making an immediate impact. But the improvement of swimmers <strong>Ben Vester<\/strong> and <strong>Richard Schmiefield<\/strong> was also crucial, helping them to a podium finish.<\/p>\n<p>The team will look to carry their success into next season, hoping to reach new heights in back-to-back years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"641449\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/untitled-design-4-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-4.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Top 5 Most Improved Division II Men&#8217;s Teams\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;A chart of the top 5 most improved Division II Men&#8217;s Teams in points at the 2026 NCAA Championships&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-4-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-4-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641449 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-4-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Division II Women: Tampa Turns Up for Champs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When it came to the Division II women, no leap came close to that of the University of Tampa. The team improved by 204.5 points in 2026, helping earn them a 2nd place finish, after placing 6th in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Tampa returned most of the team from the year prior, but was able to make big leaps, even after graduating multiple key contributors. An incredible showing by sophomore <strong>Burley Bokos<\/strong>, and a breakout season by junior <strong>Lindsey Louder<\/strong> helped lead the Spartans to their best finish since 1988.<\/p>\n<p>With most of the same team intact for the 26-27 season, it\u2019ll be exciting to see if the Spartans can take another step and contend for the title.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"641463\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/untitled-design-12-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-12.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Top 5 Most Improved Division II Women&#8217;s Teams\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;A chart of the top 5 most improved Division II Women&#8217;s Teams in points at the 2026 NCAA Championships&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-12-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-12-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641463 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-12-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Division III Men: NYU Reaches The Podium<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Like many of our other big risers, NYU had experienced success before, having finished 4th the year prior. But the team\u2019s jump in 2026 was still a shocking one, as they propelled to second place at the championship meet.<\/p>\n<p>First-year <strong>Connor Dean<\/strong> and transfer <strong>Teddy Cross<\/strong> were welcome additions to the team, both reaching the podium in their first year as Violets.<\/p>\n<p>A perennial contender at D3 champs, the team will look to continue to build, eyeing a first-place finish in 2027.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"641464\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/untitled-design-13\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-13.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Top 5 Most Improved Division III Men&#8217;s Teams\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;A chart of the top 5 most improved Division III Men&#8217;s Teams in points at the 2026 NCAA Championships&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-13-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-13-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641464 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-13-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Division III Women: Emory Soars to Second<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Not much fluctuation was seen at the top of the Division III Women\u2019s standings, with a handful of standout programs continuing their dominance. One program that managed to show some improvement, though, was the Emory Eagles.<\/p>\n<p>Emory built on their 2025 score by 95.5 points in 2026, helping them go from a 5th-place finish to 2nd. Junior <strong>Sammi Thiele\u2019s<\/strong> dominant showing, and strong swims from transfer <strong>Emma Lunn<\/strong>, helped the team return to the podium for the third time in five years.<\/p>\n<p>The Eagles will be in a good position to replicate their success once again a year from now, returning much of their talent from this past season.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"641465\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/untitled-design-14\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-14.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Top 5 Most Improved Division III Women&#8217;s Teams\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;A chart of the top 5 most improved Division III Women&#8217;s Teams in points at the 2026 NCAA Championships&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-14-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-14-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641465 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-14-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Which College Swim Programs Improved The Most In 2026? Best times. Meet records. Podium finishes. For every swimmer, championship season is about achieving a new goal, reaching heights they\u2019ve never<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146625,"featured_media":639262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[36297,44804],"class_list":["post-641435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college","tag-college-swimming","tag-ncaa-swimming"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Which College Swim Programs Improved the Most in 2026?<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the championship season now on the backburner, we can take a look at the direction of the NCAA\u2019s top programs.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Which College Swim Programs Improved the Most in 2026? (See Charts)\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With the championship season now on the backburner, we can take a look at the direction of the NCAA\u2019s top programs.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T15:48:36+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/venue-2026-Womens-NCAA-SD-2036-Edit-scaled.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adam Denn\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adam Denn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/which-college-swim-programs-improved-the-most-in-2026-see-charts\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Adam Denn\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a7904f11969e6b25ae1d2b31f86f0a\"},\"headline\":\"Which College Swim Programs Improved the Most in 2026? 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