College Swimming Check-in: The Non-Superstar Men in Pole Position
In the first college swimming season following the departure of Leon Marchand to the professional ranks, the early candidate to take over the mantle of the country’s top male swimmer is another Arizona State Sun Devil. Ilya Kharun won Olympic bronze in both butterfly events this summer, and he is currently the nationwide leader in the yards versions of the 100 and 200 fly plus the 50 and 100 freestyle.
In addition to Kharun, Hubert Kos and Luke Hobson are returning to college swimming after winning individual medals in Paris, with both men sitting in first place in a pair of individual events, Kos in the 200 IM and Hobson in the 200 free. As for other individual events, it’s too early to examine the 1650 free, with few top contenders having raced the event yet in dual meets. In backstroke, breaststroke and the two mid-distance events, though, swimmers with no NCAA titles to their credit are currently ranked first.
Rex Maurer, Texas: 500 Freestyle (4:11.20) & 400 IM (3:40.90)
Transferring to the University of Texas has been the spark that has launched Maurer’s career into the college elite. He finished 31st in the 500 free and 30th in the 400 IM as a freshman at Stanford, but he has already recorded times that would have scored at last year’s NCAA Championships in these two events as well as the 200 free, in which his time of 1:32.13 ranks third nationally behind Hobson and Georgia’s Tomas Koski.
Will Modglin, Texas: 100 Backstroke (44.81)
This former National High School Swimmer of the Year took on a huge role on a depleted Longhorns team last year, and he acquitted himself nicely, with consolation final finishes in both backstroke events, and then he excelled in long course with a pair of finals appearances at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Now, Modglin is two tenths ahead of the field in an event where past champions Brendan Burns and Kacper Stokowski each exhausted their eligibility after last season.
Owen McDonald — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Owen McDonald, Indiana: 200 Backstroke (1:38.13)
McDonald leads the national rankings in this event by one measly hundredth, having touched out Kos, his former teammate at Arizona State, when Texas hosted Indiana. McDonald finished second in the 200 IM at last season’s NCAA Championships and third behind Destin Lasco and Kos in the 200 back, and now he projects as the top individual swimmer on an Indiana team that might be the best yet in head coach Ray Looze’s tenure.
Denis Petrashov, Louisville: 100 Breaststroke (51.50)
He finished 23rd in the 100-meter breast while representing Kyrgyzstan at the Paris Olympics after qualifying for the semifinals in all three breaststroke events at the Doha World Championships, but Petrashov has always been elite in yards. He finished third in the 100-yard event at the last two NCAA Championships. Liam Bell dominated the event last season, swimming the fastest time ever in the process, but this event will be completely open for the taking this season.
Carles Coll Marti, Virginia Tech: 200 Breaststroke (1:50.77)
This Hokies senior has been an NCAA A-finalist in the 200 breast in all four years of his college career, topping out at third place in 2024 behind Marchand and Matt Fallon. Now, as a fifth-year swimmer and with Marchand out of college, Coll Marti has positioned himself for a run at the title, although Fallon and the Indiana duo of Jassen Yep and Josh Matheny will be extremely hard to beat. Fallon and Coll Marti are the only active NCAA swimmers to ever swim below 1:50 in the event.