Here Are the NCAA Champions Returning for the 2022 Championship Season | SwimSwam

By Emma Edmund on SwimSwam

The 2022 NCAAs are scheduled to take place March 16-19 for women and March 23-26 for men. SwimSwam took a look at last year’s NCAA championships to see who’s coming back and who’s gone for good.

Several of the most successful swimmers from last year’s meet will not be returning. Paige Madden, who won the 200, 500, and 1650 freestyle, as well as the 800 free relay, for Virginia, graduated in 2021. Ryan Hoffer, who won the 50 and 100 free, 100 fly, and the 200 and 400 free relay for Cal, also graduated at the end of last season.

Other competitors won’t be returning, even though they might have qualified. Shaine Casas went pro this year instead of rounding out his time at Texas A&M. He won the 200 IM and 100 and 200 back at the 2021 NCAAs, and he won the 2021 Swammy for NCAA Male Swimmer of the Year.

Jordan Windle, the NCAA champion on the 1-meter board, was suspended by the U.S. Center for Safe Sport on allegations of misconduct. The NCAA, as of 2020, is not required to enforce the suspension, but Texas has suspended him from all team activities.

Some key players from last year’s championships are returning, like NCAA Female Swimmer of the Year Maggie MacNeil. She’ll be representing Michigan as a senior. Virginia sophomore Alex Walsh is returning, this year competing with her sister and other swimming phenom Gretchen Walsh, a freshman. Olympian Kate Douglass is also returning for Virginia.

The breaststroke king and queen from last year – Max McHugh and Sophie Hansson – are both returning as seniors. Hansson has also spent this season on the international scale, breaking the Swedish record in the 50 and 100 breast.

Other swimmers who have been successful on the international scale, like Kieran Smith and Bobby Finke, will also be returning.

As for relays, the swimmers for Cal women’s 200 free relay, the NC State women’s 400 medley relay, and the Louisville men’s 200 medley relay are all returning.

Look at the list below for every champion who’s returning, and who’s leaving:

Returning:

• 800 freestyle relay:
  • Women (Virginia): Alex Walsh (sophomore), Ella Nelson (junior)
  • Men (Texas): Carson Foster (sophomore), Drew Kibler (senior)
• 200 freestyle relay:
  • Women (Cal): Emily Gantriis (sophomore), Eloise Riley (junior), Elise Garcia (senior), Isabel Ivey (senior)
  • Men (Cal): Bjorn Seeliger (sophomore), Daniel Carr (grad student)
• 500 freestyle:
  • Jake Magahey (Georgia, sophomore)
• 200 IM:
  • Alex Walsh (Virginia, sophomore)
• 50 freestyle:
  • Kate Douglass (Virginia, junior)
• 1 mtr diving:
  • Sarah Bacon (Minnesota, redshirt fifth-year)
• 400 medley relay:
  • Women (NC State): Katharine Berkoff (junior), Kylee Alons (senior), Sophie Hansson (senior), Julia Poole (grad student)
  • Men (Texas): Caspar Corbeau (junior), Daniel Kreuger (senior), Alvin Jiang (grad student)
• 400 IM:
  • Brooke Ford (Stanford, grad student)
  • Bobby Finke (Florida, senior)
• 100 butterfly:
  • Maggie MacNeil (Michigan, senior)
• 200 freestyle:
  • Kieran Smith (Florida, senior)
• 100 breaststroke:
  • Sophie Hansson (NC State, senior)
  • Max McHugh (Minensota, senior)
• 100 backstroke:
  • Katharine Berkoff (NC State, junior)
• 3 mtr diving:
  • Sarah Bacon (Minnesota, redshirt fifth-year)
  • Andrew Capobianco (Indiana, redshirt senior)
• 200 medley relay:
  • Women (NC State): Katharine Berkoff (junior), Kylee Alons (senior), Sophie Hansson (senior)
  • Men (Louisville): Haridi Sameh Kamel (senior), Mitchell Whyte (senior), Nicolas Albiero (grad student), Evgenii Somov (grad student)
• 1650 freestyle:
  • Bobby Finke (Florida, senior)
• 200 backstroke:
  • Phoebe Bacon (Wisconsin, sophomore)
• 100 freestyle:
  • Maggie MacNeil (Michigan, senior)
• 200 breaststroke:
  • Sophie Hansson (NC State, senior)
  • Max McHugh (Minnesota, senior)
• 200 butterfly:
  • Olivia Carter (Michigan, senior)
  • Nicolas Albiero (Louisville, grad student)
• Platform diving:
  • Tarrin Gilliland (Indiana, sophomore)
• 400 freestyle relay:
  • Women (Alabama): Cora Dupre (junior), Kalia Antoniou (senior), Morgan Scott (senior)
  • Men (Cal): Destin Lasco (sophomore), Bjorn Seeliger (sophomore), Hugo Gonzalez (redshirt senior)

Not returning:

• 800 freestyle relay:
  • Women (Virginia): Kyla Valls, Paige Madden
  • Men (Texas): Austin Katz, Jake Sannem
• 200 freestyle relay:
  • Men (Cal): Nate Biondi, Ryan Hoffer
• 500 freestyle:
  • Paige Madden (Virginia)
• 200 IM:
  • Shaine Casas (Texas A&M)
• 50 freestyle:
  • Ryan Hoffer (Cal)
• 1 mtr diving:
  • Jordan Windle (Texas)
• 400 medley relay:
  • Men (Texas): Chris Staka
• 100 butterfly:
  • Ryan Hoffer (Cal)
• 200 freestyle:
  • Paige Madden (Virginia)
• 100 backstroke:
  • Shaine Casas (Texas A&M)
• 200 medley relay:
  • Women (NC State): Sirena Rowe
• 1650 freestyle:
  • Paige Madden (Virginia)
• 200 backstroke:
  • Shaine Casas (Texas A&M)
• 100 freestyle:
  • Ryan Hoffer (Cal)
• Platform diving:
  • Brandon Loschiavo (Purdue)
• 400 freestyle relay:
  • Women (Alabama): Flora Molnar
  • Men (Cal): Ryan Hoffer

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Here Are the NCAA Champions Returning for the 2022 Championship Season