The California men’s swimming and diving team, ranked fourth nationally, will begin its 2025-26 season at the Triton Invitational hosted by UC San Diego. The event is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla.
The Golden Bears aim to defend their Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title and extend a streak of top-two finishes at the NCAA Championships that has lasted 15 years since 2010. During this period, Cal has secured six NCAA championships, including consecutive titles in 2011-12 and 2022-23.
“In its first season as a member of the ACC, Cal showcased its dominance throughout the 2024-25 season. The Bears won their first-ever conference title in a wire-to-wire finish, which included six event titles at the 2025 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships. Cal had nine student-athletes receive all-ACC honors in at least one event while in total the Bears finished among the top three in 12 different events. Cal also swept the conference’s swimming awards – Lucas Henveaux and Yamato Okadome were tabbed the ACC Swimmer of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively, while David Durden walked away with ACC Coach of the Year honors.”
Cal brings back 27 athletes from last year’s roster, eight of whom competed at the 2025 NCAA Championships: Keaton Jones, Nans Mazellier, Humberto Najera, Yamato Okadome, Evan Petty, Hank Rivers, Joshua Thai and Geoffrey Vavitsas.
The program adds a recruiting class ranked fifth nationally by SwimSwam for 2025. Fourteen freshmen join this season, led by No. 16 recruit Ryan Erisman and No. 19 Kenny Barnicle. International newcomers include Casper Pugaard, Jack Brown and Martin Wrede. Nathan Wiffen from Ireland—who was a two-time finalist at the European Aquatic Championships over summer and is twin brother to Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen—will also compete for Cal this season.
Seven current or former Cal swimmers were named to USA Swimming’s national team roster for 2025-26: Jack Alexy, Ryan Erisman, Gabriel Jett, Keaton Jones, Trenton Julian, Destin Lasco and Dare Rose.
Fans can follow updates on X/Twitter (@CalMenSwim), Instagram (@CalMenSwim) or Facebook (Facebook.com/CalMensSwimmingandDiving).
