2026 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Yearly Awards Introduced

The Big 12 Conference introduced its Swimming & Diving yearly awards recipients on Wednesday. The recipients hailed from Arizona, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas and Utah. The Sun Devils prepared the ground with 4 award winners.
 

The All-Big 12 First and Second Teams had been additionally introduced primarily based on outcomes from the 2026 Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championship offered by Allstate. The prime 4 finishers in every particular person occasion earned All-Big 12 First Team honors, whereas fifth via eighth-place finishers had been named to the Second Team.
 
Ilya Kharun was named the Men’s Swimmer of the Year after main Arizona State to the Big 12 males’s championship. The junior took residence three particular person occasion titles with three meet information and helped ASU accumulate 4 relay titles on the Conference Championship. At the NCAA Championships, the Las Vegas native captured a nationwide title within the 200 butterfly and helped the Sun Devils to 4 relay nationwide championships. In whole, he earned seven All-America honors to complete with 52 factors whole, third amongst all swimmers on the nationwide meet.
 
Joleigh Crye earned Women’s Swimmer of the Year following her senior season with the Bearcats. Crye totaled 71 particular person factors on the Big 12 Championship this season and earned All-American recognition on the NCAA Championship. She was a part of Cincinnati’s 200 and 400 yard medley relays plus the 200 yard freestyle relay that each one claimed bronze medals. She added the 100-yard breaststroke occasion title for the second consecutive yr, in addition to All-Big 12 second staff recognition within the 100 butterfly.
 
Elias Petersen was named Men’s Diver of the Year for the second consecutive yr. Petersen claimed the Big 12 title on the one-meter board and added a silver medal on three-meter dive on the Conference Championship. In addition, he additionally obtained All-Big 12 Second Team recognition within the platform occasion after advancing to the finals session. Petersen grew to become Utah’s profession chief in factors scored on the NCAA Championships, amassing 32 factors between the 2025 and 2026 championships and have become the primary two-time All-American in the identical season for the Utes since 2006.
 
Shiyun Lai collected Women’s Diver of the Year recognition for the second consecutive season, turning into the primary Kansas student-athlete to perform the feat. Lai set a college file on the platform on the Big 12 Championship with a rating of 260.55 and picked up 12 occasion wins over the course of the season. The junior additionally competed on the NCAA Championship and took residence First Team All-American honors for the second consecutive yr, making her the primary Jayhawk to take action in consecutive years in program historical past.
 
Luke Hernandez was chosen because the Men’s Freshman of the Year after medaling in all three occasions on the Conference championship and qualifying for the NCAA Championship in all three. Hernandez captured the Big 12 title on three-meter and added silver medals on one-meter and platform. The freshman totaled 13 particular person victories through the season and earned three Big 12 Men’s Diver of the Week awards.
 
Albane Cachot earned Women’s Freshman of the Year honors after serving to Arizona State to a Big 12 Championship title. Cachot took residence the gold in all three particular person occasions she competed in, together with the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle occasions. She grew to become the primary Sun Devil freshman to comb the three freestyle occasions, whereas setting a college and championship file within the 100 free. She additionally earned Second Team All-America honors as a part of the Sun Devils’ 200 medley relay with a 21.48 anchor leg cut up.
 
Arizona State’s Herbie Behm was named Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year after guiding the Sun Devils to a second straight Big 12 championship and a fourth-place staff end on the NCAA Championships. Under Behm’s path, Arizona State completed within the prime 5 for the third time within the final 4 years after an undefeated twin meet season with six prime 10 wins. Four Arizona State males’s relays took residence nationwide titles whereas eight totally different Sun Devils earned All-American honors.
 
Arizona’s Ben Loorz collected Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year honors after main eight Wildcats to qualifying performances for the NCAA Championships. Arizona was represented in three particular person swimming occasions in addition to the 200 freestyle relay on the nationwide meet. Loorz additionally led the Wildcats to their second consecutive runner-up end on the Big 12 Championship.
 
Dwight Dumais earned a share of the Men’s Diving Coach of the Year award after serving to Arizona ship 4 divers to the nationwide meet. All 4 of these divers competed in a number of occasions on the NCAA Championships. At the Big 12 Championship, Arizona took each the gold and silver within the males’s platform occasion, silver and bronze within the 1-meter occasion and the gold medal within the 3-meter.
 
Richard Marschner earned the opposite share of the Men’s Diving Coach of the Year. Under Marschner’s management, the Utes received the Team Diving Event on the Big 12 Championship in addition to the 1-meter title.  Two Utes garnered All-American recognition, together with Petersen, who medaled in two of his three occasions on the Conference Championship.
 
Bob Gunter obtained a share of the Women’s Diving Coach of the Year for Houston. Gunter coached two divers to the NCAA Championships, with Michelle McLeod qualifying for all three diving occasions. Houston took residence each ladies’s diving “Of the Meet” awards on the 2026 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship offered by Allstate, with McLeod taking the Women’s Diver of the Meet and Maisy Woloszyn taking the Women’s Diving Newcomer of the Meet.  
 
Allen Fang wrapped up the diving awards with a share of the Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. The 2025 award recipient coached Lai to First Team All -American honors in each the 1- and 3-meter dives on the NCAA Championships. This marked the primary time a Jayhawk has consecutively landed CSCAA All-American standing since Jennifer Wagstaff within the 1984 and 1983 seasons. Lai additionally obtained a gold on the 1-meter and silver on the 3-meter on the Conference Championships.
 
Arizona State’s Jonny Kulow was named Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year, sustaining an ideal 4.00 GPA in medical microbiology whereas competing in all 10 common season meets for the Sun Devils. The 2025 All-Big 12 Academic Team member was additionally a member of three of the Sun Devils’ nationwide championship-winning relays.
 
Cincinnati’s Mia Hensley earned Women’s Scholar Athlete of the Year honors with a 4.00 GPA in neuroscience. Hensley is a two-time Big 12 All-Academic staff member and earned All-Big 12 Second staff honors within the 200 backstroke on the 2026 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship offered by Allstate.
 
Men’s All-Big 12 First Team
Bo Bridges, Arizona
Nick Chirafisi, Utah
Ralph Daleiden, Arizona
Alex Desangles, Arizona
Gage DuBois, Arizona
Ryan Hardy, Arizona
Duncan Henderson, Arizona
Luke Hernandez, Arizona
Tomas Lukminas, Arizona
Joel Nace, Arizona
Haakon Naughton, Arizona
Beck Parnham, Arizona
Tavner Wisdom, Arizona
Adam Chaney, Arizona State
Andy Dobrzanski, Arizona State
JT Ewing, Arizona State
Remi Fabiani, Arizona State
Reece Grady, Arizona State
Jonathan Itzhaki, Arizona State
Ilya Kharun, Arizona State
Jonny Kulow, Arizona State
Noah Mudadu, Arizona State
Quin Seider, Arizona State
Filip Senc-Samardzic, Arizona State
Brayden Taivassalo, Arizona State
Jordan Tiffany, Arizona State
Lucien Vergnes, Arizona State
Peter Etzold, BYU
Easton Mousser, BYU
Tanner Nelson, BYU
Aiden Gerst, Cincinnati
Elliott Dillon, TCU
David Ekdahl, TCU
Bryn James, TCU
Nick Chirafisi, Utah
Jones Lambert, Utah
Strahinja Maslo, Utah
Elias Petersen, Utah
Evan VanBrocklin, Utah
Levi Hellmann, West Virginia
 
Men’s All-Big 12 Second Team
Colin Agor, Arizona
Ben Butler, Arizona
Ralph Daleiden, Arizona
Ryan Hardy, Arizona
Duncan Henderson, Arizona
Theo Hrach, Arizona
Will Meyers, Arizona
Joel Nace, Arizona
Mason Nyboer, Arizona
Beck Parnham, Arizona
Reece Grady, Arizona State
Michael Hochwalt, Arizona State
Ryan King, Arizona State
Jonny Kulow, Arizona State
Mattia Mauri, Arizona State
Noah Mudadu, Arizona State
Tommy Palmer, Arizona State
Jon Reiter, Arizona State
Quin Seider, Arizona State
Filip Senc-Samardzic, Arizona State
Brayden Taivassalo, Arizona State
Tolu Young, Arizona State
Jacob Ballard, BYU
Will Bonnett, BYU
Peter Etzold, BYU
Marti Llop, BYU
Kyle Bumgardner, Cincinnati
Owen Chiles, Cincinnati
Noah Green, Cincinnati
Ramez Sobhy, Cincinnati
Benson Wong, Cincinnati
Ollie Cazaly, TCU
Edgar Cicanci, TCU
Elliott Dillon, TCU
David Ekdahl, TCU
Felipe Goncalves, TCU
Viktor Hristov, TCU
Lior Mizrahi, TCU
Filip Suchanski, TCU
Nolan Arnholt, Utah
Nick Chirafisi, Utah
Jones Lambert, Utah
Strahinja Maslo, Utah
Brandon Miller, Utah
Elias Petersen, Utah
Matthew Sexton, Utah
Evan VanBrocklin, Utah
Jakub Walter, Utah
Finn Winkler, Utah
Rafael Mimoso, West Virginia
 
Women’s All-Big 12 First Team
Zara Ayazi, Arizona
Riley Botton, Arizona
Eleni Gewalt, Arizona
Patricija Kondraskaite, Arizona
Lila Lillie, Arizona
Kayman Neal, Arizona
Maryam Sheikhalizadehkhanghah, Arizona
Julia Smurzynska, Arizona
Julia Wozniak, Arizona
Albane Cachot, Arizona State
Deniz Ertan, Arizona State
Jordan Greber, Arizona State
Kayden Hayes, Arizona State
Grace Lindberg, Arizona State
Alexa Reyna, Arizona State
Miriam Sheehan, Arizona State
Gerda Szilagyi, Arizona State
Julia Ullmann, Arizona State
Sonia Vaishnani, Arizona State
Lucie Vasquez, Arizona State
Lucy Warnick, BYU
Joleigh Crye, Cincinnati
Lindi Worrell, Cincinnati
Alexia Duncan, Houston
Noor El Gendy, Houston
Evelyn Entrekin, Houston
Elizabeth Jimenez, Houston
Michelle McLeod, Houston
Sydney Nethercutt, Houston
Emma Overall, Houston
Flo Peter, Houston
Izzy Wilson, Houston
Maisy Wolosyzn, Houston
Lydia Lafferty, Kansas
Shiyun Lai, Kansas
Lize Lukas van Leeuwen, Kansas
Avery Dillon, TCU
Nina Vadovicova, TCU
Callie Eagleston, Utah
Kathryn Grant, Utah
Emilia Nilsson Garip, Utah
Erin Palmer, Utah
 
Women’s All-Big 12 Second Team
Paige Armstrong, Arizona
Zara Ayazi, Arizona
Elise Clift, Arizona
Meric Demirtepe, Arizona
Magdalena Hagsten Skarda, Arizona
Ava Sutphin, Arizona
Emma Kinsey, Arizona
Patricija Kondraskaite, Arizona
MJ Neilson, Arizona
Maryam Sheikhalizadehkhanghah, Arizona
Julia Smurzynska, Arizona
Ariel Beltran, Arizona State
Lia Csulak, Arizona State
Shane Golland, Arizona State
Jordan Greber, Arizona State
Ella Guilfoil, Arizona State
Grace Lindberg, Arizona State
Ginger McMahon, Arizona State
Miriam Sheehan, Arizona State
Gerda Szilagyi, Arizona State
Zoe Summar, Arizona State
Sonia Vaishnani, Arizona State
Lucie Vasquez, Arizona State
Joleigh Crye, Cincinnati
Kate Mardis, Cincinnati
Libby Michel, Cincinnati
Langley Petersen, Cincinnati
Taira Vroom, Cincinnati
Noor El Gendy, Houston
Evelyn Entrekin, Houston
Elizabeth Jimenez, Houston
Michelle McLeod, Houston
Sydney Nethercutt, Houston
Alondra Ortiz, Houston
Emma Overall, Houston
Caroline Roelen, Houston
Rylee Simoneaux, Houston
Maisey Wolosyzn, Houston
Maggie Bendell, Iowa State
Kendall Mallers, Iowa State
Grace Swoboda, Iowa State
Gabi Dyer, Kansas
Tait Haag, Kansas
Ryan Johnston, Kansas
Ivy Solt, Kansas
Lize Lukas van Leeuwen, Kansas
Molly Cullen, TCU
Avery Dillon, TCU
Odessa Kack, TCU
Paige Taber, TCU
Nina Vadovicova, TCU
Ella Derby, Utah
Callie Eaglestone, Utah
Kathryn Grant, Utah
Abigail Sullivan, West Virginia
Natasha Whittall, West Virginia