The SwimSwam Podcast

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Rachel Stratton-Mills Talks Northwestern Development, CSCAA Changes to NCAA Championships May 13, 2026

Show notes

SwimSwam sat down with Rachel Stratton-Mills, the Director of Swimming & Diving at Northwestern and the new President of the CSCAA Board of Directors. Northwestern had a promising season this year, especially on the men's side, which saw them place 4th at the B1G conference champs and score a relay at the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2008. Stratton-Mills discusses the development of her team as their 3rd-year leader and is hopeful that there's much more to come. On the CSCAA side of things, the new president sheds light on the reasons changes were made this year to the NCAA Championship format and why specific changes were implemented, such as eliminating B-Finals and adding a new diving format for finals. Stratton-Mills recognizes that not all these changes were hits, but also talks us through how the new CSCAA NCAA DI Working Group of coaches is moving forward with more meaningful change to the NCAA Championships format.

Lochte Starts Coaching, Bowman's Pro Group Growing | SWIMSWAM BREAKDOWN May 11, 2026

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Today on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss Ryan Lochte starting his collegiate coaching career at Missouri State, Bob Bowman's Pro Group getting numerous additions, and what Van Mathias' ceiling is for this summer.

Chris Ballard on Ice Swimming, Cold Water, and The Plunge May 07, 2026

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Ice swimming is a strange outpost on the edge of our sport. It’s real, growing, and intense, but still outside the formal World Aquatics structure. In this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast, we sit down with Chris Ballard, author of THE PLUNGE: Maverick Swimmers, an Unlikely Quest, and the Transformative Power of Cold Water. The book drops June 9th from Simon & Schuster.

Ft. Lauderdale Open, Kreitler Out at Pitt, & NCAA Transfers | SWIMSWAM BREAKDOWN May 04, 2026

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Today on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the Ft. Lauderdale Open, Chase Kreitler resigning from Pitt, and movement in the NCAA

Transfer Portal, New NCAA Format, & Ft. Lauderdale Open Preview | SWIMSWAM BREAKDOWN Apr 28, 2026

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Today on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the potential change to the NCAA format, big moves in the transfer portal, and the Ft Lauderdale Open.

Mitch Dalton Explains Leaving Texas, Lays Out Vision for Brown Swimming & Diving Apr 21, 2026

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Yesterday, Mitch Dalton was announced as the new head coach for Brown University women's swimming and diving. Dalton has spent the last 6 seasons at Texas, where he will leave as the associate head coach for the women's team. During his tenure with the Longhorns, they finished in the top-3 at the NCAA Championships every season. We spoke with Dalton about his move and his vision as a first-time head coach in the NCAA.

Is This the Drama College Swimming Always Needed? Apr 20, 2026

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This past weekend, Olympic champion Matt King swam a lifetime best in the 100m Free, touching at 47.7. Then he posted a screenshot to his Instagram story of a text that was sent about him...

David Johnston's 3 Reasons Why He Transferred to Florida Apr 14, 2026

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2024 Olympian David Johnston recently announced his transfer from Texas to the University of Florida. The NCAA Champion explained there were 3 big reasons why he chose to leave Austin for Gainesville. One was plain and simple: the money. Johnston acknowledges that he didn't plan to be competing in the NCAA this long and sees why some would call it unfair. However, with the rules being what they are and new NIL opportunities sprouting up, Johnston wanted to go somewhere that could offer him income that could potentially supplement his future as he strives to qualify for the 2028 USA Olympic team, and it just so happened that UF was that place. In this conversation, Johnston is exceedingly honest about the fact that he is doing what is best for his career with this move, not only in the short term but moving toward LA28. In Gainesville, he will be training with arguably the best distance group in the world, swimming alongside Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, Ahmed Jaouadi, and Ahmed Hafnaoui, to name a few. He also opens up about dealing with the shoulder injury that sidelined him for the entire 2025-26 NCAA season.

2026 Men's DI NCAA Championships Event-by-Event Preview Mar 23, 2026

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Join Coleman Hodges as he goes event-by-event to preview the 2026 Men's DI NCAA Championships this week in Atlanta.

2026 Women's DI NCAA Championships Event-by-Event Preview Mar 17, 2026

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Join Coleman Hodges as he goes event-by-event to preview the 2026 Women's DI NCAA Championships this week in Atlanta.