BYU swimmers put together for a begin throughout throughout 2022-23 meet in opposition to Large 12 member TCU. The 2 applications shall be competing in the identical Energy 5 league this season. Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photograph
BYU competes in opposition to TCU throughout the 2022-23 season. BYU is now convention mates with the Horned Frogs as members of the Large 12. Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photograph
Editor’s be aware: Seventh in a sequence of articles analyzing how every BYU program will stack up in opposition to its new convention foes. As we speak’s program: males’s swimming and diving staff.
Bud Shields is the best BYU student-athlete you’ve by no means heard of.
A Stockton, Utah, native who first competed at Provo Excessive, Shields was named Most Excellent Swimmer at each the 1928 and 1929 collegiate swimming championships, breaking nationwide and school data in each the 440-yard freestyle and 220-yard freestyle annually. In 2021, the School Swimming and Diving Coaches Affiliation of America named Shields to its listing of the 100 biggest males’s swimmers and divers from the previous 100 years.
Since Shields, the BYU males’s swimming and diving program has continued to compete nicely within the Western Athletic Convention, then the Mountain West Convention, and most not too long ago the Mountain Pacific Sports activities Federation, successful staff and particular person convention championships at every cease.
A lot of this system’s historical past has been led by two coaches: Tim Powers, who led the Cougars swimmers for 37 years from 1975 to 2012, and Keith Russell, who guided the divers for 23 years from 1992 to 2015. Collectively they coached greater than 50 All-People and nearly two dozen Olympians.
The Cougars have put up factors on the NCAA Championships 19 instances in program historical past, ending as excessive as twentieth in 1972. BYU final scored at nationals in 2016, ending twenty first general.
The Cougars at the moment are led by Shari Skabelund, a longtime assistant coach who took over as head coach of the lads’s and ladies’s swimming groups in 2021. The divers have been coached since 2015 by Tyce Routson. For the previous 12 seasons, BYU has competed within the MPSF, successful seven convention titles, together with every of the final three.
Returners for BYU embrace final yr’s MPSF Swimmer of the Yr Brad Prolo, who received the 100 breaststroke and 200 butterfly and competed at nationals. Three-time MPSF Diver of the Yr Mickey Strauss is also again; the senior has received a handful of convention titles and holds a number of faculty data.
Seniors Tama Tuitama (400 particular person medley, backstroke) and Tony Puertas (100/200 butterfly, 200 particular person medley) and juniors Emerson Edwards (breaststroke), Jacob Ballard (versatile) and Diego Camacho (Mexican 50-meter backstroke report holder competing on the world championships on July 29) can even look to steer the Cougars.
They’ll be joined by freshmen Joshua Reed (sprints), Carson Hamblin (freestyle, butterfly) and Bryce Broadhead (backstroke) together with Tennessee switch and Nice Grove native Jordan Tiffany (versatile).
Large 12 males’s swimming and diving
One program sums up nearly the whole lot of the historical past of Large 12 males’s swimming and diving: Texas. In 27 years of Large 12 competitors, the Longhorns have received 27 titles. Legendary head coach Eddie Reese has guided Texas to fifteen nationwide championships (most of any faculty within the nation), together with 4 straight from 2015-18 and most not too long ago in 2021. No less than one Longhorn wins a person nationwide title nearly yearly, too.
TCU and West Virginia have been the one different two Large 12 groups sponsoring males’s swimming and diving however shall be joined this yr by Cincinnati in addition to BYU. West Virginia has largely held the sting over TCU recently, taking second within the convention meet six straight seasons up till final yr.
The Mountaineers’ most up-to-date look on the NCAA meet was a Thirty second-place end in 2021; they’ve posted factors eight instances on the NCAA championships since 2006. TCU has solely two NCAA scoring seasons, as soon as in 1994 and once more in 1997.
Fellow newcomer Cincinnati’s most up-to-date NCAA look was in 2010. In its final three seasons within the American Athletic Convention the Bearcats have solely had SMU to compete with and have taken second all three years, although Cincy did win AAC titles in 2018 and 2019.
How will BYU fare?
Swimming and diving season begins within the fall then picks up once more within the new yr with the Large 12 championships in February and the NCAA championships in March.
The Cougars’ plethora of upperclassmen shall be an actual asset in 2023-24. Whereas Texas will most assuredly win the convention meet one final time earlier than shifting on to the SEC, BYU ought to be within the combine with their remaining convention competitors. With so many occasions and athletes competing it’s robust to foretell outcomes, however I consider BYU will end a decent third behind Texas and TCU in its first yr within the Large 12.
BYU competes in opposition to TCU throughout the 2022-23 season. BYU is now convention mates with the Horned Frogs as members of the Large 12.
Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photograph