Men's Swimming & Diving

Big West Teams Set for 2026 Swimming & Diving Championship in Houston

Championship Central | Live Results Link


 What 2 Watch 4 
The 2026 Big West Swimming & Diving Championships are set for Feb. 11–14 at the CRWC Natatorium in Houston, Texas. Six men's teams and seven women's teams will converge for the league's second consecutive season back as a conference-sponsored championship.

Cal State Bakersfield (men & women), Hawai'i (men & women), UC Davis (women), UC San Diego (men & women) and UC Santa Barbara (men & women) will be joined by affiliate members Grand Canyon (men), San Diego (women) and Seattle U (men & women) as programs battle for conference supremacy over four days of competition.

UC Santa Barbara enters the meet as the defending champion after sweeping both the men's and women's titles in 2025, the first season of the sport's revival. The Gaucho men captured their 29th all-time Big West crown, while the women secured their 14th, extending UCSB's standing as the league's most decorated program historically.

Historically, UC Santa Barbara has been the conference's standard bearer, claiming 29 men's championships and 14 women's titles since the league's inception in 1970. The Gaucho men famously won 23 consecutive championships from 1979–2001, while UC Davis (2010 – men & women) and Hawai'i (1987 – women) are also former Big West champions now back competing for conference hardware.

The 2026 Big West Swimming & Diving Championships return a strong group of defending event champions from across the league, each of whom captured individual titles a season ago and will look to repeat in Houston.

Individually, some names to keep an eye on are:

Men's Returners

  • Karol Ostrowski (Hawai'i) returns after winning the 50 and 100 freestyle at the 2025 Big West Championships, establishing the senior as a top sprint threat.
  • Vili Sivec (Cal State Bakersfield) enters as the defending champion in the 100 and 200 butterfly, providing proven scoring power in the stroke events.
  • Juan Esteban Ramirez Tamayo (Hawai'i) returns to the competition after taking home the Platform and 1M men's diving events at the 2025 championships.

Women's Returners

  • Samantha Banos (UC Santa Barbara) enters as the defending champion in the 200 and 500 freestyle and 200 butterfly from last season.
  • Eva Boehlke (UC San Diego) comes back as the defending champion in the 200 backstroke.
  • Chloe Braun (UC San Diego) returns as the reigning 100 breaststroke champion.
  • Hazel Derr (UC Santa Barbara) looks to defend the 100 backstroke title after winning the event in 2025
  • Asia Kozan (UC San Diego) returns after sweeping the 100 and 200 freestyle titles at the 2025 Big West Championships.
  • Macie Wheeler (Hawai'i) returns to the meet after sweeping the women's diving events at the 2025 Championships.

 2026 Rewind 
In 2025, UC Santa Barbara completed a clean sweep of the team titles at the CRWC Natatorium, outpacing a competitive field that featured UC San Diego and Hawai'i on the women's podium, and Hawai'i and Cal Poly joining UCSB on the men's side. The meet marked the successful return of Big West Swimming & Diving as a conference-sponsored championship and set the stage for what promises to be an even deeper and more competitive 2026 edition.
 
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 About The Big West
The Big West is an NCAA Division I conference of 11 members with the shared goal of empowering every student-athlete in competition and in life and uniting its university communities through championship experiences. Formed in 1969, The Big West membership consists of Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Hawai'i, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara. Sacramento State is an associate member in men's soccer and beach volleyball, and Seattle U and San Diego join the fray in swimming & diving in 2025-26. Membership changes in 2026-27 are on the horizon, with the additions of Utah Valley, California Baptist, and Sacramento State as full members, while UC Davis and Hawai'i will depart. 

The Big West is united in the pursuit of boundless opportunities, enduring integrity, bold activism, fearless innovation, and the Pacific spirit of freedom, exploration, and progress. The Big West sponsors 21 sports at the NCAA Division I level: baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball, women's beach volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, men's and women's water polo, and men's and women's swimming and diving, which made its return last season.