The Big West was well represented at the 2026 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, as Eva Boehlke and Asia Kozan from UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara’s Samantha Banos carried their conference success onto the national stage.

UC Santa Barbara’s Samantha Banos delivered a great performance, racing in the first heat of the 200 freestyle and clocking a  1:56.14, 1:55.47 to set a new school record. The NCAA swim followed a dominant showing at The Big West Championships, where Banos captured the 200 butterfly title with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:56.44. This season, Banos was named The Big West Athlete of the Week four times, and holds a league-best seven distinctions to the senior’s name. 

UC San Diego’s Asia Kozan and Eva Boehlke also represented The Big West, as Kozan posted times of 1:57.12 and 2:01.24 in the 200-Individual Medley, while Boehlke recorded marks of 1:57.43 and 2:00.04 in the same event. At the conference meet, Kozan earned an NCAA berth with a 1:45.52 championship swim in the 200 freestyle, while Boehlke not only won the 200 IM in 1:57.43, but set a new Big West Championship record in the process. Kozan collected weekly honors twice this season, while Boehlke earned Athlete of the Week once. 

All three student-athletes advanced to the NCAA Championships after winning individual titles at The Big West Championships, highlighting the strength of the league’s top performers.