2026 NCAA DI Swimming & Diving Championships
Wednesday, March 25 – Saturday, March 28 | All Day
McAuley Aquatic Center | Atlanta, Georgia
Watch | Live Results | Championship Info | SMU Mobile App

DALLAS (SMU) – [RV/RV] SMU men's swimming and diving team will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to compete in the 2026 NCAA DI Men's Diving Championships on Wednesday, March 25 - Saturday, March 28. 

The Mustangs will have eight members of the team compete at the competition: Francis Brennan, Jack Berube, Luke Sitz, Grant Cates, Eli Likins, Harold Lockhart, Sage Sungail and Jack Forrest.

The Rundown: Four Mustangs will compete in individual events. Freshman Francis Brennan will swim both the 200 free and the 500 free with season bests of 1:32.13 and 4:17.28, respectively. Brennan is the first SMU freshman to compete at the NCAAs since Robin Andreasson in 2009. Junior Jack Berube will also see action in two events: the 100 back (45.75) and the 200 back (1:39.29). On the diving side, SMU boasts two athletes: sophomore Luke Sitz and freshman Grant Cates. All-American Sitz will dive on both 1-meter and 3-meter after winning both events at the NCAA DI Zone D Diving Championships. Cates will also compete on both events along with platform. Eli Likins, Harold Lockhart, Sage Sungail and Jack Forrest will travel with the team to swim in the 400 free and 800 free relays.

Conference ACCtion: In their second appearance ever at the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships, the Mustangs brought home two medals and four A finals appearances. Diver Luke Sitz secured the hardware for SMU, winning a gold on 1-meter and a bronze on 3-meter. The 1-meter victory marked SMU's first-ever individual ACC Championship. Junior Jack Berube made the A finals in the 200 back after finishing third in the preliminaries. Berube's performance was a new program record, clocking in at 1:39.29. The Texas native finished seventh overall in the event. Freshman Francis Brennan made the A finals in the 200 free at his ACC Championships debut. Brennan holds the 200 free program record after breaking it twice, first at the 2026 ACC Championships, and most recently, at SMU's Last Chance Meet, where he clocked 1:32.13.

High-Level Diving In Dallas: Both Luke Sitz and Grant Cates have recorded career-best seasons. En route to earning two medals at the ACC Championships, Sitz has marked two new school records on 1-meter (429.75) and 3-meter (437.50). At the 2025 USA Diving Winter Nationals, the sophomore posted three podium finishes: bronze on 3-meter, silver on 1-meter and silver on 3-meter synchro. Freshman Grant Cates also competed at the USA Diving Winter Nationals. On platform, Cates advanced to the finals, earning a total score of 625.90 and placing 12th overall. The diver competed in the finals of synchronized platform and secured fifth overall with a 636.84 mark.

Family Ties: Jack Berube is not the first in his family to find greatness at the McAuley Aquatic Center. Jack's father, Ryan Berube, claimed an Olympic Gold Medal in the same pool. Georgia Tech's facility was originally built for the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta where Berube swam in the 4x200 freestyle relay.

Rockin' Relays: The Mustangs have also earned qualifying standards in two relays: the 800 free and 400 free relays. In addition to Berube and Brennan, Eli Likins, Harold Lockhart, Sage Sungail and Jack Forrest will be traveling for the NCAA Championships to swim in the relays. The Mustangs have broken the program record in both events this season. The squad of Sungail, Likins, Lockhart along with Benjamin Chateigner posted a program-best time in the 400 free relay of 2:48.72 on Nov. 22 at the SMU Invite. At the 2026 ACC Championships, the 800 free relay was broken by Brennan, Forrest, Sungail and Lockhart, throwing down a time of 6:11.47.

MUSTANGS @ NCAAs: FAST FACTS

• The Mustangs have had 29 NCAA Champions. The most recent champion is Lars Frolander, who won both the 100 free (42.12) and the 100 fly (45.99) in 1998. It was his second consecutive year winning both events. 
• The last time an SMU diver won an NCAA title was in 1990, when Scott Donie earned gold on 3-meter (674.55) and on platform (836.20). In 2025, Luke Sitz competed on both 1-meter and 3-meter. The then-freshman placed seventh during the finals of 1-meter with a score of 367.85. Sitz is the first Mustang diver to earn First Team All-America accolades since Phillip Griffin did so on 3-meter in 2006 and the first on 1-meter since Ali Al-Hasan in 1997. He also is the first freshman to podium in the event nationally since Texas' Nicholas Harris in 2023. Sitz recorded a score of 355.85 to place 17th on 3-meter, barely missing finals. 
• The team of Jack Hoagland, Harold Lockhart, Jack Forrest and Sage Sungail swam the 800 free relay in 2025, posting a then-school record of 6:14.24 to finish 22nd overall.
• The 400 free relay squad of Lockhart, Sungail, Lance Butler and Forrest placed 26th overall after touching the wall in 2:51.11.
   

MUSTANGS MAKING THE INDIVIDUAL STANDARD

SMU saw six swimmers earn NCAA standards in individual events:
Andy Baklanov: 400 IM (3.44.09), 200 Back (1:40.94)
Jack Berube: 100 Back (45.75), 200 Back (1:39.29)
Francis Brennan: 200 Free (1:32.13), 500 Free (4:17.52)
Kristaps Mikelsons: 100 Breast (51.96), 200 Breast (1:53.69)
Sage Sungail: 50 Free (19.29), 100 Free (42.42)
Mark Van Eybergen: 1650 Free (15:00.15)

* Bold denotes swimmer that will compete in his events at the NCAAs

ORDER OF EVENTS

Wednesday, March 25
200-yard medley relay
800-yard freestyle relay

Thursday, March 26
100-yard butterfly
400-yard individual medley
200-yard freestyle
100-yard breaststroke
200-yard freestyle relay
One-meter diving

Friday, March 27
100-yard backstroke
200-yard breaststroke
500-yard freestyle
50-yard freestyle
400-yard medley relay
Three-meter diving

Saturday, March 28
200-yard individual medley
100-yard freestyle
200-yard butterfly
200-yard backstroke
400-yard freestyle relay
Platform diving