TEMPE, Ariz. – Fresh off of helping the Sun Devils to the highest finish at the NCAA Championships in program history, Léon Marchand and Jonny Kulow will be taking home additional hardware.
Marchand has been named the Pac-12 Men's Swimmer of the Year, while Kulow was selected as the Freshman of the Year, the conference announced Thursday.
The sophomore sensation Marchand is the league's best swimmer for the second consecutive season, while Kulow becomes the fourth Sun Devil of the Bob Bowman era to win rookie of the year.
ASU's Pac-12 Major Award History | Full Pac-12 Release
Marchand, who was named the College Swimming Coaches Association of America's (CSCAA) Men's Swimmer of the Year earlier in the week, swept the three individual events he raced in at the recent NCAA Championships.
He won the 200 IM (1:36.34), 200 breast (1:46.91) and 400 IM (3:28.82), setting new NCAA records in each event. His five career NCAA titles are the most in Sun Devil team history, breaking a tie with diver Joona Puhakka (4).
"Léon has taken his training to a new level this year and the results have been spectacular," head coach Bob Bowman said. "His ability to consistently perform at record pace is a testament to his focus under pressure and his strong desire to help our team succeed."
At the Pac-12 Championships in early March, Marchand won the 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 breast, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay and 800 free relay to help the Sun Devils capture the first conference championship in program history. Now a perfect 6-for-6 in individual events at Pac-12s, he was also named the Swimmer of the Meet for the second straight year.
Paired with Marchand's excellence, the Sun Devils were also boosted by the efforts of Kulow, who was terrific in his first trips to the Pac-12 and NCAA Championships. At Pac-12s in early March, Kulow was a member of the winning 200 medley relay team, while also taking second in the 200 free relay, fourth in the 50 free, eighth in the 100 free and 11th in 200 free.
The Lander, Wyoming, product became a First-Team All-American at the NCAA Championships in four events (200 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay and 400 medley relay) in addition to Second-Team honors in the 100 free.
In the team's final three dual meets of the season against Stanford, Cal and Arizona, Kulow tallied one win and five top-five finishes, paving the way for a postseason breakout.
"Jonny has made incredible improvement and showed real poise in his first Pac-12 and NCAA Championship meets," Bowman said. "He is a leader of the best freshman class in the country and is only beginning to see what he can do in the pool."
The Sun Devil rookies of Kulow, Owen McDonald, Zalan Sarkany and Hubert Kos scored the most points amongst all freshmen classes at the NCAA Championships, as ASU (81) led Florida (73) and Tennessee (27).
Given the Sun Devils did not compete at the 2021 Pac-12 Championships, they have now won Freshman of the Year honors in each of the past three conference meets they've raced in.
Kulow joins Marchand (2022), Jack Dolan (2020) and Cameron Craig (2017) in winning Freshman of the Year honors.
SUN DEVIL MEN'S PAC-12 SWIMMER OF THE YEAR
Léon Marchand, 2023
Léon Marchand, 2022
Francisco Sanchez, 1996 (co-winner with California's Ugur Taner)
Mike Orn, 1983 (co-winner with Stanford's Dave Bottom)
SUN DEVIL MEN'S PAC-12 FRESHMAN/NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Jonny Kulow, 2023
Léon Marchand, 2022
Jack Dolan, 2020
Cameron Craig, 2017