IRVING, Texas – The Big 12 Conference announced its yearly award recipients on Wednesday and Sun Devil Swim and Dive took home four Big 12 end-of-season awards after its successful season with a pair of conference championships for the second-straight year.
Junior Ilya Kharun was named Big 12 Men’s Swimmer of the Year along with head coach Herbie Behm being named Big 12 Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year, both of them winning for the second-consecutive year. Freshman Albane Cachot was named Big 12 Women’s Freshman of the Year and senior Jonny Kulow was tabbed as Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year.
To add, 38 different Sun Devils from the men’s and women’s teams took home All-Big 12 First and Second Team honors which are decided based off of the results of the 2026 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship. The top four finishers received First Team All-Big 12 recognition and individuals finishing fifth through eighth received Second Team All-Big 12 recognition
Kharun won his second individual national championship in the 200 fly with a winning time of 1:37.66 at the NCAA Swim and Dive Championships. The junior also helped the Sun Devils win four relay titles at NCAAs and earned seven All-American honors with three top-three finishes in his individual events (50 free, 100 fly, 200 fly) for 52 points which ranked third among men’s swimmers at NCAAs.
Additionally, Kharun was named Big 12 men’s swimmer of the meet for winning three individual titles and four relay wins for the Sun Devils, helping the team defend its Big 12 Conference title. Kharun set two Big 12 records in the 50 free (18.24) and the 100 fly (42.92) at the NCAA Championships.
Leaving her mark in her first season as a Sun Devil, Cachot scored 96 individual points at the Big 12 Championships to lead all women’s swimmers. The freshman swept the freestyle events, winning the 50 free (21.80), 100 free (47.42) and the 200 free (1:44.58) and becoming the first woman in program history to win all three freestyle titles at a conference championship. Additionally, Cachot led the Sun Devil women to three relay titles at the conference championships, setting a school record in the 400 medley relay.
Cachot, a native of Toulouse, France, was named Big 12 Women’s Freshman Swimmer of the Meet at the Big 12 Championships and qualified for her first NCAA Championships, where she took home second team All-American honors in the 200 medley relay swimming a 21.48, 50 free anchor leg.
Behm earns his second-straight Men’s Big 12 Coach of the Year honor after leading the Sun Devils to its second-straight Big 12 championship and their fourth-consecutive conference title. In his second season at the helm of the program, he led the team to a fourth-place finish at NCAAs, for the team's third top-five finish in four years.
Behm coached four national championship relay teams, which set two NCAA records in the 200 free relay (1:12.46) and the 400 free relay (2:42.15). The Sun Devil alum coached five Sun Devils to nine individual Big 12 titles and five relay titles at the Big 12 Championships last February.
Kulow earned another academic honor after winning the Elite Scholar-Athlete Award at the NCAA Championships for having the highest cumulative GPA. The microbiology major with an emphasis in medical microbiology carries a 4.00 cumulative GPA and is a 23-time All-American as a Sun Devil. Kulow is a two time CSC All-America Team Member of the Year for his academic excellence in the classroom and in the pool and was part of the 2024 national championship team.
2025-26 Big 12 Swimming and Diving of the Year Award Winners:
Men’s Swimmer of the Year – Ilya Kharun, Arizona State
Women’s Swimmer of the Year – Joleigh Crye, Cincinnati
Men’s Diver of the Year – Elias Petersen, Utah
Women’s Diver of the Year – Shiyun Lai, Kansas
Men’s Freshman of the Year – Luke Hernandez, Arizona
Women’s Freshman of the Year – Albane Cachot, Arizona State
Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year – Herbie Behm, Arizona State
Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year – Ben Loorz, Arizona
Men’s Diving Co-Coaches of the Year – Dwight Dumais, Arizona and Richard Marschner, Utah
Women’s Diving Co-Coaches of the Year – Robert Gunter, Houston and Allen Feng, Kansas
Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year – Jonny Kulow, Arizona State
Women’s Scholar Athlete of the Year – Mia Hensley, Cincinnati
Men’s All-Big 12 First Team (14)
Adam Chaney, Arizona State
Andy Dobrzanski, Arizona State
JT Ewing, Arizona State
Remi Fabiani, Arizona State
Reece Grady, Arizona State
Jonathan Itzhaki, Arizona State
Ilya Kharun, Arizona State
Jonny Kulow, Arizona State
Noah Mudadu, Arizona State
Quin Seider, Arizona State
Filip Senc-Samardzic, Arizona State
Brayden Taivassalo, Arizona State
Jordan Tiffany, Arizona State
Lucien Vergnes, Arizona State
Men’s All-Big 12 Second Team (12)
Reece Grady, Arizona State
Michael Hochwalt, Arizona State
Ryan King, Arizona State
Jonny Kulow, Arizona State
Mattia Mauri, Arizona State
Noah Mudadu, Arizona State
Tommy Palmer, Arizona State
Jon Reiter, Arizona State
Quin Seider, Arizona State
Filip Senc-Samardzic, Arizona State
Brayden Taivassalo, Arizona State
Tolu Young, Arizona State
Women’s All-Big 12 First Team (11)
Albane Cachot, Arizona State
Deniz Ertan, Arizona State
Jordan Greber, Arizona State
Kayden Hayes, Arizona State
Grace Lindberg, Arizona State
Alexa Reyna, Arizona State
Miriam Sheehan, Arizona State
Gerda Szilagyi, Arizona State
Julia Ullmann, Arizona State
Sonia Vaishnani, Arizona State
Lucie Vasquez, Arizona State
Women’s All-Big 12 Second Team (12)
Ariel Beltran, Arizona State
Lia Csulak, Arizona State
Shane Golland, Arizona State
Jordan Greber, Arizona State
Ella Guilfoil, Arizona State
Grace Lindberg, Arizona State
Ginger McMahon, Arizona State
Miriam Sheehan, Arizona State
Gerda Szilagyi, Arizona State
Zoe Summar, Arizona State
Sonia Vaishnani, Arizona State
Lucie Vasquez, Arizona State
Follow us
For exclusive content, the latest updates and more information on the Sun Devil Swim and Dive teams, follow the team’s social media accounts @ASUSwimDive on X and @Sundevilswimdive on Instagram.