TEMPE – The reigning Big 12 champions open the 2026-27 season hosting UNLV for the third straight year on Friday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. MST at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.
The meet will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be followed on Meet Mobile with a purchase of a subscription. Along with coverage on the program’s social media accounts on X/Twitter (@ASUSwimDive) and Instagram (@Sundevilswimdive). Admission is free for the event.
It is the first of four home meets for the team this year. Sun Devil Swim and Dive will host SMU on Oct. 22 where the meet will be held in Short Course Meters (SCM) ahead of qualifying for World Championship Trials for select swimmers.
Earlier this month, the men were ranked No. 6 by the CSCAA in its preseason poll and the women came in at No. 18 to open the year.
Last year’s season opener welcomed a record-breaking crowd with more than 3,000 spectators filling out the stands, with some watching from nearby parking garages to view the action. The Sun Devil men would win 236-60 as the Sun Devil women won 242-57.
UNLV’s women’s team competed in the Mountain West Conference and finished in third at its conference championship. Additionally, the men were second at the MPSF Championships last February. In 2025, the women got dual wins over Utah and BYU.
The Sun Devils welcome 30 newcomers to the team, 19 from the men’s squad and 11 new faces for the women’s team this upcoming season.
About last year:
The Sun Devils successfully defended their pair of Big 12 Championships from 2025, winning 23 titles and setting multiple records. In the men’s 400 free relay, Ilya Kharun, Adam Chaney, Remi Fabiani and Jonny Kulow set the NCAA and Big 12 record with a 2:42.15 in the event.
The men’s team finished fourth at NCAAs for its third, top-five finish in the last four years. Senior Ilya Kharun won his second individual national title in the 200 fly, joining Leon Marchand as the only male Sun Devil swimmers to win multiple individual national titles. Kharun won in 1:37.66 and helped the men’s team win multiple relay titles.
The men’s squad four relay titles, starting with the 200 free relay (Remi Fabiani, Adam Chaney, Ilya Kharun, Jonny Kulow) in 1:12.46 setting an NCAA record, then won the 200 medley relay (Chaney, Andy Dobrzanski, Kharun, Kulow) in 1:20.07. The 400 medley relay (Chaney, Dobrzanski, Kharun, Fabiani) Big 12 record was set in 2:56.79 and the Sun Devils finished NCAA’s with a title in the 400 free relay (2:42.38, Chaney, Fabiani, Kharun, Kulow).
Sophomore Albane Cachot returns to the women’s team after earning a trio of Big 12 Championships in the 50 free, 100 free and the 200 free. Cachot holds the school and Big 12 record in the 100 free at 47.42 and was tabbed as Big 12 Women’s Newcomer of the Meet at the Big 12 Championships. The women’s team returns Julia Ullmann, Miriam Sheehan who are two-time All-Americans.
Among returning Big 12 Champions, Ullmann returns to the team after defending her 100 fly title last season. Distance swimmer and a senior, Alexa Reyna will lead the group following a win in the 400 IM at the Big 12 Championships last February, where she set a personal best in 4:09.22.
The women’s team qualified 10 Sun Devils for NCAAs last March, where the 200 medley relay team (Sheehan, McMahon, Ullmann and Cachot) earned second-team All-American honors for finishing in 14th (1:35.93) in the relay.
Following Friday’s opener, ASU will head to Texas for two days of competition at the SMU Classic starting October 9-10, while the women’s team will travel up north to face NAU on Oct. 9th at 3:30 p.m.
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