PROVO, Utah — BYU Swim and Dive completed its second year under the tutelage of head coach Tamber McAllister, which featured a fifth-place performance from the men’s program and an eighth-place performance from the women’s program at this year’s Big 12 Championships.
BYU Swim and Dive 2025-26 Season Recap
On the men’s side, the Cougars set 38 new Top 10 program records. Leading the charge was sophomore Max Kleinman, who set nine new records on his own. Senior Darwin Anderson also added five new Top 10 performances of his own.
Peter Etzold, Kleinman, and Anderson each climbed to the top of the BYU record board, posting the fastest performances in program history. Etzold earned a new record in the 50 breaststroke at 24.09. Kleinman took his new record in the 100 individual medley at 47.81, and Anderson posted the fastest 5K finish at 1:02:15.80.
The team also set six new Richards Building Pool (RBP) records in the 500 freestyle (Tanner Nelson), 1000 freestyle (Anderson), 200 freestyle relay (Kleinman, Nelson, Joshua Reed & Payton Plumb), 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay (Tanner Edwards, Etzold, Jake Aina & Kleinman).
A new RBP record was set in the 800 freestyle relay, featuring coaches Christian Hanselmann and Hayden Palmer, manager McKay Larsen, and social media swimming influencer Kyle Sockwell. The group finished the relay at 8:17.87.
On the women’s side, BYU set 33 new Top 10 program finishes. Of those new records, five marked the fastest performances in Cougar history. Sarah Eliason (50 butterfly), Cher Patrick (5K), and Haylee Tiffany (200 freestyle) each earned fastest individual performances. Taylor Bennett, Tatum Cooley, Lily Flint, and Sophie Scoville earned a new 200 freestyle relay record at 1:30.35, and Kara Martinson, Melissa Turlea, Tiffany, and Patrick set a new 200 freestyle relay record at 26:13.16.
Six new RBP records were set as well. Cooley (100 freestyle) and Tiffany (200 freestyle) earned new individual pool standards. New RBP records in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, as well as the 200 and 400 medley relays, were also set.
Postseason
The season was capped off by a men’s fifth-place performance and a women’s eighth-place performance at the Big 12 Championships in Greensboro, N.C. Seven Cougars earned spots on the conference’s All-Big 12 first and second teams, including Etzold, Easton Mousser, Nelson and Lucy Warnick placing on the first teams. Jacob Ballard, Will Bonnett and Martí Llop also earned spots on the second team.
Etzold earned his honors from performances in the 100 (6th) and 200 (4th) breaststroke events. Mousser’s first-team recognition came after placing third in the 1650 freestyle, and Warnick’s award stemmed from a third-place performance in the 400 individual medley.
Ballard placed seventh in the 200 butterfly, Bonnett earned eighth in the 200 breaststroke, and Llop finished in the top eight in the 1-meter and platform events.
Nelson delivered BYU’s top performance at this year’s Big 12 Championships. After a two-year hiatus while serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico, the junior earned All-Big 12 first-team honors in three events.
Taking fourth, he finished the 500 freestyle at 4:17.04. In the 1650 freestyle, the South Jordan, Utah, native again took fourth at 15:05.30. His crowning moment of the postseason competition then came in the 400 individual medley, where he took first at 3:44.46, the Cougars’ sole first-place finish at the conference championships.
Nelson would later compete in all three events at the NCAA Swim and Dive Championships in Atlanta.
At NCAAs, Nelson placed 40th in the 500 freestyle, 25th in the 1650 freestyle, and 33rd in the 400 individual medley.
Regular Season Away Highlights
The 2025-26 season began with first place finished at the CMU Intermountain Shootout in Grand Junction, Co. The men’s team totaled 518 points over the two-day competition, besting Colorado Mesa and Adams State. The women’s team also defeated Colorado Mesa and Adams State, ending the first meet with a 450.5 point performance.
After the season opener, eight Cougars competed in the first 5K and 2000-meter relay events in program history as BYU debuted at the MPSF Open Water Championship in Long Beach, CA. The men’s representation, composed of Darwin Anderson, Mousser, Nelson and Dane Weber, took fourth with 94 points. Kara Martinson, Cher Patrick, Haylee Tiffany and Melissa Turlea of the women’s team earned fifth at 65.
The teams would then travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV, where the men defeated the Rebels 182-117. Across 16 events, the men’s team took first in 12 times. Tiffany would also set a new BYU women’s record in the 200 freestyle, finishing the event at 1:47.25.
Competitions at the Wolfpack Elite Invite (swimming) and USC Invitational (diving) followed, before the men’s team earned another victory at Hawaii 167-133. The team set four new Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex records, including two from senior Tyler Edlefsen in the 200 breaststroke (1:57.05) and 200 individual medley (1:46.61). Nelson’s 200 freestyle finish at 1:36.55 and the A relay team’s performance in the 400 medley relay at 3:12.26 made up the other two new pool records.
Despite suffering a defeat against Hawai'i, the women’s team saw Eliason set her new BYU record in the 50 butterfly at 24.49.
The Men’s team would earn a victory over Denver and then take fourth at the Big 12 West Championship meet in January. The women’s team would take fifth at the same competition hosted by Arizona State in Tempe, AZ.
Away competition concluded for the regular season at the Air Force Invite, which featured top finishes from divers Martí Llop and Brooklyn Goeckeritz.
Home Season
BYU welcomed its first opponents to the Richards Building Pool in January, taking on Air Force and Colorado Mesa in a double dual. Both men’s and women’s teams defeated the two opponents, setting a strong start to the second half of the season.
After the Double Dual, BYU hosted conference rival Utah on February 6 for its final regular-season matchup of the 2025–26 season. Although being outscored 161–140, the men’s team saw new pool records broken and top-10 program performances achieved.
The highlight of home competition this year was the women’s 160–140 victory over Utah, their first win over the Utes since 2012.
“Beating Utah’s women for the first time in 13 years means a lot, not just because of the rivalry, but because both teams push each other to be better,” head coach Tamber McAllister said. “Our women showed incredible grit…and the competition brought out the best in everyone. We’re proud of this moment…”
Six new BYU Top 10 records were set, as well as four new RBP records. The final event of the competition featured Tiffany, Victoria Schreiber, Martinson and Cooley setting a new RBP record and a first-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay, securing the team’s historic victory.