The reigning conference champion Pomona-Pitzer has been unanimously selected to win a second consecutive SCIAC title in the 2026-27 Men's Swimming & Diving Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
Last year's conference championship marked the Sagehens' first time topping the SCIAC since the 2018-19 season. In between, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps had a run of five consecutive trophies. The Stags were tabbed to finish in second place with a total of 71 points, followed by Chapman with 64 points.
At the 2026 SCIAC Championships, Pomona-Pitzer saw 11 first-place finishes, including a strong diving performance from Tommy Matheis, who earned Diver of the Year honors. The rising junior earned first place in the three-meter dive before finishing in seventh in the one-meter dive at the NCAA Championships to claim All-American status.
Diego Hodge and Casey Jacobs, both whom are returning to the pool this year, finished in first place in four and five races at last season's conference championships, respectively. The Sagehens were notably highlighted by their relay races, in which they recorded four first-place finishes at the SCIAC Championships. At Nationals, the team posted four All-American performances in relays. The Sagehens came in 16th as a group at the National Championships.
CMS will look to return to the top of the conference again, led by young talent in Pierce McShane, William Jones, and Kenny Eckel. Each swimmer won one race at the 2026 SCIAC Championships, while Eckel was also a part of the 800-yard freestyle relay team that finished in first. Nationally, Jones was a Second-Team All-American in both the 500- and 1650-yard freestyle as a first-year.
Additional key individual performers in the conference that are set to come back for 2026-27 include last year's SCIAC Athlete of the Year Honza Zika and Newcomer of the Year Aidan Trautwein. Zika earned individual SCIAC Championships in the 400-yard IM and 200-yard butterfly, while Trautwein finished on the podium in both the one- and three-meter dives.
Several new head coaches are also set to take the helm this season in Jason Willman for Chapman, Andrew Brabson for La Verne, Alys Lindsay for the California Institute of Technology, and Jeff Natalizio for Whittier.
Another highlight for the upcoming season is the addition of Azusa Pacific, who is currently in the reclassification process from Division II to Division III.
2026-27 SCIAC Men's Swimming & Diving Preseason Poll
1. Pomona-Pitzer, 81 points (nine first-place votes)
2. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 71 points
3. Chapman, 64 points
4. Whittier, 52 points
5. Caifornia Lutheran, 42 points
6. California Institute of Technology, 36 points
7. Occidental, 29 points
8. Redlands, 21 points
9. La Verne, 9 points
Azusa Pacific*
* - Ineligible for SCIAC Championship as school transitions from Division II