2025-26 Northeast Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Preseason Coaches Poll                 1. Howard (unanimous)                 2. Wagner                 3. LIU                 4. Le Moyne                 First place votes in parenthes

Bridgewater, NJ -- After winning its second NEC Men's Swimming & Diving championship by the narrowest of margins last year, Howard hopes to defend its crown with a little more breathing room this winter.
 
The Bison were the unanimous favorites to repeat as NEC champions in the annual preseason coaches' poll.

Last year's runner-up Wanger was picked second, while LIU and Le Moyne finished third and fourth, respectively.

Just seven points separated Howard and Wagner in the closest-ever race for the crown last February, with the Bison clinching the NEC title with a dramatic victory in the 4x100 relay, the competition’s final event at Spire Academy

Nicholas Askew will chase the program's third NEC title in four years at the helm of the rising program. Under Askew’s guidance, the Bison have finished as champion or runner-up every season since joining the NEC in 2022, and Askew along with his staff have earned NEC Coaching Staff of the Year honors three times. Nine Howard swimmers earned All-NEC recognition last season following podium finishes at the 2025 NEC meet.
 
First team All-NEC honoree Mason Green (Fort Lauderdale, FL) enters his junior season looking to defend his 100 butterfly crown. Green also earned an All-NEC second team recognition in the 200-butterfly on the heels of a runner-up finish. The Floridian was also a member of Howard's winning 400 free and 400 medley relay teams. Senior Taj Benton (Baltimore, MD) and junior Adam Diaz (Manhattan, NY) were both All-NEC Third Team selections a season ago after finishing third in the 100 fly and 100 backstroke, respectively. The Bison also bring back graduate student Zay Swilley (Bradley, IL), the Outstanding Diver at the 2025 NEC Championships. Swilley, working under the direction of NEC Diving Coach of the Year Courtenay Miller, swept both boards at the 2025 Championship and keyed a 1-2-3 Bison sweep in the 3-meter dive.

Wagner enters 2026 hungry to reclaim the NEC title after its excruciatingly close runner-up finish a year ago. Head coach Colin Shannahan returns five of his seven All-NEC selections from a year ago, and both First Team swimmers in sophomores Adrian Andres Moreno (Zaragoza, Spain/The British School of Aragon) and Nikko Carrillo (Santa Barbara, CA/Dos Pueblos). Moreno swept the 100 and 200 breaststroke at NECs last season, while Carrillo touched first in the 200 fly and 200 IM.
 
The NEC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships will take place from February 17-20 and will once again be hosted at Spire Academy in Geneva, OH.
  
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 45th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of ten institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, New Haven, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.