I follow all the college swimming on swimswam. For conference there are no time standards and the team are allowed a 24 person roster. Stanford and USC rosters are small and under the limit this year. Also ASU chose not to compete this season so the competition level is really down this year. For Pac-12 Cal and Stanford don't rest their top swimmers since they have already qualified for NCAAs and these teams are geared toward performing their best in the championship meet. Top 24 in the morning qualify for finals in A, B and C heats normally its pretty tough time to make it back but this year some events don't even have 24 entrants. Swimmers can do 3 individual events and up to 4 relays. Its up to the coaches/swimmers to pick their 3 events so some teams are strong in certain events vs others.

Thanks! Not sure why they keep all that such a secret. So much more interesting with an understanding of the dynamics.

Chloe Larson's win in the 50 made some headlines in the local mainstream media here in Seattle. Nice to see swimming get some attention! First title in WSU history.

Any insights into life inside the WSU program throughout a typical season? For example, does everyone travel for duel meets or is there a varsity travel squad? What would life be like for a walk-on athlete with long term potential? How many of those swimmers would a team like WSU carry?

Go Cougs

The swimmer was quite emotional in victory. You can find it on Pac-12 network to watch

The average college roster is about 30 swimmers so there are extra swimmers and there are limited scholarships and many times the coaches spread the money around with 1/2 scholarships. I think a dual meet squad is 18 swimmers so for travel meets that would be the max, its up to the coaches to determine the size of the travel squad many times its less than 18. I was a walkon at D1, it was a long time ago. They treat everyone pretty equal. Many freshman are not yet competitive with their times so they need to be developed over the course of 4 years. D1 schools they want swimmers out of high school with Jr. national time standards or better. Some less competitive schools would take slower swimmers sometimes it depends on pool space and the resources they have available.

If you want more info on your schools program, I recommend making a small donation. I did this and now I get alumni updates and the coaches newsletter every month. Also if the school team has a social media account those can give you a glimpse of team life.