Men's NCAA Relay Qualification Explodes As 20 Schools Earn At Least One 'A' Cut In First Term

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By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam

The peak of midseason invites is over, and the first half of the 2024-25 NCAA season is in the books. There's been a lot of focus on the state of play in the individual events after the big invites, but now that the majority of teams have suited up, it's time to take a look at the relay landscape.

A quick reminder on how relays qualify for NCAAs:

• The simplest way to qualify relays for NCAAs is to hit the "A" cut, formally known as the "Qualifying Standard" (QS) in a relay.
• Once a team has the qualifying standard in one relay, it can enter all relays where it's earned the "B" cut, formally known as the "Provisional Standard" (PS).
• Teams with four swimmers qualified in individual events can swim relays in which they have the "B" cut.
• Relays are qualified "to the team," not the individual swimmers. That means teams can take whichever swimmers they want to use on the relay.
• Teams must have at least one individual invite to send relays.

There's a lot of focus on relays qualifying and scoring highly for the teams contending for the NCAA title. That's been a huge factor in the men's team race this year as programs like Texas and Indiana add Olympic-level mid-season transfers as a way not only to earn more individual points but also bolster relays, which score double individual events.

But relay qualification is important for teams that aren't vying for the big trophy or a top-ten finish. Relays are a team exercise and, thus, reflect on the overall health of a program because hitting the "A" cut isn't something the team's biggest star can achieve alone. Qualifying one relay can be an important step for a rebuilding program, and qualifying all five is a significant marker for a program on the rise to achieve.

More and more programs are figuring out how to swim fast all year round. It's becoming fashionable to suit up for dual meets. But last year, the "fast all-year" method didn't carry over to post-invite relay qualification. Only two men's teams had the maximum five "A" cuts, and just 14 schools earned an "A" cut at all, down from 16 schools at this point in the calendar for the last two seasons.

That number has exploded this year, as 20 men's programs have earned at least one "A" cut, and six have all five "A" cuts.

Schools with 1+ 2023 NCAA 'A' Cut

Note: The table is organized by the number of qualified relays in descending, then alphabetical order. 

Last year, only ASU and Cal—arguably the two teams in contention for the 2024 team title—had all five "A" cuts. This year, ASU, Cal, Florida, Indiana, Stanford, and Tennessee have achieved that status. The upswing could point to several things, including how the competition at the top of the men's standings has intensified this season.

Notably, ASU, Florida, and Stanford all reached this mark, as all these programs have managed losses during the offseason. ASU saw a coaching change, and many of its top swimmers depart, but they have been at the top or near the top of the NCAA ranks in every relay but the 800 free, signaling the relays are going to be their key towards remaining in the top five. Meanwhile, Florida has handled the surprising loss of Macguire McDuff well, especially considering fifth-year Adam Chaney hasn't raced this term.

In addition to signaling the health of a program, relay qualification also reveals something about a program's strengths. The 800 freestyle relay has often been the weak relay of a sprint-oriented Tennessee team—they didn't even swim the relay at NCAAs last year and spoke to the strength of the other disciplines that Tennessee finished as highly as it did (6th) with only four scoring relays. Not only do the Volunteers already have the "A" cut this season, but they rank second in the league behind only Texas.

Speaking of the Longhorns, they don't have all five "A" cuts. They are missing the 200 freestyle relay, where they've achieved a "B" cut (1:16.73). It's unsurprising as sprint freestyle is a weakness of an otherwise strong team and one they've made an effort to fix by adding Chris Guiliano midseason. While looking at relay qualification underlines this weakness for Texas, it also highlights the growth they've seen this season. This time last year, they had two "A" cuts and only three relays eligible for NCAAs.

Other teams that have seen major growth in their relays include LSU and UNC. Last year, both earned their one NCAA "A" cut at conferences, which made LSU eligible for four relays and UNC three. Neither had an "A" or "B" cut after invites last year, but the Tigers and Tar Heels have hit the ground running this season. LSU owns four "A" cuts and is only missing a "B" cut in the 800 freestyle relay. UNC has two "A" cuts and two "B" cuts and, like LSU, is only missing a cut in the 800 freestyle relay to have all five eligible at NCAAs.

Louisville, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Arizona, Michigan, and SMU are the other schools that have an "A" cut that did not at this point last season. It's an important mark for all six schools, particularly Virginia, which is looking to set up an impactful recruiting class joining the team next season with a bounce-back year in 2024-25. The Cavaliers impressed in the 200 free and 400 medley relays at midseason, missing the American record in the latter by about a half-second.

On the flip side, the suspended Notre Dame team and Texas A&M are the two programs that appeared on this list last year that are now absent. The Aggies are missing an “A” cut but do have four “B” cuts.

As SMU is now in the ACC, no mid-major programs have an "A" cut yet. However, Princeton earned a "B" cut in the 400 freestyle relay (2:49.93) and Army in the 200 medley relay (1:23.85). Princeton is .14 seconds from the 2:49.79 qualifying standard, while Army is .23 seconds away. The 200 medley relay qualifying standard is 1:23.62.

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