SMU Swimming Flexes Academic Muscle Again

DALLAS - SMU swimming and diving didn’t just handle business in the pool this spring. The Mustangs also delivered where it matters most ... in the classroom.

Both the SMU men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs earned Spring 2026 Scholar All-America Team honors from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America, giving the Mustangs another strong academic win to pair with their athletic standard.

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The honor isn’t handed out for simply showing up. Teams must post at least a 3.00 overall GPA to qualify, and SMU cleared that bar on both sides.

The men’s team, led by head coach Greg Rhodenbaugh, put together a sharp 3.41 GPA.

The women’s team, guided by head coach Ozzie Quevedo, finished with a 3.18 GPA. In a sport that demands brutal training hours, travel, recovery and competition pressure, those numbers say plenty about the discipline inside the program.

And the team recognition wasn’t the only headline.

Seven SMU athletes earned CSCAA Scholar All-American Second Team honors, a distinction that requires a 3.5 GPA or better along with national-level qualifying standards.

That means these Mustangs weren’t just getting it done academically; they were also performing at a serious competitive level.

On the men’s side, Andy Baklanov, Francis Brennan, Grant Cates and Jack Berube earned Second Team recognition.

For the women, Annemarie Vlaic, Jimena Leal and Summer Osborne also landed Second Team honors.

That balance is exactly what college athletics is supposed to look like. Fast in the water. Locked in academically. No excuses.

The CSCAA recognized 714 teams from 418 schools for Spring 2026, putting SMU among a wide national group of programs that met the standard.

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But for the Mustangs, this still feels like more than a participation trophy.

It’s proof that SMU swimming and diving is building a culture that travels from the pool deck to the classroom — and the results are starting to stack up.