Cincinnati Begins Competition at the 2026 Big 12 Championships

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are set to compete at the Big 12 Conference Championships from Feb. 24-28 inside the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.

 

Prelims are scheduled for 10 a.m. each day, with finals beginning at 5:15 p.m. (diving) and 6 p.m. (swimming). The finals each night will stream live on ESPN+. The full schedule can be found here.

 

Joleigh Crye headlines the Bearcats’ returners as the reigning Big 12 champion in the 100-yard breaststroke. She became the program’s first Big 12 swimming conference champion and just the third conference champion in school history.

 

Crye will look to become the third consecutive Big 12 student-athlete to repeat as champion in the event. She is also aiming to become Cincinnati’s first back-to-back individual conference champion since 2016, when Jacqueline Keire won three consecutive 200 freestyle titles (2014-16) and back-to-back 100 freestyle crowns (2015-16).

 

On the boards, sophomore Ramez Diaa leads the diving squad after earning a runner-up finish on platform with a score of 357.80 at last year’s championship meet.

 

Arizona State took home both the men’s and women’s titles in its Big 12 Championship debut in 2025. Seven men’s programs and 10 women’s programs will compete at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

 

At last year's championship meet, Cincinnati earned 22 podium finishes, 23 NCAA B-cut times, one NCAA A-cut time, 17 school records and 104 program top-ten times. The women’s (800.5) and men’s (923.0) teams both finished sixth in team standings. 

 

UC kicked off the first night with a second-place finish in the women's 200-yard medley relay. The team of Ellie Schrank, Joleigh Crye, Kate Mardis and Jessica Davis recorded a time of 1:36.16, which was a new school record and also qualified them for the NCAA Championship meet in March. 

 

Kyle Bumgardner led the Bearcats into night three of finals as the top seed in the 400-yard individual medley. In prelims, he recorded a personal best and new school record time of 3:45.21. 

 

Graduate student Hunter Gubeno grabbed the Big 12 title in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:40.38 on the final night.