By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
It may seem like the 2024-25 NCAA season has only just gotten started, but the midseason invitationals are quickly approaching. Below, we’ve gathered what you should know about next month’s biggest invitationals.
Nov. 19 – 22: Tennessee Invite
- Where: Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center — Knoxville, Tennessee
- When: 6 pm ET 11/19, 10 am ET prelims/5 pm ET finals 11/20-22
- Participating Teams: Kentucky, Tennessee (host), Virginia
Some of these invites are pretty small, and at three teams, the Tennessee Invite is the smallest invite on this list. But it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality, and this meet will feature some of the league’s biggest stars. Gretchen Walsh’s races are appointment viewing at this point, and Tennessee’s sprint crew—featuring Jordan Crooks, Gui Caribe, and Lamar Taylor—should be ready to go fast.
The Virginia women look unstoppable this season, even with Alex Walsh rehabbing her injury, Claire Curzan has looked strong in her first Virginia season as have freshmen like Leah Hayes and Anna Moesch. Reigning SEC champion Camille Spink swam well in the Volunteers’ close loss to the Louisville women, and even with Mona McSharry sitting out the first semester, Emelie Fast and McKenzie Siroky are holding the breaststroke group down.
Nov. 20 – 22: Art Adamson Invitational
- Where: Student Recreation Center — College Station, TX
- When: 10 am CT prelims/6 pm CT finals
- Participating Teams: Air Force, Incarnate Word, TCU, Texas A&M (host), Utah, Washington State
Six teams are attending this year’s Art Adamson Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M, which is in the middle of its first season under Blaire Anderson’s direction and as a combined program. They’ve looked solid through the first couple months of the season, with fifth-year Chloe Stepanek leading the way for the women in her final year of eligibility.
Also on the women’s side, Washington State’s first All-American since 2007, Emily Lundgren, should be strong in the breaststroke events for the Cougars. Diving should be particularly strong at this invite—the Aggies have a deep lineup and Utah’s Holly Waxman is one to watch.
Nov. 20 – 22: Georgia Invitational
- Where: Gabrielsen Natatorium — Athens, GA
- When: 9:30 am ET prelims/5:30 pm ET finals
- Participating Teams: Alabama, Florida, Georgia (host), LSU, Mizzou, South Carolina (diving only)
This all-SEC invite is missing some of the biggest names in the conference, but the Georgia Invitational will be a mini preview of what these teams will bring to the February conference championship events. In particular, don’t miss the sprint events—let’s not forget that Josh Liendo was 40.90 in the 100 free at this meet last year.
In addition to Liendo, there’s the Alabama sprint crew to watch, bolstered by Jada Scott’s return and the addition of Toni Dragoja and Kyle Micallef. LSU’s Jere Hribar dropped an 18.30 split at the Tigers’ first dual meet of the season, hitting the ground running after adjusting to yards his freshman season. Meanwhile, Zara Zallen has been an early bright spot for the rebuilding Mizzou women.
Away from the sprints, Emma Weyant and Bella Sims lead a strong Florida women’s team that’s successfully rebuilt and is now looking to maintain its place at the top of the conference and the NCAA. And for the hosting Georgia, Luca Urlando and Jake Magahey give the Dawgs a strong foundation to build off.
Nov 20 – 22: Texas Invitational
- Where: Lee and Joe Jamail Swimming Center — Austin, TX
- When: 10 am CT prelims/6 pm CT finals
- Participating Teams: Stanford, Texas (host), USC, Wisconsin
Only four teams are participating, but the Texas Invite is a “can’t miss” meet. The Texas men and women have already shown they aren’t messing around this season—at their first meet as an SEC school, Emma Sticklen took down the SEC and program record in the 200 fly (1:49.77) and redshirt freshman Jillian Cox broke the program record in the 1000 free as well.
The Texas men are also speeding through the season; newcomers like Hubert Kos and Rex Maurer have impressed, as has sophomore Nate Germonprez. The two Maurer brothers return to the Texas Invite on different teams; after racing for Stanford last season, Rex is now at Texas and Luke Maurer is at USC.
This meet has no shortage of Olympians. In addition to Kos, Torri Huske returns from her triumphant Olympic redshirt season, and names like Phoebe Bacon, Luke Hobson, Erin Gemmell, Aaron Shackell, and Krzysztof Chmielewski will also be in attendance.
Nov. 21 – 23: Wolfpack Elite Invite
- Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center — Greensboro, NC
- When: TBA
- Participating Teams: Arizona, Arizona State, VArmy, Duke, NC State (host), Northwestern, Virginia Tech
Always one of the fastest midseason invites, the Wolfpack Invite is stacked this season. Ilya Kharun has been on fire for the last twelve months. He’s shown no signs of slowing down, and he leads an ASU men’s team that’s proven they know how to go fast all season long into Greensboro. The women’s team is looking strong despite graduating Lindsay Looney, led by newcomers Miriam Sheehan, Caroline Bentz, and Julia Ulmann.
The NC State men have a deep roster to stack up against the defending NCAA champions. This will be our first look at a “tapered” Kaii Winkler and actually, our first time seeing Daniel Diehl at a midseason invite, since he joined the Wolfpack in January 2024.
From Virginia Tech, Carles Coll Marti and Carmen Weiler Sastre posted intriguing times at the SMU Classic, and the Hokie men’s medleys look dangerous. Kaelyn Gridley (Duke) and Johnny Crush (Army) are other swimmers to watch at this meet.
Nov. 22 – 24: Georgia Tech Invite
- Where: McAuley Aquatic Center — Atlanta, GA
- When: 10 am ET prelims/5 pm ET finals
- Participating Teams: Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech (host), Michigan
The Georgia Tech Invite is another smaller invite as like the Texas Invite, it only has four teams slated to attend. However, it’s still worth keeping an eye on. Michigan responded well to Matt Bowe’s first season as head coach and they aim to build on that momentum this season.
It will be intriguing to see them match up against non-Big Ten rivals like ACC’s Georgia Tech and SEC’s Auburn. The Auburn women have built on each season since and are still a bit away from joining their men’s squad in contesting for the top 10 at NCAAs, but this season looks like it will be another step forward. Auburn’s been focused on building powerful relays to move themselves up the standings, and the women’s relays look particularly strong this season.
Dec. 4 – 7: Minnesota Invitational
- Where: Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center — Minnesota, MN
- When: TBA
- Participating Teams: Cal, Denver, Harvard, Minnesota (host), Rutgers, UNLV
The Minnesota Invite uses the classic four-day championship structure, allowing teams to experience a championship meet structure before the postseason begins.
Cal, of course, is the biggest swimming powerhouse on the list, but Minnesota and Harvard both made intriguing additions in the offseason and this will be one of our first chances to see those crews suit up and go fast this season.
This meet overlaps with the U.S. Open; it’s a possibility that we could see top athletes opt for that meet over this one, like when Cal sent a group to the Westmont Pro Swim rather than the Pac-12 championships last season.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Midseason Invitationals: Which Teams Are Going To Which Meet?