Projected to finish first in the poll is back-to-back-to-back champion University of Denver accumulating 36 total votes and six first-place votes. South Dakota State University finished second at 31 votes, failing to receive any first-place votes. Rounding out the poll is South Dakota University (30, one first-place vote), University of Nebraska Omaha (20), St. Thomas University (13), Eastern Illinois University (9), and USI (7).
The two Screaming Eagles representatives to the 2024-25 Preseason Conference Swimmers and Divers to Watch list are junior diver Lane Pollock and freshman backstroke/butterfly Jude Winnington. Pollock is coming off an impressive 2024 season earning scores of 250.25 in the one-meter and 258.75 in the three-meter at the Summit League Championships. Pollock earned a career best three-meter score against University of Evansville with a score of 256.06. “I am very excited to see Lane compete this year after two years under his belt. He worked very hard in the off season on some little things which will show in the way he competes this year,” says diving coach Andy Brown.
Winnington joins the Eagles from Middletown High School in Middletown, Delaware where he earned First-Team all-state swimmer four times while winning eight conference championships. He finished his high school career holding eight Middletown High School records. “Jude’s became a spark plug for our men’s program always excited to be on deck and practicing hard along with being versatile in a lot of different events,” says Kainer.
The Eagles kick off their 2024-25 campaign on October 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana competing against Indiana University Indianapolis and Northern Kentucky University. USI will make its home debut against Valparaiso University on October 10 at the USI Aquatic Center.
