The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Men’s Swimming & Diving program was selected as the America East preseason favorite in the conference poll released Sept. 23, 2026. The defending champion received all four possible first-place votes because coaches could not vote for their own teams. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County women’s swimming and diving program was picked fourth with 13 points.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Men’s Swimming & Diving program will host its annual Black & Gold/Alumni Meet Saturday at 1 p.m. The meet is scheduled to open the men’s program’s season.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County Men’s Swimming & Diving enters as defending champion
University of Maryland, Baltimore County won the America East Swimming & Diving Championship in February with 805.5 points, finishing 57.5 points ahead of Binghamton. The title was the program’s 15th in 20 seasons of America East competition and its first since 2023.
The championship also ended the men’s program’s longest title drought since University of Maryland, Baltimore County joined the conference in 2004. Braden Weise won two additional gold medals and earned the meet’s Most Outstanding Rookie honor. The coaching staff led by Matt Donovan was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Coaching Staff.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County women’s program picked fourth
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County women’s swimming and diving program was selected fourth in the preseason poll with 13 points. The program finished fourth at the 2026 championships with 446 points.
Ashley Gutshall qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 50-meter event. She set University of Maryland, Baltimore County, America East and meet records with a winning time of 22.25. Erma Duratovic won bronze in the event with a time of 23.14, while Ember Stennett earned the fifth medal of her career last season.
Gutshall and Duratovic joined Claire Oettinger and Evie Grim to win bronze in the 200 freestyle relay. The relay finished in 1:32.82.
Maryland Sports Blog Take
The preseason poll puts the defending America East champion University of Maryland, Baltimore County Men’s Swimming & Diving program atop the conference. The four first-place votes follow the program’s championship performance in February, while the women’s program enters the season after placing fourth at the 2026 championships.
The Black & Gold/Alumni Meet will provide the first scheduled opportunity to see the men’s program begin its season.
Read the official announcement from UMBC Athletics.
Source: Original report
