Ames Today

Iowa State University’s swimming and diving program has released its schedule for the 2025-26 season. Head coach Matt Leach, entering his second year with the Cyclones, made the announcement Thursday. He will be joined again by head diving coach Jeff Warrick and assistant coach Morgan McGhee.

The preseason begins October 3 with the annual Cardinal and Gold meet. On October 10, the team will hold its first alumni meet to welcome back former Cyclones. The regular season starts October 11 with a home meet against Nebraska in Ames. Iowa State will also host Illinois (October 17-18), Iowa (January 31), and Kansas (February 6) at Beyer Pool this season. Illinois is a new addition to the team’s schedule.

"We are excited to announce our 2025-26 meet schedule," said Leach. "A specific change to previous years that we want to highlight is the addition of Illinois to our dual meet schedule. Illinois is a strong and quickly rising Big Ten program that I am looking forward to seeing in the pool and on the boards."

After facing Illinois, Iowa State will travel for meets against South Dakota State and South Dakota in late October. The team then prepares for the Hawkeye Invite from November 18-21 before Thanksgiving break. In early December, swimmers will compete at the US Open Championships while divers participate in the Minnesota Invitational.

After winter break, Iowa State travels to Cedar Falls for a dual against UNI, an in-state rival, marking their first competition of 2026. Later in January, they host Iowa for the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series dual.

"It is always exciting to continue to honor our past rivalry meets and continue these meets into this year against Kansas, Nebraska and to host the Cy-Hawk Series dual meet against Iowa! We will also be traveling to the US Open Championships to continue our growth on a national stage along with preparing for the 2028 US Olympic Trials."

A notable change this year is the introduction of Big 12 Duals on January 16-17 in Houston.

"A big shift in Big 12 conference dual meets will be our Big 12 Duals which will be a high-energy, fun atmosphere," said Leach. "The thinking behind these Big 12 dual meets is to highlight the strength of every Big 12 swimming and diving program. These duals will see the Big 12 Conference split into two different locations, east and west, and will highlight the top of each program's swimming and diving roster. In these dual meets we will have a fun, fresh and interesting set up to see competition at a new level."

The final regular season meet takes place February 6 at Beyer Pool as Kansas visits Ames. This event concludes regular competition before postseason events such as the Big 12 Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Iowa State plans participation in several postseason competitions including National Invitational Championships (NICs), NCAA Diving Zone Qualifications, and NCAA Women's Championships.