Josh Liendo and Ahmed Jaouadi capture the men’s top individual swimming honors as Anthony Nesty and Bryan Gillooly sweep the men’s coaching awards.
Florida Claims Four SEC Men’s Postseason Awards; 14 Gators Earn All-SEC Honors
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Southeastern Conference announced its 2025-26 annual men's and women's swimming & diving postseason awards on Wednesday.
Florida earned four of the seven men's postseason honors, with Josh Liendo being named Men's Swimmer of the Year, Ahmed Jaouadi earning Men's Freshman of the Year and Anthony Nesty and Bryan Gillooly claiming the men's swimming & diving coaching awards.
The men additionally led all programs with eight All-SEC First Team selections: Scotty Buff, Koen de Groot, Devin Dilger, Jesus Gonzalez, Ahmed Jaouadi, Josh Liendo, Jonny Marshall and Alexander Painter. On the women's side, Anita Bottazzo, Catie Choate and Camyla Monroy earned All-SEC First Team honors, while Grace Rabb was named to the All-SEC Second Team. Ahmed Hafnaoui represented Florida on the Men's All-SEC Third Team and Jesus Agundez Mora, Jaouadi and Rabb earned All-Freshman Team honors.
For the All-SEC Teams, the First Team consists of the top finisher in each event at the SEC Championships, the Second Team consists of the second-place finishers, and the Third Team consists of the third-place finishers. The All-Freshman Team consist of any redshirt or true freshman who finished either in the top eight or was the highest scoring freshman of each event at the SEC Championships, excluding relay events.
Coach Nesty Said:
"It is humbling to be named SEC Coach of the year alongside our diving coach Bryan. This is a testament to our great staff and team at the University of Florida."
Coach Gillooly Said:
"At Florida, this is the standard we strive for, so to be recognized in this way is incredibly meaningful. I'm proud to stand alongside the great coaches here and honored to accept this on behalf of our team. Our athletes delivered an outstanding season, and they deserve the spotlight. This is absolutely a team achievement - our support staff, trainers, academic team, and especially my wife, Laurent, all played a huge role. I wouldn't be here without them."
Men's Swimmer of the Year – Josh Liendo
Liendo earns the conference's top swimming honor for the second time in his career, adding to his 2023 recognition. He is one of nine Gators that combines for a conference-best 16 Men's Swimmer of the Year honors in program history.
At the NCAA Championships, the senior swept his individual events, the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly, to join Caleb Dressel as the only Gators to accomplish the feat twice. Liendo scored a meet-high 60 individual points and broke the NCAA, U.S. Open, meet and program records in the 100 fly twice in a single day. He also posted personal-best times of 18.06 in the 50 free and 39.91 in the 100 free.
Liendo earned First-Team All-America honors in all seven of his events for the first time in his career, finishing with 26 total honors to rank No. 4 in program history. His nine national titles rank second all-time among Gators.
At the SEC Championships, Liendo totaled a team-high six medals and was named SEC Men's Swimmer of the Meet. He reached the podium in all three individual events, becoming the first Gator in program history to win four consecutive SEC titles in the 100 fly and just the second to win four straight titles in a single event, joining Mike Heath (200 free, 1983-86).
He also captured his first SEC title in the 50 free and added a bronze medal in the 100 free. The Canadian Olympian also contributed to Florida's gold-medal finishes in the 200 free and 400 free relays as well as the 200 medley relay, who set the NCAA, SEC and program records (1:20.03).
Men's Freshman of the Year – Ahmed Jaouadi
Jaouadi's honor marks the fourth-consecutive year a Gator has garnered the award, matching the program's four-year streak from 2001-04 and extending a run in which no other program has won more than three straight. He becomes the 16th Gator to receive the accolade, giving Florida 15 of the 28 total honors.
The Tunisian swimmer became just the second Gator to win the NCAA title in the 1,650 free, breaking the NCAA, U.S. Open, meet and program records with a time of 14:10.03 in his rookie season. He also added a second-place finish in the 500 free (4:06.90), contributing the second-most individual points to Florida's team total with 37.
At the SEC Championships, Jaouadi scored 71 individual points and made two podium appearances. He became the 19th Gator to win the SEC title in the 1,650 free, touching first in 14:25.14 to set the Allan Jones Aquatic Center pool record. He added a silver medal in the 500 free (4:09.28) and advanced to the 200 free B final where he placed 16th (1:34.17). Additionally, he anchored a 1:33.75 split on the 800 free relay team that finished fifth (6:13.60).
Men's Swimming & Diving Coaches of the Year – Anthony Nesty & Bryan Gillooly
Nesty earned his seventh SEC Men's Coach of the Year honor, while Gillooly secured Florida's first SEC Men's Diving Coach of the Year recognition, adding to the pair's CSCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year honors.
The duo guided Florida to a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships, marking the team's best finish in 39 years dating back to a runner-up result in 1985. It marked just second runner-up finish all-time. Florida diving led the way with a meet-high 58 points, as the team totaled a program-record 419 points overall. The Gators won five NCAA titles and added 14 additional podium finishes to combine for 25 All-America honors (20 First-Team, five Second-Team). The men set two NCAA, U.S. Open, program and meet records, three McAuley Aquatic Center Pool records and posted 11 program top-10 times.
At the SEC Championships, the men totaled 15 medals en route to a second-place finish with 1,292 points. Diving contributed 174 points, the second most at the meet. The men captured eight SEC titles and added seven additional podium finishes. The 200 medley relay team set NCAA, SEC and program records (1:20.03) on opening night, while the Gators recorded four Allan Jones pool records, two SEC meet records and 14 program top-10 times.
The complete list of Florida's 2025-26 SEC Swimming & Diving Awards is as follows:
Stay Connected
Fans can stay up to date with the Florida Gator swimming & diving teams by following @GatorsSwimDv on X and catch up with the latest news and content of the team. Like the team's Facebook page at Florida Gators Swimming & Diving Fans can also keep up with the team by following them on Instagram at @Gatorsswimdv
Florida earned four of the seven men's postseason honors, with Josh Liendo being named Men's Swimmer of the Year, Ahmed Jaouadi earning Men's Freshman of the Year and Anthony Nesty and Bryan Gillooly claiming the men's swimming & diving coaching awards.
The men additionally led all programs with eight All-SEC First Team selections: Scotty Buff, Koen de Groot, Devin Dilger, Jesus Gonzalez, Ahmed Jaouadi, Josh Liendo, Jonny Marshall and Alexander Painter. On the women's side, Anita Bottazzo, Catie Choate and Camyla Monroy earned All-SEC First Team honors, while Grace Rabb was named to the All-SEC Second Team. Ahmed Hafnaoui represented Florida on the Men's All-SEC Third Team and Jesus Agundez Mora, Jaouadi and Rabb earned All-Freshman Team honors.
For the All-SEC Teams, the First Team consists of the top finisher in each event at the SEC Championships, the Second Team consists of the second-place finishers, and the Third Team consists of the third-place finishers. The All-Freshman Team consist of any redshirt or true freshman who finished either in the top eight or was the highest scoring freshman of each event at the SEC Championships, excluding relay events.
Coach Nesty Said:
"It is humbling to be named SEC Coach of the year alongside our diving coach Bryan. This is a testament to our great staff and team at the University of Florida."
Coach Gillooly Said:
"At Florida, this is the standard we strive for, so to be recognized in this way is incredibly meaningful. I'm proud to stand alongside the great coaches here and honored to accept this on behalf of our team. Our athletes delivered an outstanding season, and they deserve the spotlight. This is absolutely a team achievement - our support staff, trainers, academic team, and especially my wife, Laurent, all played a huge role. I wouldn't be here without them."
Men's Swimmer of the Year – Josh Liendo
Liendo earns the conference's top swimming honor for the second time in his career, adding to his 2023 recognition. He is one of nine Gators that combines for a conference-best 16 Men's Swimmer of the Year honors in program history.
At the NCAA Championships, the senior swept his individual events, the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly, to join Caleb Dressel as the only Gators to accomplish the feat twice. Liendo scored a meet-high 60 individual points and broke the NCAA, U.S. Open, meet and program records in the 100 fly twice in a single day. He also posted personal-best times of 18.06 in the 50 free and 39.91 in the 100 free.
Liendo earned First-Team All-America honors in all seven of his events for the first time in his career, finishing with 26 total honors to rank No. 4 in program history. His nine national titles rank second all-time among Gators.
At the SEC Championships, Liendo totaled a team-high six medals and was named SEC Men's Swimmer of the Meet. He reached the podium in all three individual events, becoming the first Gator in program history to win four consecutive SEC titles in the 100 fly and just the second to win four straight titles in a single event, joining Mike Heath (200 free, 1983-86).
He also captured his first SEC title in the 50 free and added a bronze medal in the 100 free. The Canadian Olympian also contributed to Florida's gold-medal finishes in the 200 free and 400 free relays as well as the 200 medley relay, who set the NCAA, SEC and program records (1:20.03).
Men's Freshman of the Year – Ahmed Jaouadi
Jaouadi's honor marks the fourth-consecutive year a Gator has garnered the award, matching the program's four-year streak from 2001-04 and extending a run in which no other program has won more than three straight. He becomes the 16th Gator to receive the accolade, giving Florida 15 of the 28 total honors.
The Tunisian swimmer became just the second Gator to win the NCAA title in the 1,650 free, breaking the NCAA, U.S. Open, meet and program records with a time of 14:10.03 in his rookie season. He also added a second-place finish in the 500 free (4:06.90), contributing the second-most individual points to Florida's team total with 37.
At the SEC Championships, Jaouadi scored 71 individual points and made two podium appearances. He became the 19th Gator to win the SEC title in the 1,650 free, touching first in 14:25.14 to set the Allan Jones Aquatic Center pool record. He added a silver medal in the 500 free (4:09.28) and advanced to the 200 free B final where he placed 16th (1:34.17). Additionally, he anchored a 1:33.75 split on the 800 free relay team that finished fifth (6:13.60).
Men's Swimming & Diving Coaches of the Year – Anthony Nesty & Bryan Gillooly
Nesty earned his seventh SEC Men's Coach of the Year honor, while Gillooly secured Florida's first SEC Men's Diving Coach of the Year recognition, adding to the pair's CSCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year honors.
The duo guided Florida to a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships, marking the team's best finish in 39 years dating back to a runner-up result in 1985. It marked just second runner-up finish all-time. Florida diving led the way with a meet-high 58 points, as the team totaled a program-record 419 points overall. The Gators won five NCAA titles and added 14 additional podium finishes to combine for 25 All-America honors (20 First-Team, five Second-Team). The men set two NCAA, U.S. Open, program and meet records, three McAuley Aquatic Center Pool records and posted 11 program top-10 times.
At the SEC Championships, the men totaled 15 medals en route to a second-place finish with 1,292 points. Diving contributed 174 points, the second most at the meet. The men captured eight SEC titles and added seven additional podium finishes. The 200 medley relay team set NCAA, SEC and program records (1:20.03) on opening night, while the Gators recorded four Allan Jones pool records, two SEC meet records and 14 program top-10 times.
The complete list of Florida's 2025-26 SEC Swimming & Diving Awards is as follows:
| Male Swimmer of the Year: | Josh Liendo |
| Male Freshmen Swimmer of the Year: | Ahmed Jaouadi |
| Men's Swimming Coach of the Year: | Anthony Nesty |
| Men's Diving Coach of the Year: | Bryan Gillooly |
| Men's All-SEC First Team | |
| Name | Top Event Finish |
| 200 & 400 Freestyle Relay | |
| 200 Freestyle Relay | |
| 200 & 400 Freestyle Relay | |
| 3-Meter | |
| 1,650 Freestyle | |
| 50 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly, 200 Medley Relay, 200 & 400 Freestyle Relay | |
| 200 Backstroke, 200 Medley Relay | |
| 200 Freestyle Relay | |
| Men's All-SEC Third Team | |
| Name | Third-Place Finish |
| 500 & 1,650 Freestyle | |
| Men's All-Freshman Team | |
| Name | Top Eight / Highest Scoring Freshman of Each Event* |
| 1-Meter | |
| 500 & 1,650 Freestyle | |
| Women's All-SEC First Team | |
| Name | Top Event Finish |
| 100 & 200 Breaststroke | |
| 200 Backstroke | |
| Platform | |
| Women's All-SEC Second Team | |
| Name | Second-Place Finish |
| 200 Breaststroke | |
| Women's All-Freshman Team | |
| Name | Top Eight / Highest Scoring Freshman of Each Event* |
| 200 Breaststroke | |
Stay Connected
Fans can stay up to date with the Florida Gator swimming & diving teams by following @GatorsSwimDv on X and catch up with the latest news and content of the team. Like the team's Facebook page at Florida Gators Swimming & Diving Fans can also keep up with the team by following them on Instagram at @Gatorsswimdv
Players Mentioned
Diver
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breast
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Back/Fly/Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Back
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breast
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diver
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Fly/Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Back
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diver
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breast/Bacl.Fly/IM
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