Making waves on the national stage

Photos by Trinity Johnson, Photographer.

On Mar. 6, 2026, the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association, or CSCAA, ranked Chapman's men’s swim and dive team at No. 25 in the country. Placing them in the top 25 for the first time in school history.

This comes following a 609-point performance in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championships last February, finishing only behind Pomona-Pitzer University and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College for third place, and a spot on the podium.

Then senior diver Reid Omilian was a spearhead for the team's success.

In his 2026 season, at the SCIAC championships, Omilian competed in two separate diving events. The one-meter and three-meter dives.

After placing first overall in the one-meter, then second overall in the three-meter, Omilian ended his SCIAC career scoring 27 points for his team, making his performance a driving reason for the team's third-place finish and national ranking.

“It was a great feeling when we figured out we were third and then overall nationally ranked,” Omilian said. “It showed we all had each other's backs in one way or another when it came to doing what we needed to do in the pool.”

Because of his performance throughout the season and qualifying for the event in Atlanta, Omilian was invited to dive at the men’s NCAA Division III championships last year at the University of Indiana's natatorium in Indianapolis.

Omilian once again competed in the one and three-meter dives, and although he didn’t podium, he said the experience was once in a lifetime.

Photos by Trinity Johnson, Photographer.

“I always told myself when I was at nationals, ‘I’m just happy to be in the room.’ I was happy to compete against the people who are very talented and show off whatever I can do in that pool.”

After his first dive, Omilian said he had brushed off the nerves. He placed 15th and qualified as a 2nd team All-American.

“On the three-meter board, I did not do as well as I wanted to do. I think it was just the nerves of that being my first event, but I was happy to be there and have that experience,” Omilian said. “One meter was my second event, and that one I knew I was a lot more confident in.”

Now that Reid has graduated, he can support the Panthers without the stress of competing. He says that playing on the team and watching the growth over the past four years leaves him excited to see where the program will go.

“Our goal has always been to place in the top two within SCIAC, and I know that that’s possible. We get strong recruits each year because our program is getting better,” said Omilian. “So from an outside perspective, I would love to see their goals come to be.”

Jake Randazzo, a fellow Chapman graduate and roommate of Omilian, has a somewhat different post-grad experience with the team. 

Although they were both divers, Randazzo decided to stick around as an assistant coach, giving him the experience of coaching his former teammates instead of competing alongside them.

“Two new freshmen are really talented, and the team we have from last year is also really good, so I’m just trying to help them be consistent and dive the best they can,” Randazzo said. “I know they can get the job done, I know they can do the work, I just have to guide them in that direction.”

Photos by Trinity Johnson, Photographer.

One of those former team members is senior swimmer James Galligan, who has not only been a big part of the team's success the past few seasons, but also a big reason they’re still on the right track.

Competing in multiple different events, Galligan describes himself as a jack of all trades.

“I’m an oddball in that sense; I can kinda do a lot, but mainly 200 Individual Medley (IM) and breaststroke,” Galligan said.

In the 2025-26 season SCIAC championships, Galligan qualified for some of the events, making the podium in three: the 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard freestyle relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay. He said the experience it gave him and the team was eye-opening.

“Swimming at the SCIAC championship has been good; it’s our final meet where everyone gets to show out,” Galligan said. “The whole training is essentially for that meet, so it’s a lot of pressure, but I think nerves are good, and I think the team really rises to the occasion there and shows people that Chapman’s a swim school and people shouldn't doubt us.”

In terms of the team's training, Galligan said every time they step into the weight room or the pool, it’s not just practice. It’s an opportunity to get better.

“The team just really needs to dig into themselves and use their teammates here and really just use all these practices as an opportunity to get better. It’s not just a practice, it’s an opportunity,” Galligan said. “We say to try and give 100 percent of whatever percent you have to give that day. Just do one little thing better each day, and when the time comes, you’ll be able to put it all together.”

This season, the men's team looks to continue striving towards their goal of a top-two finish in the SCIAC conference, and also to send their first swimmer to the NCAA Division III meet.

“Chapman wasn’t always a swim school, and now we’re up there. Hopefully second in SCIAC this year, we’re really competing for it,” Galligan said. "It's really been cool to see the program thrive exponentially, the growth in the swimmers, the team, the coaching staff. It’s pretty cool being a unit this year, and I think the team has pretty big aspirations.”

The next time the men’s swim and dive team enters the pool is for a meet against the University of La Verne and Pomona-Pitzer University on Nov. 7.