CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) - California’s Yamato Okadome and Virginia’s Maximus Williamson shared Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Swimmer of the Year honors, while Stanford’s Torri Huske was named the 2026 ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Year. SMU’s Luke Sitz and Miami’s Chiara Pellacani were voted the ACC Men’s and Women’s Divers of the Year, respectively, to highlight the ACC’s yearly award winners for the 2025-26 swimming & diving season.
The 2026 ACC Women’s Swimming & Diving annual awards were determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
California’s Claire Weinstein was selected as the ACC Women’s Freshman of the Year, while Maximus Williamson of Virginia was named the ACC Men’s Freshman of the Year.
Virginia head coach Todd DeSorbo was voted the ACC Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year for the seventh consecutive season, while California head coach Dave Durden was selected as the ACC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
Miami’s Dario di Fazio was named the ACC Women's Diving Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year, while SMU’s Darian Schmidt was selected as the ACC Men’s Diving Coach of the Year.
In the 2026 ACC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, Huske won the 200 IM and 100 fly titles before sweeping all three individual events in which she participated in her last NCAA Championships appearance, winning the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly. Huske closed out her collegiate career a four-time ACC Champion, five-time NCAA champion and one of just four 28-time All-Americans in program history. Huske is also a six-time Olympic medalist with three gold and three silver medals, and was named the 2026 CSCAA Women’s Swimmer of the Year.
Okadome was named the 2026 ACC Co-Men’s Swimmer of the Year after leading California to its second straight ACC title in just its second year as a member of the league, while also earning his second yearly award after being voted the 2025 ACC Men’s Freshman of the Year. The Chiba, Japan, native won two titles at the 2026 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships and was named the Men’s Most Valuable Swimmer of the meet. Just a few weeks later, Okadome recorded the first two national titles of his career, taking home gold in the 100 breast and 200 breast.
Williamson was named the 2026 ACC Co-Men's Swimmer of the Year and Freshman of the Year after closing out his freshman season as a six-time All-American and two-time national champion. After earning All-ACC accolades at the 2026 ACC Championships but not winning any titles, the Keller, Texas, native shocked the swimming world, coming out of lane 8 to win the national championship in the 200 free, winning as a freshman for the first time since 2016, also marking the second-fastest time ever for a freshman (1:30.03). This was the first individual title for the Cavalier men since 2011. Williamson went on to also win the 200 IM national title, joining Ed Moses (2000) as just the second men’s swimmer in program history to earn two individual national titles.
Pellacani was named the ACC Women’s Diver of the Year for the second straight season. She was selected the Most Valuable Women’s Diver of the Meet at the 2026 ACC Championships after winning the 3-meter dive. Pellacani went on to defend her 1-meter national title in the 2026 NCAA Championships while earning All-America honors on the 1-meter dive. She became the first Miami diver to win multiple national titles since 2011 and is the first woman in Miami diving history to win back-to-back titles in the same event.
Sitz was named the ACC Men’s Diver of the Year in just his sophomore season for the Mustangs. The 2026 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships Most Valuable Men’s Diver won the 1-meter title at the ACC Championships to record his first conference title before going on to win his first national title in the 1-meter at the 2026 NCAA Championships. He also earned silver in the 3-meter at NCAA’s. The Prosper, Texas, native was named the 2026 CSCAA Men’s Diver of the Year, becoming the first Mustang to earn the honor.
Weinstein headlined the 2026 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships for the Golden Bears, recording an individual title for California, helping push the team to a fourth-place finish. The freshman out of Las Vegas, Nevada, broke the program record with a time of 4:30.09 to win gold in the 500 free, becoming the first Golden Bear to win an individual title since 2019.
DeSorbo - the CSCAA Women's Swimming Coach of the Year for the fifth straight year - led Virginia to its sixth consecutive NCAA National Championship and seventh overall. The Cavaliers are the first team in NCAA Swimming & Diving history – men’s or women’s - to win six national titles in a row. At the 2026 NCAA Championships, Virginia won eight events, including three individual titles while sweeping all five relays.
Durden was named the ACC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year for the second straight season after leading California to its second conference championship in its second season as a member of the league. The Golden Bears claimed the 2026 ACC Championship title after earning gold in five events. In the 2026 NCAA Championships, Durden coached California to eight All-America finishes and two national titles. The honor marks Durden’s 14th conference Coach of the Year honor in his collegiate coaching career.
In just his second season as the head diving coach for the Miami Hurricanes, di Fazio was named the ACC Women’s Diving Coach of the Year for the second straight year. This season, di Fazio coached Chiara Pellacani to yet another national title as she defended her 1-meter title in the 2026 NCAA Championships. This season, Pellacani and Margo O’Meara were named All-Americans under the leadership of di Fazio.
In his ninth season at the helm of the SMU Diving program, Schmidt was named the 2026 ACC Men’s Diving Coach of the Year. Schmidt coached 2026 ACC Men’s Diver of the Year Luke Sitz to become the Mustangs’ first-ever CSCAA Men’s Diver of the Year after winning the national title in the 1-meter, also the first title in program history in the event.
2025-26 ACC Swimming & Diving Annual Awards
Women’s Swimmer of the Year: Torri Huske, Stanford
Men’s Co-Swimmer of the Year: Yamato Okadome, California
Men’s Co-Swimmer of the Year: Maximus Williamson, Virginia
Women’s Diver of the Year: Chiara Pellacani, Miami
Men’s Diver of the Year: Luke Sitz, SMU
Women’s Freshman of the Year: Claire Weinstein, California
Men’s Freshman of the Year: Maximus Williamson, Virginia
Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year: Todd DeSorbo, Virginia
Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year: David Durden, California
Women’s Diving Coach of the Year: Dario di Fazio, Miami
Men’s Diving Coach of the Year: Darian Schmidt, SMU