2020 M. NCAA Picks: Windle-Dinsmore Rematch Highlights Men’s Diving

2020 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships

• Wednesday, March 25 – Saturday, March 28, 2020
• IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, IN
• Prelims 10 AM/ Finals 6 PM (U.S. Eastern Time)
• SCY Format
• Defending champs: Cal (1x) – results
• Championship Central
• Live Stream
• Psych Sheets
• Live results

The NCAA has canceled its swimming & diving championships due to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak. But we spent all this time on an event preview, so why not discuss it? Though the meet won’t happen, here’s our take on what we could have expected at NCAAs:

1-Meter Springboard

• Returning A finalists:
  • Jordan Windle (Texas) – 4th
  • Grayson Campbell (Texas) – 7th
  • Nathaniel Hernandez (Duke) – 8th
• Returning B finalists:
  • Greg Duncan (Purdue) – 10th
  • Bradley Buchter (Navy) – 13th
  • Joshua Davidson (Florida State) – 14th
  • Matthew Wade (Tennessee) – 15th

Texas has been rock-solid here for the past two years, with Jordan Windle and Grayson Campbell making A finals in both 2019 and 2018. Windle is the top returner after the entire top three graduated last season.

Duke’s Nathaniel Hernandez was a platform-only qualifier as a freshman, but has since risen on the 1-meter springboard into an 8th-place showing last year. Purdue’s Greg Duncan also looks like a solid bet to score – he was close (23rd) as a rookie with UNC before scoring for Purdue last season.

Navy’s Bradley Buchter placed in the 20s as both a freshman and sophomore before scoring last year and has been a steady riser. He absolutely dominated Zone A. FSU’s Joshua Davidson made a big leap last year, going from 41st as a rookie to 14th as a sophomore. Tennessee’s Matthew Wade jumped right into scoring range last year in his freshman season.

Other standouts:

The big newcomers to watch come out of the Big Ten and Big 12. Ohio State freshman Lyle Yost is a blue-chip dive recruit who was the Big Ten runner-up on 1-meter.

Meanwhile, Texas is likely going to bring four divers, and all four could score on 1-meter. Windle and Campbell were top-4 in Zone D, but we expect Texas to also take Jacob Cornish and Andrew Harness. Cornish was a 2018 scorer on 1-meter, and the freshman Harness was one spot behind Cornish at Zones.

Michigan’s Ross Todd is an extremely fast riser. He was 42nd of 45 athletes last year, and only made the meet in 3-meter and platform the year before that. But Todd won the Big Ten title and swept all three boards at the Minnesota Invite at mid-season.

Top 8 Picks:

3-Meter Springboard

• Returning A finalists:
  • Grayson Campbell (Texas) – 3rd
  • Noah Vigran (Stanford) – 6th
  • Jordan Windle (Texas) – 7th
  • Matthew Wade (Tennessee) – 8th
• Returning B finalists:
  • Greg Duncan (Purdue) – 9th
  • Danny Zhang (Kentucky) – 11th
  • Anton Down-Jenkins (South Carolina) – 13th
  • Kurtis Mathews (Texas A&M) – 14th
  • Youssef Selim (Arizona State) – 16th

Half the A final returns, though defending champ Andrew Capobianco is taking a redshirt season. That leaves third-placer Grayson Campbell of Texas as the top returner, and Texas once again has Campbell and Jordan Windle returning from the A final. Campbell is as reliable as it gets, making A finals in 2017 (8th), 2018 (7th) and 2019 (3rd).

Noah Vigran and Matthew Wade were both freshman A finalists last year, and it was a young field, with freshmen Danny Zhang (Kentucky) and Anton Down-Jenkins (South Carolina) also scoring. Vigran struggled at Zone Es (8th on 3-meter) and Wade had similar issues in Zone B (7th on 3-meter), so it’s hard to judge their momentum heading into NCAAs. Down-Jenkins absolutely crushed Zone B, so it’s a reverse case with him.

Greg Duncan has made two straight B finals, and looks to break through to the A as a junior. He won Big Tens by more than 30 points. Kurtis Mathews of Texas A&M is having a huge post-season. He won SECs and gave Windle and Campbell a good run in Zone D competition.

Other standouts:

It’s a pretty returner-heavy field in this one. Big Ten duo Lyle Yost (Ohio State freshman) and Ross Todd (Michigan sophomore) are decent scoring bets. They finished right behind Duncan at Big Tens. Texas freshman Andrew Harness looks like a three-board threat to at least score from the B final. Texas A&M’s Victor Povzner won the Art Adamson Invite and looks like a freshman to watch.

Miami’s freshmen Maxwell Flory and Brodie Scapens could also be threats, going 2-3 in Zone B.

Top 8 Picks:

Platform

• Returning A finalists:
  • Jordan Windle (Texas) – 1st
  • David Dinsmore (Miami) – 2nd
  • Zach Cooper (Miami) – 4th
  • Ben Bramley (Purdue) – 6th
  • Joseph Canova (Ohio State) – 7th
• Returning B finalists:
  • Jacob Cornish (Texas) – 9th
  • Youssef Selim (Arizona State) – 11th
  • Jacob Fielding (Ohio State) – 14th
  • Bryan Allen (UNC) – 15th
  • Noah Vigran (Stanford) – 16th

Another field to top returners. Texas’s Jordan Windle is the two-time defending NCAA champ, and Miami’s David Dinsmore won the year before Windle arrived. Expect those two to jockey for the win – they came down to 6.25 points for the title last year.

Miami’s Zach Cooper should make the final – he’s been an A finalist the past two years.

There are a lot of platform specialists in this returning bunch. Purdue’s Ben Bramley was a freshman last year, when he took 6th, and he was only 11 points behind Cooper.

Texas’s Jacob Cornish is a two-year scorer in this event, and has been on the cusp of A final appearances both times. Last year, freshmen Jacob Fielding (Ohio State) and Noah Vigran (Stanford) were tracking for high B final finishes, but fell off a little in finals. They should improve that consistency in their second seasons. Vigran had a bad 3-meter at Zones, but won his Zone on platform, which is a promising showing.

Other standouts:

Ohio State freshman Lyle Yost beat a loaded field for the Big Ten title. He bested Bramley by three points, but dominated returning scorers Canova (by 64) and Fielding (by 75). It’s hard to project just how primed each diver was for conference, but Yost has proven he’s got scoring-level talent, and this is probably his best event.

Duke’s Nathaniel Hernandez scored in 2018, but finished dead last in 2019. Diving can fluctuate so much, though, based on a single missed dive, so Hernandez could easily rocket back up the board.

Miami went 1-2-3-4 in Zone B. Dinsmore and Cooper are almost locks, but look for freshmen Maxwell Flory and Brodie Scapens to also make scoring runs here.

The Pac-12 is hard to pick. Youssef Selim and Vigran scored last year, but Arizona freshman Bjorn Markentin won the Pac-12 title. Markentin has had a solid rookie year and mostly hun gin there with the top Texas divers at the mid-season Texas Invite. USC freshman Georgii Korovin was second at Pac-12s.

Top 8 Picks: