EDISON, NJ (Oct. 1, 2025) – Fairfield University has been selected as the favorites in both the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s & Women’s Swimming & Diving Preseason Coaches’ Polls, as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
In the men’s poll, Fairfield received 74 points with four first place votes to lead all nine teams. Last season, the Stags went 5-3 overall in meets and finished third at the 2025 MAAC Swimming & Diving Championship. Despite the third place ending in 2025, Fairfield led after day one of the championship and was second on the team standings heading into the final day of action. As a program, Fairfield has never won a MAAC Championship but has finished second once in 2022, and third three times in 1985 and 1995 in addition to last year. 2025 MAAC Champion, Niagara University, was picked second in the men’s poll, earning 70 points and two first place votes, while 2025 runner-up Marist University was slotted third in the poll with 69 points and the final three first place votes. Checking in at fourth and fifth place respectively, were Iona University (49) and Mount St. Mary’s University (43) to round out the league’s top five.
On the women’s side, Fairfield earned a league-high 134 points, with five first place votes to lead the 12 team field. The Stags have finished as championship runners-up in back-to-back years and went 5-3 overall in meets in 2025. Fairfield led following the opening day of action at the 2025 MAAC Swimming & Diving Championship but dropped to second place on day two and remained there on the standings for the duration of the championship. The Stags have won four MAAC Championships in program history. The team last won the league trophy in 2023 and they were crowned conference champs in three straight seasons from 2018-2020. Defending MAAC Champions, Niagara, collected 131 points and four first place votes to finish second in the women’s poll. Ranking third in the poll was Marist with a total of 125 points and a pair of first place votes, while Sacred Heart University received 107 points and the final first place vote. Rounding out the top five was Iona with 92 points.
The full Men’s and Women’s Preseason Coaches’ Polls can be found below.
| 2025 MAAC Men’s Swimming & Diving Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| 1 |
Fairfield |
74 (4) |
| 2 |
Niagara |
70 (2) |
| 3 |
Marist |
69 (3) |
| 4 |
Iona |
49 |
| 5 |
Mount St. Mary’s |
43 |
| 6 |
Rider |
41 |
| 7 |
Canisius |
20 |
| 8 |
Saint Peter’s |
19 |
| 9 |
Manhattan |
11 |
| 2025 MAAC Women’s Swimming & Diving Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| 1 |
Fairfield |
134 (5) |
| 2 |
Niagara |
131 (4) |
| 3 |
Marist |
125 (2) |
| 4 |
Sacred Heart |
107 (1) |
| 5 |
Iona |
92 |
| 6 |
Mount St. Mary’s |
86 |
| 7 |
Siena |
65 |
| 8 |
Canisius |
64 |
| 9 |
Rider |
56 |
| 10 |
Merrimack |
39 |
| 11 |
Saint Peter’s |
20 |
| 12 |
Manhattan |
17 |
The 2026 MAAC Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Championships is a four-day meet that will take place February 11-14, 2026, and will be hosted at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio. 2026 will mark the third straight year the championships are hosted at SPIRE. For all information regarding the 2026 MAAC Men's & Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, please visit
maacsports.com/swim.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 13 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 45th year of competition during the 2025-26 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena University.
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