USC Women Picked No. 15, Men No. 23 in CSCAA Preseason Poll
USC women's swimming and diving will open this season's campaign as the nation's No. 15 team according to preseason rankings released Oct. 22 by the Collegiate College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The men's program checks in at No. 23 to open the season.
The Women of Troy are the third highest ranked Pac-12 school in the preseason poll behind No. 2 Stanford and No. 5 Cal. On the men's side, USC checks in fifth in the Pac-12 behind No. 2 Cal, No. 11 Stanford, No. 12 Arizona State and No. 16 Arizona.
This season, the Trojans are under the leadership of first year head coach Jeremy Kipp who returned to USC in May after coaching stints at Northwestern and Boise State. Kipp was on the USC men's and women's staff for eight seasons (2008-15), the first three as an assistant and the last five as the head assistant.
Last season, the Women of Troy finished the season 5-3 in dual meet action, finished third at Pac-12 Championships and had 14 CSCAA All-Americans. With a relatively young squad including 12 freshmen, the Trojans finished 0-6 in dual action, were sixth at Pac-12's and had four CSCAA All-Americans.
While the swimming & diving season remains questionable, the committee convened this week to establish dual meet rankings. All teams were eligible for the preseason edition of the 2020-21 polls.
The rankings are voted on by CSCAA-member coaches and select media. Each committee includes nine representatives from the Power Five leagues, five at-large programs, and two media members. The women and men committee chairs are Naya Higashijima (SMU) and Bill Roberts (Navy). The polls are scheduled for release on November 19, December 17, January 21, and February 11. These dates are subject to change.