Caroline Bricker Hoping for Bounceback Year as Stanford’s New Headliner
At her second NCAA Championships, Caroline Bricker emerged from relative obscurity to become an NCAA champion. In the 400 IM final at the NCAA Women’s Championships, Bricker took over the lead with a commanding performance on breaststroke and freestyle, pulling away from a pair of swimmers who had won Olympic medals in the meters version of the event months earlier, Emma Weyant and Katie Grimes.
Bricker won the national title in 3:57.36, becoming the seventh-fastest performer in history. She had already contributed to a Stanford national title in the 800 freestyle relay, and a day later, she would claim third place in the 200 butterfly. That would be a prelude to a long course breakout two months later: in the opening event of U.S. Nationals, Bricker ran down Olympic silver medalist Regan Smith for the win in the 200-meter butterfly, securing her spot on her first World Championships team.
Since then, however, Bricker has struggled to match her best times. She reached the World Championships final in 2025 but fell to sixth as she was one of many U.S. swimmers struggling with the effects of illness. The ensuing college season, however, would be a struggle all-around as Bricker fell to sixth in the 400 IM on the national level and fifth in the 200 fly. Bricker competed again for the U.S. team at the Pan Pacific Championships and raced in three B-finals, never impacting the medal hunt.
Caroline Bricker — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Returning to college swimming after that, Bricker found herself as by far the most accomplished performer on a once-star-studded Stanford roster. The Cardinal finished second nationally the last two seasons, edging out Texas by just four points in 2026, but much of the point-scoring punch from those teams has graduated. Torri Huske wrapped up her college eligibility when she won three individual titles last March. Also gone is Lucy Bell, Bricker’s fellow Colorado native who topped the NCAA fields in the 200 breaststroke and 200 IM last season.
That means Bricker must be the driving force behind the Stanford women’s team this season. Indeed, she already has, putting forth an excellent effort when the Cardinal hosted the third match of the College Swimming League Friday. Bricker won three individual events at that meet, more than any other female, with times of 1:52.42 in the 200 fly, 1:54.09 in the 200 IM and 1:44.26 in the 200 free. Notably, that 200 fly time is only three tenths slower than her best from last season.
Those efforts paid off as Stanford ended up winning the meet over rival California in the final few events. Stanford still has a solid roster alongside Bricker, led by senior breaststroker Lucy Thomas, sophomore sprinter Annam Olasewere, fellow versatile veteran Emily Thompson and young backstroker Alana Berlin, but Bricker is the one with the skills and experience to fire off high-scoring individual performances in dual meets and eventually on the conference and national levels.
One change that hurt Bricker last season was a switch in event schedule at the NCAA Championships; putting the 200 IM and 200 fly on the same day forced her to choose between the fly over the IM, and in her new third event, the 200 breast, Bricker finished out of scoring range. Expect a return to both medleys plus the 200 fly with the again-modified order for 2027. And if she can come close to her top form, Bricker could again threaten for national titles.
