ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's swimming and diving is set to kick off the 2025-26 season on the road this Friday at the NSU Relays in Aberdeen, S.D. 

Action will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday and continue on Saturday in a double-dual against both Northern State and UMary. Both days action will be held at the Aberdeen YMCA. 

WATCH ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC swimming and diving will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology. Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ

DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.

NSIC PRESEASON POLL
The Golden Bears were picked to finish fourth in the 2025 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, marking the highest poll placement in program history. 

The Navy and Gold earned 51 points in the poll, coming in behind St. Cloud State with 68 points. Minnesota State tops the poll after a 23rd place finish at the 2025 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships. 

Head coach Rachel Busch on the ranking, "It is one of our team goals to finish fourth place or above in the conference championship, this puts a little bit of a target on our back and a little bit of extra pressure to do so. I have no doubt that our team will rise to the occasion and put in the work necessary in order to fight for that fourth place or better finish."

Junior Sophie Leo returns for Concordia and is this year's Swimmer to Watch. Leo is coming off a season in which she recorded two fourth-place finishes at the 2024-25 NSIC Swimming and Diving Championships while tallying 43 points for the team. Leo was also named a CSCAA Scholar All-American Second-Team and a CSC Academic All-District Team member. 

Busch on Leo, "Sophie enters her third season at CSP, coming off a strong showing at the 2025 NSIC Championships. She has shown continual improvement since joining us in the Fall of 2023, now holding 8 school records. At the 2025 NSIC Championships, Sophie had three Top-8 and one Top-16 individual finishes, also scoring points on three A relays. Sophie also earned a B-cut in the 100 Back. We are grateful for her leadership on the team, both in and out of the pool."

Sophomore Chloe Jones is back for year two on the diving board and is this year's Diver to Watch. Jones is coming off a season in which she made finals at the 2024-25 NSIC Swimming and Diving Championships, taking an eighth place finish while collecting seven top-three finishes over the course of the season. 

Aaron Carlson, diving coach on Jones, "The Coaches at CSP are excited for a strong sophomore season for Chloe. With a fantastic freshman year claiming multiple top 3 finishes, a dual meet win, and a Top 8 finish at the Conference Championships, Chloe has already experienced what it takes to perform and succeed in the NSIC. Chloe developed strong fundamentals throughout last year and we are looking forward to continuing our progress with skills and dives to compete strong through her second year. Bigger dives and strong skills are sure to come as we progress in the early stages of the season, and we look forward to some top finishes with her skill set."

PRESEASON
With a spirited set of preseason practices in the book, the Golden Bears look to use their biggest roster in school history to accomplish a memory-filled season. 

When asked about preseason, Busch stated, "The team has been incredible and we are off to a very strong start. It has been a lot of energy, enthusiasm, camaraderie and this overall sense of joy and excitement to work hard throughout our team!"

NORTHERN SUN INTERCOLLEGIATE CONFERENCE
This year the NSIC will consist of 10 teams after adding the University of Jamestown this past July. The Jimmies made the move to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and NCAA Division II after leaving the North Star Athletic Association as part of the NAIA.

Busch on the NSIC, "We are really excited to welcome Jamestown, we have competed against them in the past so it almost seems normal that we will see them throughout the year. The stronger our conference can be, the better it is for all the individual teams and our recruiting." 

Busch added, "Iron sharpens iron. The stronger each team can be, the stronger our conference can be. We are proud to be in the NSIC as one of the strongest conferences in the nation for Division II."

The NSIC Women's Swimming & Diving Championships will take place February 11-14 at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo, North Dakota.  Swimming prelims will take place each day at 10 a.m. and finals at 5:00 p.m. Diving will take place on Thursday and Saturday with prelims at 10 a.m., the B-final taking place 30 minutes after prelims conclude, and the A-final during the evening events. 

NSIC All-Conference Performers shall consist of the top three place finishers in each event and the members of the top two relay teams. The swimmer scoring the most points will be named Swimmer of the Meet. The diver scoring the most points will be named Diver of the Meet.   The team scoring the most points will be named conference champion.  

LOOKING AHEAD AT THE SCHEDULE
The Golden Bears will compete in 10 regular-season meets before the season will culminate at the 2025-26 NSIC Swimming and Diving Championships. 

CSP will compete locally in St. Paul this season twice, participating in the St. Kate's Pentathlon in October and the WildBear Invite in November. Both meets will take place on the campus of St. Kate's. 

As a program, the Navy and Gold will host a pair of meets at the Two Rivers Aquatic Center in Mendota Heights, Minn., the home pool of CSP Swimming and Diving. The first one will be a double-dual against Minnesota State and Southwest Minnesota State on Oct. 18 and then a dual versus the Marauders of UMary in late January. 

THIS SEASON'S TEAM
The Golden Bears are composed of 19 returners, eight freshmen and one transfer this season. With 28 student-athletes on the roster, the team is made up of 22 swimmers and six divers to once again mark the largest roster in program history. 

Busch on the team, "This is the first season we have more returners than newcomers which has really helped move our culture forward at an even faster pace because we have so many great leaders and people to set an example both in their words and their actions." 

Busch added, "That really helps to get our newcomers up to speed and all our returners have been incredibly welcoming and helpful to those that are new and that has helped us become a cohesive unit.

FINAL WORDS FROM COACH BUSCH
"I really love my job and the opportunity to work with these women and our coaching staff. I am really excited for the season to continue and to see us in action this weekend for the first time, it will be a great launching pad for what's to be a really awesome season ahead!"