Linfield men's swimming improved in the Northwest Conference standings in 2025-26, finishing third as a team, earning eight total All-Northwest Conference honorees, headlined by Sam Postlewait with two First Team honors.
 
A native of Newport, Oregon, Postlewait had a strong sophomore season, finishing third in the men's 100-yard backstroke with a time of 52.04 to earn First Team All-NWC honors. He also earned the bronze medal in the 200-yard backstroke, beating out a Whitworth Pirates by 0.06 seconds for his second First Team honor. The sophomore swam leadoff in the third place 400-yard medley relay team, earning Second Team All-NWC for his contribution to the team. 
 
Fellow sophomore Kai Laitinen proved to be the Wildcat's top freestyle swimmer all season long, proving on the big stage in Boise, Idaho, a pair of weekends ago. Laitinen finished fourth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:46.16 and also made the A finals in the 400-yard IM, placing seventh. His third and final Second Team All-Northwest Conference honor came in the 1650-yard freestyle, finishing fifth. 
 
Freshman Logan Mendez got his Wildcat career started strong with two A finals appearances and one B finals at the 2026 NWC Championships. The Tualatin, Oregon, native finished sixth in the men's 200-yard freestyle and seventh in the 200-yard backstroke to earn Second Team honors in each event. He was also a member of the fourth-place 800-yard freestyle relay squad, while winning the B final of the men's 500-yard free. 
 
Transfer Jack Sappington was Second Team in the men's 100-yard breaststroke after placing seventh in the A final. The Oceanside, Oregon, native also made B finals appearances in the 200-yard IM and 200-yard breaststroke, finishing first in the 200-yard B final. 
 
Ivan Tontchev's junior season concluded with two Second Team honors. Individually, he placed eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke, while serving on the fourth-place 200-yard medley relay team.
 
Senior Rocco Velie earned the most all-conference honors of any Wildcat, being named Second Team All-NWC in four events. The Kingston, Washington, native finished in seventh in the 200-yard IM, eighth in the 400-yard IM and seventh in the 200-yard butterfly. Velie was a part of four relay teams for Linfield at the NWC Championships, most notably part of the third-place 400-yard medley relay squad. 
 
Carson Washburn served as the anchor to the third-place 400-yard medley relay team, earning him his second Second Team All-NWC honor. The Grants Pass, Oregon, native led Linfield in the 100-yard freestyle, placing fifth in the A final with a time of 46.27. Washburn contributed on five Wildcat relay teams at the championships in Boise. 
 
Freshman Nathan Wilson rounded out the men's team honors in 2026, finishing fifth in the men's 100-yard backstroke for his first All-Northwest Conference Second Team honor of his collegiate career. 
 
Men's swimming finished the season in third in the Northwest Conference, edging out Whitman College by two points, an improvement on their fourth-place finish from a season ago.
 
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