Junior breaststroke specialist Watson Nguyen named to U.S. national team

Junior breaststroke specialist Watson Nguyen has been selected for USA Swimming’s 2026-27 national team roster. 

Nguyen will be one of two athletes from the Ivy League representing Team USA this swim season.

“It’s an honor to be on the United States National Team. I can finally say that I’m starting to live up to my goals that I set out for in this sport at 14 years old,” Nguyen wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “To make a promise to myself and following through with it 6 years later is the most fulfilling feeling in the world to me.”

This past summer, Nguyen shocked the country in the 50-meter breaststroke at the USA Swimming National Championships, clocking a winning time of 26.65 to capture the title. He finished ahead of a competition that included heat favorite and breaststroke national champion Alexei Avakov and Olympian Michael Andrew.

“After I won my race at nationals, I knew that I would be selected to the National Team,” Nguyen said.

His 50-meter mark is the fourth best time in U.S. history and ranked 10th on the globe this year.

During the 2025-26 season, Nguyen swept the breaststroke events at the Ivy League championships, claiming titles in both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke. 

At the meet, he broke the DeNunzio Pool record and the previous program record held by 2026 Wharton and Engineering graduate and Olympian Matt Fallon. His performance earned him an automatic berth to the NCAA championships, where he finished 28th in the 100-yard and 26th in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Nguyen joins Penn’s lineage of historic breaststrokers from Fallon to 2012 College graduate Brendan McHugh. 

“I came to Penn wanting to continue that legacy,” he wrote. “I knew this school was where I needed to be to reach my goals. Even if those alumni aren’t here with me right now, I feel deep support from them knowing what they’ve done for this team. It’s an honor to be able to follow in their footsteps.”