The Big Ten announced the 2014 Big Ten Men’s Swimmer and Diver of the Year awards on Tuesday, as voted on by the conference coaches. Michigan’s Connor Jaeger was named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, while Indiana’s Darian Schmidt was tabbed the Big Ten Diver of the Year.
Jaeger earned the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year honor for the second consecutive season after defending his national crown in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 14:29.27 at the NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships. Jaeger also recorded a third-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle (4:12.67) and contributed to a fourth-place tally in the 800-yard freestyle relay (6:16.37), helping the Wolverines place fourth at the national championships. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection after placing first in the 500-yard freestyle (4:12.52), 1,650-yard freestyle (14:34.19) and 800-yard freestyle relay (6:09.85) at the Big Ten Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships. Michigan has now won the Swimmer of the Year award in six of the last seven years.
Schmidt was named the Big Ten Diver of the Year for the second consecutive season. He was tabbed the Diver of the Championships after winning the one-meter diving event with 381.30 points and the three-meter diving competition with 451.90 points at the Big Ten Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships. At the NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships, Schmidt finished sixth in the three-meter diving event with 379.35 points. He was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree and was named Big Ten Diver of the Week on four occasions this season. This marks Indiana’s third consecutive Diver of the Year honor.
