2026 TYR Pro Preview: Schedule, Psych Sheets & Must-Watch Races
Think of this as your California summer reading list.
Different? Totally. Kind of perfect? Also yes.
Only this list trades short beach stories for long course novels, backstroke splits, 50-meter sprints and big clues on who to bookmark on the road to LA28.
Chapter One opens this week at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Sacramento. Everything comes to a head late August just south of Los Angeles at Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, where long course season is promising a fireworks finale.
Between California Coastal bookends, summer themes start taking shape.
Photos Courtesy: Peter H. Bick & Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Olympic champions return to form. NCAA stars shine or fade. Teenagers coming in hot. Veterans finding another gear with new sprint events. Coaches testing lineups. National Teams testing momentum at this halfway marker between Paris and LA28.
Sacramento starts everything in motion. Pan Pacs is when it gets real.
The 2026 TYR Pro Swim Series stop in Sacramento runs May 20-23 at North Natomas Aquatic Center.
This meet brings long-course racing to Northern California at a key point in the season, as athletes begin shifting from short course spring racing into summer championship mode.
Prelims at 9 a.m. Pacific, with finals scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific.
Live results are expected through USA Swimming and Meet Mobile under “2026 TYR Pro Swim Series – Sacramento.”
How To Watch
Phoebe Bacon (Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick)
All prelims, distance sessions and finals will stream via USA Swimming Network.
Get your wallet out. Thursday and Friday finals are also scheduled for Peacock coverage.
Start Times
Pacific Time
Prelims: 9 a.m.
Finals: 5 p.m.
Eastern Time
Prelims: Noon
Finals: 8 p.m.
London
Prelims: 5 p.m.
Finals: 1 a.m. next day
Tokyo
Prelims: 1 a.m. next day
Jack Alexy
Finals: 9 a.m. next day
Sydney
Prelims: 2 a.m. next day
Finals: 10 a.m. next day
Who to Watch
Sacramento is more than another stop on the Pro Swim Series calendar.
It is a first summer read.
Who looks sharp? How many pros are testing new events? Which swimmer is quietly building? Is somebody making an unexpected case for Pan Pacs, Worlds, and eventually LA28?
Ryan Murphy’s return gives the meet a major Olympic storyline. Michael Andrew has an dance card that brings sprint intrigue. Torri Huske returns to long course after her textbook collegiate season…adding one of the best versatility storylines in the aquatic sports. Luca Urlando, Jack Alexy, Katherine Berkoff, Phoebe Bacon, Brooks Curry and Leah Shackley add more chapters to a meet that should feel less like a soft tune-up and more like a summer best seller.
Chapter 2: Ryan Murphy Revisited
Ryan Murphy (Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto)
Ryan Murphy’s Sacramento entry gives the meet immediate weight.
The Olympic champion and longtime U.S. backstroke standard-bearer is entered in the 50 and 100 backstroke. That matters even more now that 50 backstroke has been added to the Olympic program for LA28.
Murphy has already built one of the great American backstroke careers. Sacramento gives fans the first clear look at what his next chapter might become.
The Need for Speed: Michael Andrew
Michael Andrew comes to TYR Pro Series Finale with a packed schedule and a fascinating event mix.
Andrew is entered in six events, including the 100 breaststroke, 100 butterfly and all three 50-meter stroke events. That makes him one of the most interesting swimmers to track across the week.
Michael Andrew
Sprints are headed to LA as 50 backstroke, 50 breaststroke and 50 butterfly are all now features in the2028 Olympic program. Andrew’s skill set fits that new lineup neatly. Sacramento offers a preview of how he plans to attack it.
Torri Huske in The Long (Course) Run
Courtesy: deboer swim
Torri Huske arrives after a standout final season at Stanford, shifting back into long-course mode with Pan Pacs on her mind.
Her Sacramento schedule includes the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, 50 and 100 butterfly, 200 IM and 200 backstroke.
That is a lot of racing. It is also exactly why Huske is so dangerous. Few swimmers can stretch across sprint freestyle, butterfly, IM and backstroke with that kind of dominant range.
TYR Pro will not answer every question, but it should give a strong early read on how quickly Huske’s short-course sharpness translates back to long-course speed.
Other Names. Other Stories.
Courtesy: Emily Cameron
Hometown Hero Luca Urlando brings a major California vibe and yet another chance to measure his continued return to elite form. Think he likes North Natomas Aquatic Center? Take a look at last year’s 1:52.37 2oo Fly performance
Katharine Berkoff
Katherine Berkoff and Phoebe Bacon make backstroke events must-watch racing. Both a fresh from Ft Lauderdale Speedo Open and ready to rock!
Brooks Curry
Last month in Stockholm, Brooks Curry added proven freestyle depth with a podium topper 47.51 100 Free. It’s going to be a different version of Friday Night Lights with China Open Champ Jack Alexy posting a 47.71, fellow Jersey Boy Henry McFadden coming off a standout NCAA championship performance, and a host of contenders who are ready to rumble.
Leah Shackley represents the next wave, as TYR should provide another stage for younger swimmers trying to wedge their way into larger summer conversations.
Wednesday, May 20
- 200 IM
- 50 Breaststroke
- 100 Backstroke
- 1500 Freestyle
- 200 Freestyle
Thursday, May 21
- 100 Butterfly
- 50 Backstroke
- 400 IM
- 1500 Freestyle
- 200 Breaststroke
- 200 Freestyle Finals
Henry Mcfadden
Friday, May 22
- 100 Freestyle
- 200 Butterfly
- 50 Freestyle
- 800 Freestyle
- 200 Breaststroke Finals
Saturday, May 23
- 100 Breaststroke
- 200 Backstroke
- 400 Freestyle
- 50 Butterfly
- Relay events
Schedule Notes
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Only the fastest seeded heat of the women’s and men’s 800 freestyle and men’s 1500 freestyle will be contested during finals.
Other heats will swim slowest to fastest.
The women’s 1500 freestyle will include prelims and finals. Preliminary heats will be held during the Day 1 distance freestyle session, with the top eight advancing to the Day 2 final.
Athletes entered in the meet may enter the 50 butterfly, 50 backstroke and/or 50 breaststroke if they have achieved either the 50-meter stroke standard or the corresponding 100-meter stroke standard.
Where Summer Starts Cooking
TYR Pro Series Sacramento opens your summer book club with mystery and intrigue.
Pan Pacs will answer your questions, and when to turn the page on rising stars and elite pros.
That gives this week a different kind of energy. It is not only about medals, finals and fast times. It is about clues.
Which swimmers look ready now? Which coaches are clearly building toward August? Which countries appear organized? How many event experiments look real? Do veterans still have another gear? Which young swimmers are arriving ahead of schedule?
Hot summer days have a way of changing more than your tanlines.
Summer Reading starts in Sacramento. It finishes with fireworks at Pan Pacs.
