Rian Graham

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

Position:
Butterfly
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Herndon, Va.
High School:
Herndon

PRONUNCIATION

2025-26: At the NCAA Championships, Rian earned First Team All-American Honors as part of the 200 Free Relay and Second Team All-American honors in the 400 Free Relay and the 400 Medley Relay. He was part of the 20^th place 800 free relay, swimming third and splitting 1:33.84 as the Cards boarded a 6:15.03. He was the anchor (18.92) in the 200 free relay that finished in 1:14.94. ). He was a part of the 15^th place 400 medley relay, swimming the backstroke leg in 45.92 as the Cards went 3:02.83. He anchored the 400 free relay with a split of 42.30 as the Cards went 2:48.04 and finished 15^th. He was on the At the ACC Championships, Rian was on the bronze medal 200 free relay squad (1:14.91) and touched sixth in the 100 fly and 15^th in the 100 back. He swam the backstroke leg of the 400 medley relay (46.11 split) that finished sixth and anchored the 400 free relay that finished eighth. During the Dual Meet Season: Rian Graham swam a 20.37 50 freestyle and placed second. He also placed first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 47.88 against Xavier. Graham also competed in the 400 freestyle relay with a 44.94 time. Rian Graham was on the winning 200 medley relay with a 22.01 split. At the SMU Classic in Dallas, Rian was a part of the 400medley relay, where his team finished first and he split of 45.67. He then moved to the 50 freestyle, where he finished second in the consolation heat with a 20.04 time. He was second in the 100 butterfly in the championship heat with a time of 46.76. Rian then competed with his team in the 200 medley relay, where they finished second, with his split clocking in at 20.34. He won the 200 butterfly consolation heat, where posted the second fastest time in the field at 1:44.75. Finally, he swam in the 200 freestyle relay, finishing third with his team and earning an individual split of 19.78. Against Notre Dame, Graham placed second with a 21.16 split. He also swam in the 100 backstroke, placing fifth with a time of 47.07. He was on the winning 400 freestyle with a 42.82 split. Rian swam against Missouri in the 200 medley relay, placing first with his team with a 21.43 split. In the 100 backstroke, he finished second with a time of 47.56 before he won the 100 butterfly with a time of 46.79. Against Cincinnati, Rian swam the 50 freestyle and touched second with a time of 19.82. In his final event, the 200 freestyle relay, he placed second with a split of 19.30. At the Texas Showdown, he was fifth in both the 100 back (46.48) and the 100 fly (46.54) and led off the second place 200 medley relay team (1:23.80) with a split of 21.38. His 400 free relay squad was third, going 2:51.64 with his anchor of 43.43.

2024-25: Rian qualified for the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis where he placed 20^th in the 50M butterfly (24.28) and 22^nd in the 100M butterfly (53.34). At the NCAA Championships in Federal Way, Washington, Rian earned four HM All-American honors, swimming on four of the Cardinals’ relays. He split 18.86 in the 200 Free Relay squad that placed 14^th and went 42.15 on the 400 Free Relay squad that finished 15^th. In the 200 medley relay, he swam the butterfly leg in 20.12 to help UofL to a 10^th place finish and swam the fly again in the 400 Medley Relay, this time going 45.06 as the Cards touched 12^th. At the ACC Championships in Greensboro, he was 17^th in the 100 fly (45.53), 21^st in the 100 back (46.39) and 32nd in the 50 free (19.54). At the ACCs in the relay events, he turned in a 19.01 in the 200 Free Relay that was 9^th. In the 200 Medley relay, his fly split went 20.19 as the Cards placed fifth. He also swam the fly leg in the 400 Medley Relay, splitting 45.27 as the Cards touched eighth. In the dual meet season, he placed second in the 50 free against Cincinnati (19.99) and had a pair of second places against Indiana in the 100 back (46.22) and the 100 butterfly (45.69). At Kentucky, he was second in the 100 fly (46.80) and fourth in the 50 free (20.19). At Missouri, he was fourth in both the 100 fly (7.31) and the 50 free (20.09). At the Ohio State Invitational, he was 10^th in the 100 fly (46.34), 14^th in the 100 back (47.13) and 13^th in the 200 fly (1:46.13). He was fourth versus Purdue in the 100 fly (47.47) and fourth in the 100 fly against Tennessee (47.00).

Prep: From Herndon, Virginia, butterflyer Rian Graham joins the Cards after a strong club season with Nations Capital Swim Club and coach Pete Morgan. He swam the 100m fly and 200m fly at the 2024 USA Swimming Futures Championship in Richmond, finishing second and fourth, respectively. He also grabbed two top five finishes at the 2024 NCSA Spring Championships, placing fourth in the 50m fly and 100m fly. This was after he finished top five in those same events at the NCSA Summer Championships in 2023. Graham also brought home two state titles at the 2024 VHSL State Championships in the 100ys fly and 200yd free.

Personal: He is the son of Jaime and Ron Graham. He was born August 3, 2006. His major is Finance.