When the Mehlville boys swimming and diving team begins the 2026 season here in a few days, one thing fans will notice is that the team is considerably larger compared to last year’s squad.

“We’re definitely looking better than we did last year,” Mehlville head coach Mark Hromnak said. “We currently have eight practicing, with three returning from last year and five freshmen. So we ought to be able to put together a pretty good relay this year.”

Junior Logan Brotherton is a sprint freestyle and butterfly specialist who saw a lot of improvement in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle.

“Logan likes to do the freestyle events, and he’s a pretty good butterflier,” Hromnak said. “He worked hard on his turns last year, and that really helped him in the 50 and 100 free.”

Sebastian Vaughn is a sophomore on this year’s team who should see action in the 100-yard breaststroke along with the 200-yard medley relay.

“Sebastian swam a lot in the offseason,” Hromnak said. “He made some major progress in the 100-yard breaststroke and will have a major role in our medley relay.”

Another sophomore to keep an eye on this season is Liam Theiss in the 100-yard backstroke as well as the Panthers’ medley relay.

“Liam really improved his backstroke last year,” Hromnak said. “He dropped his time quite a bit by the end of last season, so I’m excited to see how he’ll do this year.”

The Panthers are also excited to have freshmen Ethan Bolyard and Isaac Rekosh on this year’s squad.

“Ethan’s a really good swimmer who may hit some state qualifying times this year,” Hromnak said. “Isaac can swim all the strokes, and I think that by the time he’s a senior, he’ll be a very good swimmer because all of the fundamentals are there.”

The Panthers open their 2026 season at Lindbergh High School on Sept. 8.