PITMAN, N.J. – Newcomer
Cameron Byrd of the 18th-ranked Salisbury University men's swimming team put a bow on a stellar freshman season by winning New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Rookie of the Year and putting his name in
half of the Sea Gulls' 12 All-NJAC selections, as revealed on Wednesday.
Byrd (Fr. – Bear, Del.) is the first Salisbury men's swimmer to win top men's rookie laurels and joins
Rowan O'Donoghue of the SU women's team – another program-first honoree in sweeping the NJAC's top rookie honors for 2025-26. After making five NCAA B-cuts and capturing six silver medals at the NJAC Championships in February, Byrd cemented his place among the nation's top newcomers by swimming in six events at the NCAA Championships last month, earning Second-Team All-America prizes in the 100-yard butterfly and as part of the 400 medley relay team.
The conference meet provided Byrd his first true moment to shine in the spotlight, and he delivered to the tune of six All-NJAC Second-Team placements. He won the silver medal in both individual butterfly events (100 fly, 200 fly), swam leadoff on three runner-up freestyle relay teams (200, 400, 800), and took the third leg of SU's second-place 400 medley relay side.
Byrd captured the headlines and six of Salisbury's 27 All-NJAC selections,
as determined by finishes at the NJAC Championships, with seven individual swimmers earning laurels and all five of SU's four-member relay sides taking home league nods.
Dominic Kazzi earned the Sea Gulls' only gold medal at the conference championships and with it SU's lone First-Team All-NJAC prize in the 100 breaststroke. Kazzi (Sr. – Laurel, Md.) added a bronze medal and All-NJAC honorable mention in the 200 breast to his final league haul.
Ethan Lloyd (So. – Ephrata, Pa.) added a Second-Team All-NJAC nod by virtue of his silver in the 400 individual medley.
Owen Mahoney and
Aidan Loehr also secured honorable mention after Mahoney (Fr. – Arnold, Md.) took the bronze medal in the 500 free and Loehr (So. – Fulton, Md.) the same in the 100 breast.
Salisbury delivered 20 more All-NJAC Second-Teamers after winning the silver medal in all five relays, finishing less than a second back of gold-winning TCNJ in four of the five races and within two seconds of the fifth.
Faring best, just 14 hundredths of a second off the winning pace was the 400 free relay quartet of Byrd,
Michael DeSimone,
Themo Rigakos, and
Owen Brewer. The 200 medley relay saw
Mason Potts, Kazzi,
Michael Paulos, and DeSimone touch the wall a mere 17 hundredths of a second late. SU also won the silver in the 200 free relay (Byrd, Potts, DeSimone,
Everett Rachael), 400 medley relay (Potts, Kazzi, Byrd, Brewer), and 800 free relay (Byrd, Rachael,
Shane Hall, Brewer).
With all-league finishes in 11 of the 18 swimming events, the Sea Gull men racked up 1,319 points and placed second at the NJAC Championships, less than 400 points back of TCNJ at the top of the table. Salisbury has improved its final standing each year of its NJAC tenure after placing fourth in 2024 and third in 2025.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 207 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
