Saint John's junior Cody Watts (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) competes at the NCAA Central Diving Regional this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27-28, at Kalamazoo College's Natatorium in Kalamazoo, Mich. – Live Video | Live Results | Regional Website 

THE SCHEDULE 
-Friday, Feb. 27: 3-meter dive at 2 p.m. ET 
-Saturday, Feb. 28: 1-meter dive at 12 p.m. ET 

HOW HE QUALIFIED: To qualify for one of the four NCAA Diving Regionals, a student-athlete must meet one of the following criteria: 

1. Achieve the qualifying standard at least twice on the same board during the qualification period; or 
2. Once at his/her conference championship meet on either board. 

The qualifying standard for the men on the 1-meter dive was 275 for six dives and 425 for 11, and 285 for six dives and 440 for 11 on the 3-meter board. 

Watts surpassed the regional-qualifying marks in the 1-meter dive numerous times this season, earning a 279.65 for six dives beginning with the Wisconsin-La Crosse dual on Nov. 8 and a 427.35 for 11 dives in the Johnnies' tie against St. Olaf on Nov. 1.  

ALL-MIAC: Now a four-time All-MIAC (top three) honoree, Watts finished second in the 1-meter dive and third on the 3-meter board two weeks ago at the 2026 MIAC Championships. 

LAST YEAR'S REGIONAL: Watts finished 10th in the 1-meter dive with a 392.50 and 15th the 3-meter board (361.95) at last year's NCAA Regional held at Denison's Trumbull Aquatics Center in Granville, Ohio. His teammate, Eli Grabinski '25, qualified for the NCAA Championships with a fifth-place finish out of 17 participants in the 1-meter dive (440.05) and sixth in the 3-meter event (443.60). 

TIE-BREAKERS AT THE REGIONAL: In the event of a tie between two or more divers from a regional qualifying meet, the tie will be broken by comparing each of the diver's total optional score on the board in which the tie has occurred. The diver with the highest total optional score would have the higher finishing position at their regional event. In the event there is a tie on the total optional score, the tie will be broken by the higher place on the opposite board. If one competitor is not competing on the opposite board, the competitor who is competing on the opposite board automatically will receive the higher selection position. All ties must be broken prior to diving qualifications/allocations being identified. 

QUALIFYING FOR THE NATIONAL MEET: When all results are made final, including any tie-breakers, the allocated spots will be determined as follows (refer to the Diving Selection Criteria for the allocation formula): 

1. First-place finishers from each board will be selected, using two of the allocated spots. If the same person finishes first on both boards, only one allocation will be used for that athlete. 

2. Next, second-place finishers from each board will be selected, using two of the allocated spots. If the same person finishes second on both boards, or one/both of the athletes have already been selected, only one or no allocations will be used.

3. This will continue with each finishing spot (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) until all the allocated spots have been assigned for each region. 

4. If there is one allocation left and two divers who have not been selected are up for qualification, finishing in the same ranking on each board, the committee will use the divers combined score made up of their 1-meter and 3-meter scores. The competitor who has the highest score will be invited to the meet, earning the final allocation. 

WHAT'S NEXT: The NCAA Central Regional will be allocated seven or eight male spots in each dive (see the qualifications above), for the 2026 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships held March 18-21 at the Indiana University Indianapolis Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind. The men's 3-meter dive begins with prelims at 10 a.m. ET Wednesday, March 18, followed by finals at 6 p.m. ET. The 1-meter dive follows the same time schedule and will be held Friday, March 20.