For the fourth time in the last five years, Arizona State has finished in the top 30 of the Learfield Directors' Cup standings after ending the 2023-24 season with a 27th-place finish.
Highlighted by NCAA champion men's swimming, who contributed 100 of the 695.25 overall points, the Sun Devils saw four top-10 NCAA finishes out of the 13 NCAA appearances.
Sport-by-sport finishes can be found below for those that earned any points towards the Directors' Cup total.
2023-24 LEARFIELD DIRECTORS' CUP -- 6th IN PAC-12 -- 695.25 TOTAL POINTS -- 27th OVERALL
100.0 -- Men's Swimming (NCAA Champions)
73.50 -- Wrestling (NCAA/6th)
64.00 -- Volleyball (NCAA Sweet 16/9th)
60.80 -- Gymnastics (NCAA/13th)
58.50 -- Women's Golf (NCAA/16th)
50.00 -- Women's Swimming (NCAA/24th)
50.00 -- Men's Tennis (NCAA First Round/17th)
50.00 -- Women's Tennis (NCAA First Round/17th)
45.00 -- Beach Volleyball (NCAA First Round/9th)
47.50 -- Men's Indoor Track and Field (NCAA/24th)
40.50 -- Men's Golf (NCAA Regionals/31st)
30.50 -- Men's Outdoor Track and Field (NCAA/42nd)
25.00 -- Soccer (NCAA first-round appearance/33rd)
MEN'S SWIMMING (1ST PLACE / 100 POINTS)
Men's swimming was able to reach new heights in the 2023-24 season, claiming the program's first national title and being ranked No. 1 in the country for the entire 23-24 season. The team won seven national titles at the NCAA Championships, with León Marchand leading the way winning three national titles in the 200 breast, 400 IM and the 500 free for a total of eight in his Sun Devil career, the most for an athlete that has donned the maroon & gold. Ilya Kharun won his first national title in the 200 fly and Zalan Sarkany became a national champion in the 1650 free. The team had 14 All-Americans en route to its first national title and went back-to-back as Pac-12 champions, which included ten different Sun Devils claiming conference titles in 17 events. ASU claimed the conference title by 302.5 points after winning 16 of the 18 events.
WRESTLING (6TH PLACE / 73.5 POINTS)
An individual national champion, a fourth consecutive top-seven finish at NCAAs and four All-Americans in 2023-24 happened for Zeke Jones and the Sun Devils. It was business as usual for the Sun Devils this season, who continue to establish themselves as one of the country's elite programs. 125-pounder Richard Figueroa won the team's first individual NCAA title since 2019 (Zahid Valencia), defeating No. 3 Drake Ayala (Iowa) in the final to become the 10th individual champion in team history. Figueroa went 5-0 at the T-Mobile Center, knocking off two top-three seeds, to help the Sun Devils place sixth. He was joined in the finals session by Jacori Teemer, as the duo marked the first time since 2011 that the Sun Devils had multiple NCAA finalists. Figueroa, Kyle Parco (fifth), Teemer (second) and Cohlton Schultz (sixth) earned All-American status at the championships in Kansas City, marking the fourth consecutive season the Sun Devils have had at least four AAs. Parco, Teemer and Schultz, now four-time AAs, are among an elite club of just eight Sun Devils to earn four-time AA honors in team history. Weeks before KC, the Sun Devils added another Pac-12 title, winning their fourth in the past five years in Corvallis. It was the 24th conference title in team history, as the Sun Devils bid adieu to the Pac-12 by having five individual conference champions (Figueroa, Parco, Teemer, Schultz and Jesse Vasquez).
VOLLEYBALL (9TH PLACE / 64 POINTS)
In a historic 2023 season, volleyball went 28-7 under first-year head coach JJ Van Niel, who won Pac-12 Coach of the Year as the 28 wins is the second-best in school history. The squad reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 and won two NCAA Tournament matches for the first time in program history. To start the season, the Sun Devils went 14-0 (undefeated in non-conference and two conference wins), the third-best start in team history and the best start by a new head coach. ASU has had 20 sweeps this season, the most in program history by five. The 2023 squad is the most decorated in program history. The team set single-season program records for most AVCA All-America honors (three), most AVCA All-District nods (five), most Pac-12 postseason awards (six) and most Pac-12 weekly awards (five).
GYMNASTICS (13TH PLACE / 60.80 POINTS)
The Gym Devils finished the 2024 season ranked No. 16 on Road to Nationals, which was the second-consecutive year in the top 20 and seventh-straight season ending in the top 25. The Gym Devils earned a spot in the postseason for the sixth-straight season, seven including the canceled 2020 postseason that the team was set to qualify for. Head coach Jay Santos has been at the helm for each of those seasons. After finishing in the top two in the second round at the California Regional, ASU moved on to the regional finals for the second-straight year and the third time in the last four years. Two Gym Devils qualified as individuals to the NCAA Championships in Jada Mangahas (bars) and Anaya Smith (vault). Smith scored a 9.9375 on the biggest stage to be the national runner-up and earn First Team All-America status, the first All-American on vault since 2010. Smith was also All-Pac-12 First Team on vault. ASU hasn't had a losing record since 2017.
WOMEN'S GOLF (16TH PLACE / 58.50 POINTS)
Arizona State made the NCAA Championship for the 38th time, tying Stanford for the most in the nation, as Surprise, Arizona native Ashley Menne became one of the most decorated golfers in school history. Menne earned WGCA and Golfweek Honorable Mention All-American honors thanks to an outstanding senior season in leading Arizona State to a final ranking of No. 15 nationally. She shot 21 rounds of par or better, including eight rounds in the 60s. This resulted in five top-10 and seven top-20 finishes. Arizona State (-42/822) won the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational team championship while Menne claimed the individual title, both in record-breaking fashion, as she now has the best 54-hole score vs. par in the history of Sun Devil Women's Golf, breaking Brandie Burton's 35-year-old record. By virtue of her selection to the WGCA All-American Honorable Mention Team Menne is the first Sun Devil since Olivia Mehaffey (2017-21) to earn All-American honors in all four years. Menne joins some exclusive company by earning a fourth All-American distinction.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING (24TH PLACE / 50 POINTS)
Women's swimming improved their finish at NCAA Championships for the second straight year, finishing 24th– which was led by Lindsay Looney, who had a podium finish in the 200 fly and placed 16th in the 500 free at NCAA's. Looney collected the Elite 90 award which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site and earned All-American status in three events at the national championships. In the 400 free relay, the quartet of Charli Brown-Erin Milligan-Looney-Maluka broke a school record of 3:13.52 to finish 19th at NCAA's, earning All-American honors. At the Pac-12 Championships, Looney became a three-time Pac-12 champion by winning the 500 free and broke the school record in the 200 free with a time of 1:52.14 to claim second. She was also named the Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year.
MEN'S TENNIS (17TH PLACE / 50 POINTS)
Men's Tennis finished their best program since reinstatement, ending at No. 20 in the polls after being consistently ranked in the Top-25 from February on. The team recorded an 18-win season which was the most wins since 1991 and advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, eventually falling to No. 6 Wake Forest, though despite the 4-3 loss, the Sun Devils were just the third team to put three points on the board against Wake Forest in their 28 wins. Junior Murphy Cassone was a consistent top-15 player and was an at large bid for the NCAA singles tournament and earned the automatic Pac-12 doubles team bid alongside Jacob Bullard, despite the pair not playing together from the first position until mid-April. Cassone advanced to the quarterfinal of both rounds before falling in third-set tiebreakers for both matches, but secured All-American honors for both singles and doubles, with Bullard earning the doubles All-American nod. Cassone is just the third player in program history to earn multiple singles All-American honors, and is the first player to earn both singles and doubles All-American honors since Sargis Sargsian in 1994.
WOMEN'S TENNIS (17TH PLACE / 50 POINTS)
In Sheila McInerney's final season, she reached the NCAA Tournament for the 36th straight year and a 15-win campaign, finishing fifth in Pac-12 and closed out the regular season with six straight wins over ranked opponents. The most notable victory came early in the season where the Sun Devils defeated No. 7 Ohio State 4-1 for their first win over the Buckeyes since 1990. For the Sun Devils, they also managed to make the round of 32 after a comeback victory over Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Pepperdine in the following round. The dynamic duo of Chelsea Fontenel and Patricija Spaka were selected to the NCAA Doubles Tournament after going 11-7 but fell in the round of 32.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL (9TH PLACE / 45 POINTS)
Led by first-year ASU head coach and 2024 Pac-12 Coach of the Year Kristen Rohr, Arizona State had a stellar season in 2024. In the final season as a member of the Pac-12, the team went 21-10 (5-5 Pac-12) and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, earning a No. 12 seed. The 21 wins tied the ASU record for wins in a season. ASU had raked in 11 ranked wins this season, the previous record was held at three during the 2019 season. Before this season, there were 13 total ranked wins throughout team history. In the rankings, Arizona State was No. 12 in the final AVCA Coaches Poll. The Sun Devils were ranked for the entire season, the first time the program has been ranked for more than four weeks. The highest ranking was No. 10 on March 5, which was tied for the highest ranking in team history. Arizona State saw its first All-Americans as sophom*ore Daniella Kensinger and freshman Ava Williamson were both AVCA Second Team All-Americans. Additionally, Williamson and sophom*ore Arden Besecker were named an AVCA Top Flight pair for Flight 2 after they went 15-3 at the twos for the first half of the year.
MEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD (24TH PLACE / 47.50)
The Sun Devils delivered a historic performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston in March, as the quartet of Justin Robinson-Kaleb Simpson-Jayden Davis-Gamali Felix teamed up to go 3:02.35 to win a national title in the 4x400 relay. They set a new school record, facility record, a world-leading indoor time and the collegiate lead this season. Bringing the school its first Indoor relay title, they did so by outlasting Florida (3:02.53) and Texas A&M (3:03.35). Across four regular season Indoor meets, the Sun Devils totaled 15 titles and two new school records.
MEN'S GOLF (31ST PLACE / 40.50 POINTS)
The team won its 13th Pac-12 title (first since 2008) on April 26-28 but saw its national title hopes close when it finished sixth at the Rancho Santa Fe Regional, as ASU was one of five top-10 teams to not make the championship. Junior Preston Summerhays won the Sahalee Players Championship in Washington. The team also won the CPC Invitational (Oct. 30-31), the Cabo Collegiate (Mar. 3-5) and ASU's Thunderbird Collegiate (April 12-13). Wenyi Ding earned first-team All-America honors, and also took home Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the Year as Matt Thurmond earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The 2024 Pac-12 champion Sun Devil men's golf program notched four PING GCAA All-Americans for the third time in the past four seasons, while Matt Thurmond earned his fourth GCAA West Region Coach of the Year honors in the past seven seasons.
MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD (42ND PLACE / 30.50 POINTS)
Eight Sun Devils qualified to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and after capturing a national title in the 4x400 at NCAA Indoors, the Sun Devils were in contention to bring home the Outdoor 4x400 relay, too. Jayden Davis, Justin Robinson, Kaleb Simpson and Gamali Felix teamed up to go 3:00.87 to place fourth overall, setting the fourth-fastest time in team history in the process. In addition to those four Sun Devils earning All-American honors, Robinson doubled up in the 400m, placing eighth overall (45.92) to become a four-time Outdoor All-American. Robinson was joined by Dayton Carlson as the two Sun Devils to earn individual All-American status, as Carlson placed 15th in the 800m (1:48.66), the second time in his career he's been top-15 at NCAAs in the 800m.
SOCCER (33RD PLACE / 25 POINTS)
Soccer continued its recent run of success with a second straight trip to the NCAAs and its third in the past four seasons. The team won 10 games for the third time under coach Winkworth, and it was the fifth time in the past six seasons with at least nine victories. ASU took advantage of its home field with a 6-1-3 record in home games, including a 1-0 win over No. 11 USC on October 19. Lieske Carleer, Enasia Colon, and Pauline Nelles were each named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team. Colon finished fourth in the Pac-12 with 22 points. Nelles was second in the Pac-12 with a .804 save percentage and fourth with 10 wins and 82 saves. She was named the Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week two times on her way to setting the ASU record with nine shutouts. In addition, Carleer and Nelles were each named Academic All-District® by the CSC.
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