BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – DECEMBER 11: Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands competes in Heat 9 of the Men’s … More
On the second night of the 2025 Men’s Division I NCAA Championships, Jordan Crooks joined the elite club in the 50 free. After finishing second last year, the Tennessee senior swam a time of 17.91 to claim the national title in the freestyle event. Crooks is now the only swimmer alongside ten-time Olympic medalist Caeleb Dressel, who holds the NCAA record in 50 free (17.63), to break the 18-sub barrier at NCAA.
Crooks was followed by Gators’ defending champion Josh Liendo in 18.23, allowing him to finish in the top two in the 50 free for three consecutive years. Crooks’ teammate, Gui Caribe, placed third in 18.26.
However, Jordan Crooks was not done for the day. After claiming his third NCAA title in four years, the 22-year-old posted another sub-18 performance to help win the 200 free relay. Breaking the program record, he led the relay in 17.82, followed by Gui Caribe in 17.81. Nikoli Blackman (18.67) and Lamar Taylor (18.54) sealed the victory after the front half took a commanding lead. At last, posting a time of 1:12.84, Tennessee claimed its first national title in the men’s relay event since 1996.
“I think SECs was a good learning process for that. We kind of figured out what I needed to do to be able to turn up in finals and then turn up on the relay,” said Crooks. Arizona State trailed behind, clocking a time of 1:13.05, thanks to Jonny Kulow’s 18.14 split. Florida, eyeing their third consecutive title in the event, was forced to settle for third in 1:13.37.
Since posting his first under-18 performance of 17.93 at the 2023 SECs, Jordan Crooks has come a long way. Last year, apart from clocking a time of 17.99 to win the individual 50 free event of the 2024 SECs meet, he also set a new world record at the 2024 Short-Course championships. Breaking the 20-second mark by posting a time of 19.90. However, at the NCAAs championships, Crooks was yet to showcase the same momentum. At the 2024 NCAA championships, Crooks’ 18.09 performance was outdone by Liendo, who won the event in 18.07.
Interestingly, in the 2025 season, Crooks is maintaining strong outings from the start. At the SEC conference in February, he broke the 18-second barrier twice in the individual event (17.85) and while leading the 200 free relay (17.96), respectively. Now, following his first performances breaking the 18-second barrier at the NCAA Championships, Crooks holds a total of six sub-18 swims so far in his career.
