Three more national titles, two best times and another world record at the 2025 NCAA men’s swimming and diving championships marked the end of Jordan Crooks’ illustrious collegiate career last week. Crooks, a senior at the University of Tennessee, began his last hurrah in Washington state last Wednesday with a second-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, charging past several teams on the anchor leg to triumph over all but eventual meet champions Texas. Suiting up for his first individual event the following day, the 22-year-old secured the second NCAA 50-yard freestyle title of his career at a canter. Crooks touched fractions of a second shy of the all-time quickest mark in the event, but later that evening stepped back up to lower his own personal best to 17.82 leading off Tennessee’s title-winning 200-yard freestyle relay. In doing so, he made the event’s all-time leaderboard nearly entirely his own, having now delivered eight of the 10 fastest performances ever. “I’m just super grateful to get under 18 seconds two more times and swim an awesome relay with these guys,” Crooks said post-race, adding of his win in the sport’s marquee sprint event: “We’ve always just tried to have fun with it, get out there and execute from start to turn to finish.” And he wasn’t done. After repeating his sixth-place finish on Friday in the 200-yard freestyle – an event in which he dropped over six seconds from his freshman year – Crooks shattered the 100-yard freestyle world record of American sprinting great Caeleb Dressel on Saturday morning, clocking 39.83 seconds in his prelims. While his second quickest all-time performance then saw him pipped to a second individual title of the week by the University of Florida’s three-time reigning champion Josh Liendo in that evening’s final, there was time for one more blow to be landed by the Caymanian star in his years-long rivalry with the Canadian Olympian, in the very last event of the meet – the 400-yard freestyle relay. Trailing the Gators team as he hit the water, Crooks threw down the fastest relay split in history to ensure his Vols quartet – featuring three Caribbean swimmers – ran out of Federal Way on the highest of highs: As NCAA champions and record holders. It may not seem like long ago that he was lining up behind the Lions Pool blocks for local race-days, but three years have now flown by since Crooks first put the world on notice during his debut season in the US. Fastest freshman to fastest ever Around this time in 2022, a teenager from the Cayman Islands completed his meteoric rise from up-and-coming regional talent to holding the title of being the fastest college freshman ever – in not one but two events. Trailblazing success for the young man, his country and the region, but only a hint of what was to come. Still overlooked and underestimated, Crooks descended on Melbourne, Australia, eight short months later and returned home an altogether unexpected – perhaps to all but himself and those closest to him – world champion, Cayman’s first in any sport. Expectations inevitably grew and yet were exceeded time and again – most of all when, soon after an historic Olympic debut at Paris 2024 in which he finished agonisingly short of the podium, he was back in the medals in Budapest and defended his world championship gold – with a ‘perfect’ world record to boot. After all that, and many more achievements too numerous to list here, what Crooks pulled off in his final act as a Volunteer this past week was not entirely unexpected. Yet still, he found ways – particularly with his accomplishments over 100 yards, a distance as yet far less synonymous with his name – to surprise even the most diehard swimming fans and experts, including those who have followed his development closely. “Jordan has once again shown his incredible sprinting ability,” said Cayman Aquatics technical director Jacky Pellerin. “He has the physical and mental capacity to surpass the vast majority of the world’s best sprinters.” “Insane,” was the reaction from former Cayman Islands national team coach David Pursley. “[It] doesn’t even feel real.” What’s next? The question of ‘what next?’ will quickly leave the lips of countless onlookers, supporters and, no doubt, some rivals, too. “An Olympic medal” is one answer – that final unconquered quest for an athlete from these small islands. Given his trajectory over the past three years, few would bet against him being in with a shout of just that come LA 2028. Does he remain in Knoxville, attract sponsors and pursue a professional career there, or embrace a new environment? Could a return to Cayman’s own shores tempt him somewhere down the line? For now, this all remains a question Crooks won’t be drawn on as he deservedly basks in the celebrations of that last dance, and pivots focus to enjoying his final few months as a college senior. “This year, Jordan expressed his wish to be able to finish his university year without worrying too much about the sporting calendar,” Pellerin told the Compass. “This period should allow him to digest the phenomenal results he has achieved since Olympics, just as [four-time gold medallist Frenchman] Léon Marchand did when he didn’t take part in the World Championships right after Paris. “Let’s give Jordan time to figure out how he wants to approach his new career.” Whatever their top talent’s decision when that time comes, Tennessee sports fans will rest easily knowing there will be at least one Crooks competing with the Vols for several more years to come. In mid-March, two-time Olympian Jillian made her NCAA debut for the Vols to round off her own first season on ‘Rocky Top’. Competing at the women’s college championship meet a week prior to her older brother, the 18-year-old contested three individual events and a top-10-ranked relay.