2025 M. NCAA Previews: Does Crooks Have What It Takes in the 50?

2025 Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 26-29, 2025
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center, Federal Way, Washington
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• SwimSwam Pick’Em Contest
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Psych Sheet

Men’s 50 Free By the Numbers

• U.S. Open Record: 17.63 – Caeleb Dressel, University of Florida (2018)
• American Record: 17.63 – Caeleb Dressel, University of Florida (2018)
• NCAA Record: 17.63 – Caeleb Dressel, University of Florida (2018)
• 2024 Champion:  Josh Liendo, University of Florida- 18.07

Day two of the meet is the shortest days of individual racing, featuring only three events. Despite being a short session, the last event, the men’s 50 free, is one of the headliners of the meet..

We have some exciting races lined up, including one between Florida’s Josh Liendo and Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks. The races could be outshined, however by the potential for a new NCAA record

At the 2025 SECs Crooks won the 50 freestyle, coming just two tenths off Caeleb Dressel’s 17.63 record from 2018.

The Last Dance

(photo: Jack Spitser)

In 2023, sophomore Jordan Crooks from Tennessee and Florida freshman Josh Liendo met for the first time in the men’s 50 free at NCAAs. This race ultimately ended with Crooks on top in 18.32 and Liendo just behind him in 2nd place at 18.40.

At last year’s meet, the two met again, but they stood atop the podium in a different order. Liendo swam a personal best 18.07 to out touch Crooks’ 18.09 by two-hundredths to win the NCAA title, leaving Crooks in 2nd.

This year, we will see them meet for the last time in the SCY 50 free, and we will settle the score that is currently tied 1-1 for NCAA titles.

This isn’t the only race they are competing against each other in next week, they will also meet in the 100 freestyle, where they tied at SECs, on the final day of the meet, but this will be our first glimpse into what that race could look like.

Based on times this season, it seems like Crooks should run away with the event. At SECs, he won in 17.85, coming in almost half-a-second ahead of Liendo, who has a season best of 18.26 from the same race.

This one race does not tell the whole story, however. Jordan Crooks has never been faster at the NCAA Championships in the 50 freestyle than he went at SECs.

Crooks SEC vs NCAA times

Alternatively, Josh Liendo has only swam at two NCAA Championship Meets, but he has added at one and dropped at one.

Liendo SEC vs NCAA times

Despite Crooks coming in with the fastest time, he is not a shoe in for the victory, especially with his history of adding time in the event. Last year, Liendo dropped almost seven tenths from his SEC time. At this year’s SEC meet, he went 18.35 in the finals. If he experiences the same drop at this meet, he could also find himself in NCAA record territory.

It is worth noting that in December, Crooks set the World Record in the SCM 50 freestyle in the semi-finals at 19.90, faster than Dressel has ever been. He did add time in the final, but he still won the event overall.

Regardless, the top two race is shaping up to be exciting.

SEC Rematch

On top of the top two swimmers who are favored to win, there are four other SEC swimmers in the top 10, who are all threats/medal contenders.

Gui Caribe Santos from Tennessee is the third seed in the event at 18.42 from SECs, which was his best time in the event. He has had a very strong year, earning him a relatively comfortable third seed, more than a tenth ahead of 4th place. He did well at NCAAs last year, dropping from his SEC time to swim 18.57 and finish 6th overall.

Texas transfer Chris Guiliano is another one to watch. He comes into the meet seeded 6th overall, but he has been more than a tenth faster than his season best time at 18.49. Last year, he finished 4th in the event when he was swimming for Notre Dame. He had an exceptional summer, qualifying for the Olympic Games in the 50/100/200 freestyle events, and swimming on the United States relays in all three. He made the transfer to Texas after the Notre Dame team was suspended for the season. If he finds his speed from trials, he could easily be one to watch in the final.

LSU sophomore Jere Hribar sits just outside the top eight as the 9th seed overall with his 18.65 from SECs. Hribar has dropped a little more than a tenth in the event this season, swimming 18.81 at the NCAA Championships last year in prelims, before he went 18.96 to finish 11th overall. These times were a drop from his SEC performance last year, by almost two tenths which could be good news for a potential ‘A’ finals berth.

The final top 10 SEC swimmer is Texas A&M’s Connor Foote who is seeded 10th overall at 18.67. Foote did not make the final at last year’s NCAA Championships,  finishing 29th in the event at 19.29. He did leadoff A&M’s relay, where he set a new best time of 18.87 to help the Aggies finish 16th overall.

Pacific Sprinters

After Crooks and Liendo, there are a few athletes to watch who could be looking for an upset, or are solid top eight finishers, including a quartet of swimmers who swim on former Pac-12 teams.

Ilya Kharun is coming in as the fourth seed, behind the SEC trio up front, at 18.51 which he went leading off ASU’s 200 Freestyle Relay at the Wolfpack Elite Invite in November. At last year’s Nationals, Kharun had a disappointing 50 freestyle performance, adding a little over a tenth in prelims to miss the ‘A’ final, and then adding another tenth in finals to finish 12th overall. This year, he is looking for redemption, and with the speed we have seen from him on his butterfly, he could put himself in contention.

Jonny Kulow (photo: Jack Spitser)

He is joined by ASU teammate Jonny Kulow, who comes in as the 8th seed with his 18.64 from Big 12s, which exactly tied his NCAA prelims time from last year. Ultimately Kulow went 18.77 in the final to finish 8th overall.

Not to be ignored is Cal’s Jack Alexy. The Cal sprinters have not had an incredibly strong year, and Alexy is the only one seeded to make any final, but he is still seeded 5th in 18.58. This time is about two tenths off the 18.38 he went to finish 3rd in the event last year, and if he goes that same time, or drops he could easily find himself back in that position this season.

Jack Alexy (photo: Jack Spitser)

Cal has another sprinter in 5th year Bjorn Seeliger who could also find himself in medal contention. Seeliger has ‘A’ finaled in the event at four NCAA Championships in a row, though he has never finished higher than 2nd. His lowest finish came last year, when he finished 5th overall at 18.54. This year, he comes into the meet seeded 19th thanks to his 18.86 from January. At ACCs, he went 19.43 in the finals to finish 8th overall. Historically, Seeliger gets faster between conference meets and NCAAs and he has a lifetime best of 18.27 from 2022.

Other Contenders

He didn’t fit nicely into the other categories, but NC State’s Quintin McCarty is the 7th seed in the event with his 18.63 that he went to win the ACC Championships last season. He was 16th at last year’s NCAAs, coming in at 19.23, almost three tenths off the time he went at ACCs. He was just a freshman last year, though, so he has a little more experience under his belt now, which could make a difference in his NCAA performance.

Quintin McCarty (photo: Jack Spitser)

Florida’s Scotty Buff, the 11th seed, is another one who could find himself in the ‘A’ final. Last year, he failed to make the SEC final in the 50 free, swimming 19.70 in the event. This year, he has reinvented himself to fill gaps in Florida’s roster, and has continuously dropped time in the event, culminating at his 18.73 from SECs to finish 6th overall. If he sees another large drop, he could easily be in final contention.

Ed Fullum-Huot was a ‘B’ finalist at last year’s meet, swimming 19.04 to qualify for the final, but just barely made the cut for this year’s meet, coming in at 28th with his seed and best time of 19.02, he would need to drop into the 18s for the first time if he is wanting to final.

Youssef Ramadan won the ‘B’ final last year, but this year, he opted to swim the 100 fly/100 back double instead of the 50.

SwimSwam’s predictions

Dark Horse- Taiko Torepe Ormsby (Wisconsin)

Taiko Torepe-Ormsby, a Wisconsin junior, is coming in as the 14th seed in the event. His 18.81 from Big Tens exactly matches the time he went to finish 10th in the ‘B’ final at last year’s NCAAs. He has been 18.76 in the event, which he did at last year’s Big Ten Championships to win. He went on to swim the 50 and 100 free at NCAAs, where he dropped more than a tenth in his 100 free. If he finds a way to replicate that drop in his 50 free this year, he could find his way into the top eight.