Brooke Forde To Take 5th Year At Stanford While Pursuing Masters

NCAA champion Brooke Forde will return to Stanford for one more season of NCAA eligibility while pursuing a masters degree.

Forde told SwimSwam this week that she’s been accepted to a one-year masters program through Stanford, and plans to continue swimming while working through that program.

Athletes have the opportunity for a fifth year of NCAA eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic, which canceled the NCAA Championships in Forde’s junior year. She scored 20+ points in each of her three NCAA Championships appearances, including 43 points as a sophomore in 2019.

This past year, Forde was third in the 500 free (4:35.22), first in the 400 IM (4:01.57) and 13th in the 200 breast (2:07.63) at NCAAs. She also anchored Stanford’s 8th-place 800 free relay, splitting 1:43.3 for the best split among the four Cardinal swimmers.

Forde’s return should be a major boost to Stanford next season. She was the team’s top individual scorer by a longshot, putting up 40 individual points. No other Stanford swimmer scored more than 11 individually. In three seasons, she was the #1 overall scorer nationwide in the high school graduating class of 2017, scoring 104 points. Next year, she’s likely to add 40+ to that total.

Stanford had a handful of key athlete defer their enrollment last year. Between fifth-years like Forde and gap-year freshmen like Regan Smith and Lillie Nordmann, Stanford should have some significant star power joining their roster after a disappointing 9th-place team finish in 2021.

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tnp101
2 years ago

In addition to Brook Forde, next year Stanford will have Taylor Ruck, Regan Smith, Torri Huske, Lillie Nordmann, Samantha Pearson, Samantha Tadder and Amy Tang added to the current team.

Sakibomb25
Reply to  tnp101
2 years ago

Well it’s not confirmed that Rick will be back, is it?

tnp101
Reply to  Sakibomb25
2 years ago

Honestly I don’t know. The question why wouldn’t she? She will be a Senior next year but RS. So in swimming. She might get her Master degree at Stanford and continue to swim with the team. They have a great chance of winning with Regan and, hopefully, if both Curzan and Hook choose Stanford.

Troy
Reply to  tnp101
2 years ago

To be honest Regan Smith could be up in the air also if she swims lights out, she may turn pro and just got to Stanford, but not on the team.

tea rex
Reply to  tnp101
2 years ago

The idea of Ruck, Regan, Huske, and possibly Curzan training together is insane, but maybe they need to get a breaststroker to go with all those 46s and 49s?

Ghost
2 years ago

What is she studying for her major?

Theo
Reply to  Ghost
2 years ago

Brooke Fords major is Human Biology and she was also an academic all-American in 2021 with that major. This commonly a favorite major among the Stanford pre-Med students – lots of math, chem, and of course biology. 🤓

RMS
2 years ago

They can just go ahead and hand next year’s national trophy over to Stanford. That team next year is stacked! I’m excited to see what kind of times these relays put up.

wkkd
2 years ago

Brooke Forde, more like Brooke “Masters Program” Forde lmaooooooo

Stank
Reply to  wkkd
2 years ago

That was terrible

Thomas Selig
Reply to  wkkd
2 years ago

Surely the appropriate pun goes something like:

Brooke Forde, more like Book(worm) Forde

Sorry, I’ll get my (lab)coat…

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
Reply to  Thomas Selig
2 years ago

Don’t quit your day job.

Pvdh
2 years ago

One more season to compete, masters from one of the best universities in the world….I wouldn’t pass it up either

Ol' Longhorn
2 years ago

She’s swimming Masters? Sweet.

Dave
2 years ago

I realize that everyone is focused on the Olympics, BUT next year, Stanford will have Reagan Smith, Taylor Ruck AND Brooke Forde, Plus many above average swimmers, so any early bets on the Women’s NCAA Championship? Wow!

SAMUEL HUNTINGTON
Reply to  Dave
2 years ago

and Torri Huske…goodness

Margalis Stan
Reply to  Dave
2 years ago

Torri Huske will also be joining the team next season!

Taa
Reply to  Dave
2 years ago

Ruck has got to be a big question mark at this point. Smith and Huske would be an extra 100+ points which really isn’t enough to win. Covid seems to have killed whatever they had going prior to 2020.

SCCOACH
Reply to  Taa
2 years ago

Covid killed their momentum for a year. Could be a chance that the slump goes into next year but if I were a gambling man I’d gamble on them being at least #2 at NCAA’s next year. Virginia will still be tough and I think they will need Ruck in relays in order to have a shot.

I’m waiting to see Ruck perform this summer before I worry about her. I’m not sure why people seem to be down on her. Covid was a tough year and lots of people didn’t compete that much. I’m not sure if there has been any news on her or if people just assume there’s something wrong because they haven’t seen her compete that… Read more »

Swimmer
Reply to  SCCOACH
2 years ago

I think they might be questioning if she will even return to Stanford, not her impact.

Dave
Reply to  Swimmer
2 years ago

Ruck took online courses, so that she was included in the 17 Stanford Swimmers on the PAC-12 Academic honors list just published.

Ervin
Reply to  SCCOACH
2 years ago

Still question is Ruck is even going back…its been 2 years for her.

RMS
Reply to  Ervin
2 years ago

Why wouldn’t she? She left to train for the Olympics. I couldn’t imagine her not wanting to finish her education and athletic career at Stanford.

Awsi Dooger
Reply to  SCCOACH
2 years ago

Not merely Taylor Ruck. The entire Canadian women’s team is understated around here recently

tea rex
2 years ago

Sorry but imma be that guy…

Looks like she miscounted her laps, and is now swimming a fifth year!

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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