Crooks, Hattie, Stone Highlight SEC Yearly Honors

April 12, 2023 | Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After an incredible season on Rocky Top that finished with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships, three Vols highlighted the SEC yearly honors for Tennessee swimming & diving.

Sophomore Jordan Crooks earned SEC Swimmer of the Year recognition, becoming the fourth different Vol to win the award and the first since Michael Gilliam received it in 2001. Junior Bryden Hattie brought home SEC Diver of the Year to join an elite group of Big Orange divers to earn the honor. Since 2014, a Vol has won the award six times. Freshman Nick Stone also joined exclusive company, as he was named SEC Freshman Diver of the Year. Fellow teammates Hattie (2021) and Matthew Wade (2019) were also recent winners of the honor.

The league also released its All-SEC Teams as well as the All-Freshman Team. Between the Vols and Lady Vols, Tennessee boasted eight first team honorees, 12 second team recipients and four on the All-Freshman Team. For the All-SEC Teams, the First Team consists of the top finisher in each event at the SEC Championships, and the Second Team consists of the second- and third-place finishers in each event. The All-Freshman Teams consist of any redshirt or true freshman who finished either in the top eight or is the highest scoring freshman of each event at the SEC Championships, excluding relay events.

After enjoying one of the best seasons in Tennessee swimming history, Crooks brought home the top conference honor as the 2023 SEC Swimmer of the Year. The George Town, Cayman Islands, native won the 50 free at the NCAA Championships, SEC Championships and Short Course World Championships since December. His top time in the event was a 17.93 effort, which marked the second-fastest time in NCAA history as he became only the second swimmer ever to swim under 18 seconds in the 50 free.

After bringing home gold in the 100 free and silver in the 100 fly at SECs, Crooks became the first Vol to ever win SEC Swimmer of the Meet, and he was also Co-Commissioner's Trophy winner as the highest points scorer. He was the first Vol since Ricky Busquets in 1996 to sweep the sprint freestyles at conference championships. The First Team All-SEC selection also led Tennessee relays to a pair of golds (400 free relay and 200 medley relay) and two silvers (200 free relay and 400 medley relay) during the meet. During the 200 medley relay, he swam the fastest 50 fly split (18.90) in NCAA history.

At the NCAA Championships, Crooks earned All-America First Team status in seven different events at the NCAA Championships, finishing first in the 50 free, fifth in the 100 fly, tied for fifth in 100 free, fourth in 200 free relay, sixth in the 200 medley relay, sixth in 400 medley relay and seventh in 400 free relay. The last Tennessee swimmer to achieve the accomplishment of three individual top-8 finishes and seven combined All-America First Team honors in the same meet was Gilliam in 2001. He was also the last swimmer to win an individual national title for UT prior to Crooks.

The five-time SEC Swimmer of the Week's best times from the season were 17.93 in the 50 free, 40.92 in the 100 free and 44.04 in the 100 fly—all of which are Tennessee records. Overall, he won 17 races throughout the year.

For the 13th time in program history, Rocky Top was home to the SEC Male Diver of the Year, as Hattie added the accolade after already winning Diver of the Meet and being a Co-Commissioner's Trophy recipient at the SEC Championships. Throughout the season, he was named SEC Diver of the Week four times.

At the NCAA Championships, the Victoria, British Columbia, native garnered All-America First Team on platform and 3-meter. Thanks to a list that included four dives scoring for 80-plus points, Hattie was the national runner-up on tower, marking his second year in a row finishing inside the top three nationally in the event. After advancing to the Championship Final for the first time in his career on springboard, he took sixth overall on 3-meter. During the Zone B Championships, he qualified to NCAAs after sweeping all three events.

During the SEC Championships, Hattie enjoyed a monster week on the boards, bringing home a pair of gold medals on platform and 3-meter and winning silver on 1-meter. The All-SEC First Team selection dominated the platform event in both finals and prelims, eclipsing the 80-point margin on six of his dives between the two rounds. It marked the second time in his career that Hattie won the platform event, joining former Vols Chereches and Mauricio Robles as the only Vols to ever accomplish the feat. On 3-meter, Hattie rattled off three straight 70-plus-point dives to open the event after finishing sixth in prelims. In a competition that came down to the final round, he netted an impressive 81.60 effort on his forward 2 1/2 somersault 2 twist pike to finish with a career-best 429.20 score and win gold.

For SEC Freshman Diver of the Year, Stone earned the honor after earning All-America Second Team honors on tower and scoring in all three events at the SEC Championships. The only SEC freshman to compete in two events at the NCAA Championships, he finished 15th overall on platform thanks to a 332.00 effort despite not being projected to advance to the finals at NCAAs based on his Zone B Diving score.

During the SEC Championships, the SEC All-Freshman Team honoree finished sixth overall on platform, 13th on 1-meter and 24th on 3-meter. He was the only freshman to advance to the A final on tower, and he posted the second-highest score among freshmen on both springboards.

In addition to Crooks and Hattie, Gui Caribe, Michael Houlie, Björn Kammann and Aleksey Tarasenko earned All-SEC First Team recognition for the Vols, Brooklyn Douthwright and Mona McSharry represented the Lady Vols. Alyssa Breslin, Julia Burroughs, Emma Carlton, Micah Chambers, Josephine Fuller, Lyubomir Epitropov, Harrison Lierz, Julia Mrozinski, Jasmine Rumley, Scott Scanlon, Kristen Stege and Sara Stotler were tabbed to the All-SEC Second Team. Stone, Caribe, Martin Espernberger and Nick Simons made the All-Freshman Team, marking the most selections in a single season in Tennessee history for the Vols.

Both Tennessee swimming & diving programs enjoyed strong 2022-23 campaigns. The Vols finished the season seventh overall at NCAAs for the teams' first top-10 finish since 2016. The group had 10 podium finishes, while 12 different Vols garnered All-America status. At SECs, the Big Orange brought home 12 medals (6 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze) to place third overall. The Lady Vols posted a top-10 finish nationally for the sixth year in a row after taking eighth this season. The team saw 10 different individuals win a combined 28 All-America honors, as UT put together nine podium finishes, including a pair of silver medal performances. During the SEC Championships, the Lady Vols won 14 medals (3 gold, 8 silver, 3 bronze) to finish second overall.

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