Crooks Named Semifinalist for James E. Sullivan Award

NEW YORK – On Wednesday, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) announced Tennessee junior swimmer Jordan Crooks as a semifinalist for the James E. Sullivan Award, recognizing the nation's most outstanding amateur athlete for the 2022-23 competitive season.

Voting for the James E. Sullivan Award begins on July 12 and runs through July 19. After this, six finalists will advance to another voting stage in August, and all finalists will attend an awards ceremony on September 19. Voting can be found HERE.

Crooks earned this nomination following a historic sophomore campaign that featured a National Championship, three SEC Championships and a Short Course World Championship. Crooks was also named the 2023 SEC Swimmer of the Year, becoming only the fourth Vol to receive that honor.

The historic season began at the 2022 FINA Short Course World Championships, where he took the gold in the 50 free. In doing this, he tallied the fourth-fastest time in the 50 free SCM ever. Representing his country, he became the first swimmer from the Cayman Islands to medal at a major championship.

Crooks continued his year of success at the SEC Championships, where he medaled in seven events, with four golds and three silvers. His gold medals included sweeping the sprint freestyle after becoming only the second person to swim sub-18 seconds in the 50 free. He led Tennessee to SEC Titles in the 200 medley relay while posting the fastest 50-yard fly split ever (18.90) and in the 400 free relay.

To wrap up his year, Crooks won his first National Championship in the 50 free and became the fourth Vol to win gold in that event. He added seven first team All-American certificates, becoming the first Vol to do this in all of his events since Michael Gilliam in 2001.

The award is in its 93rd year and honors James. E Sullivan who founded the Amateur Athletic Union. 10 swimmers have won the award in its illustrious history. Only two athletes from Tennessee have won the award, with Peyton Manning boasting the honor in 1997 and Chamique Holdsclaw following him in 1998.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jordan Crooks

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