2026 College Swimming Previews: #5 Tennessee Men Retooling With Loss of Jordan Crooks

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

It’s that time of the year again. SwimSwam will be previewing the top 12 men’s and women’s teams (and then some) from the 2025 NCAA Championships. Follow along with the College Swimming Preview Channel. Want to read even more? Check out the latest edition of the SwimSwam magazine. 

#5 TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

Key Losses: Jordan Crooks (49.5 NCAA points, 4 NCAA relays), Harrison Lierz (9 NCAA points, 1 NCAA relay), Bjoern Kammann (9 NCAA points), Lamar Taylor (8 NCAA points, 3 NCAA relays), Kevin Houseman (2 NCAA relays),

Key Additions: #11 Gabe Nunziata (VA – breast), BOTR Jake McCoy (WA – IM), Koby Bujak-Upton (Australia – sprint free), Lucio Flavio de Paula Filho (Brazil – sprint free/fly), Ulises Saravia (Argentina – backstroke), Ethan Dumesnil (France – sprint free), Kamal Muhammad (Virginia transfer – sprint free/fly), Frazer Tavener (New Zealand – diving), Thomas Ciprick (Canada – diving)

GRADING CRITERIA

Over the years, we’ve gone back and forth on how to project points, ranging from largely subjective rankings to more data-based grading criteria based on ‘projected returning points.’ We like being as objective as possible, but we’re going to stick with the approach we’ve adopted post-Covid. The “stars” will rely heavily on what swimmers actually did last year, but we’ll also give credit to returning swimmers or freshmen who have posted times that would have scored last year.

Since we only profile the top 12 teams in this format, our grades are designed with that range in mind. In the grand scheme of college swimming and compared to all other college programs, top 12 NCAA programs would pretty much all grade well across the board. But in the interest of making these previews informative, our grading scale is tough – designed to show the tiers between the good stroke groups, the great ones, and the 2015 Texas fly group types.

• 5 star (★★★★★) – a rare, elite NCAA group projected to score 25+ points per event
• 4 star (★★★★) – a very, very good NCAA group projected to score 15-24 points per event
• 3 star (★★★) – a good NCAA group projected to score 5-14 points per event
• 2 star (★★) – a solid NCAA group projected to score 1-4 points per event
• 1 star (★) –  an NCAA group that is projected to score no points per event, though that doesn’t mean it’s without potential scorers – they’ll just need to leapfrog some swimmers ahead of them to do it

We’ll grade each event discipline: sprint free (which we define to include all the relay-distance freestyle events, so 50, 100 and 200), distance free, IM, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and diving. Use these grades as a jumping-off point for discussion, rather than a reason to be angry.

Also, keep in mind that we are publishing many of these previews before teams have posted finalized rosters. We’re making our assessments based on the best information we have available at the time of publication, but we reserve the right to make changes after publication based on any new information that may emerge regarding rosters. If that does happen, we’ll make certain to note the change.

2024-2025 LOOKBACK

Tennessee concluded the Jordan Crooks era on a high note last season, placing 5th at the NCAA Championships to mark the program’s best finish since 2001.

After the Vols were 18th in Crooks’ freshman year in 2022, they took 7th in 2023, 6th in 2024 and ultimately 5th in 2025, marking the first time they produced three straight top 10 finishes since they did it nine consecutive times from 1993 until 2001.

Crooks, Gui Caribe, and the relays were the driving forces behind Tennessee’s top-five finish.

Crooks scored 49.5 points in his senior year, winning the NCAA title in the 50 free (17.91), finishing as the runner-up in the 100 free (40.06) and tying for 6th in the 200 free (1:31.36).

As a junior, Caribe impressed by placing 3rd in the 50 free (18.26) and 100 free (40.15) and added a 9th-place showing in the 100 fly (44.31) to score 41 points.

In the relays, which all featured Crooks and Caribe playing key roles, Tennessee went nuclear at SECs, setting new NCAA and U.S. Open Records in the 200 free relay (1:12.80) and 400 free relay (2:42.30) while narrowly missing it in the 200 medley relay (1:20.22).

Then, at NCAAs, the Vols backed up their SEC performance by winning the 200 free relay (1:12.84) and 400 free relay (2:42.30), setting a new all-time record in the latter, while finishing as the runner-up in the 200 medley relay (1:20.50) behind Texas.

Adding in a 10th-place finish in the 400 medley relay, Tennessee scored 128 points in the relays, 48% of their final tally, despite not even fielding a team in the 800 free relay.

Martin Espernberger was the team’s only other double-digit point scorer, putting up 14 after placing 5th in the 200 fly, while Harrison Lierz and Bjoern Kammann put up nine points apiece, and Lamar Taylor and diver Bennett Greene chipped in with eight as the Vols only had seven individual scorers.

At the SEC Championships, after placing 5th in 2024, Tennessee placed 3rd in 2025 despite the addition of Texas. The Longhorns rolled to the title in their conference debut, while defending champions Florida were the only long-tenured SEC team to beat the Vols.

SPRINT FREE: ★★★½

Tennessee’s sprint free group takes a massive hit with the graduation of Jordan Crooks, who scored all 49.5 of his points last season in the 50, 100 and 200 free.

In his absence, Gui Caribe takes point in this discipline after his 3rd-place finishes in the 50 and 100 free last season, and with Crooks graduating, Caribe is the #2 returner in the nation, only trailing Florida’s Josh Liendo.

Caribe had his fastest swims last season when it mattered the most, clocking 18.26 in the 50 free and 40.15 in the 100 free in NCAA ‘A’ finals.

Lamar Taylor also scored last season for Tennessee in a sprint free event, taking 9th in the 100 free, but with him no longer on the team, rising junior Nikoli Blackman takes over as the #2 sprinter on the roster.

Blackman set best times of 19.05 in the 50 free and 41.84 in the 100 free last season at SECs, and then went on to place 48th in the 50 (19.51) and 20th in the 100 (41.88) at NCAAs. The Trinidad and Tobago native projects to be right on the cusp of earning a second swim at NCAAs in both events, with the 2025 scoring cut-off sitting at 18.92/41.62.

Also returning for the Vols with some sprint free pedigree is Brazilian Pedro Sansone, who had a successful freshman year by qualifying for NCAAs, placing 30th in the 50 free (19.21) and 29th in the 100 free (42.11) after setting a season-best of 41.92 a few weeks earlier at the Tennessee Last Chance Invitational.

There are also some intriguing sprint free additions on the recruiting side, with Frenchman Ethan Dumesnil, Australian Koby Bujak-Upton and Brazilian Lucio Flavio de Paula Filho joining the squad, while Kamal Muhammad heads to Knoxville as a transfer from Virginia.

Dumesnil, who represented France at the 2025 World Championships, owns an elite best time of 48.67 in the 100 free, and a respectable 22.94 in the 50 free. Those times convert to 19.94/42.58, which are probably conversative, especially in the 100. He’ll probably in the 41s next season and pushing to score.

Bujak-Upton, who deferred his freshman year for one season, comes in with long course best times of 23.20/49.66/1:48.74 in the sprint events, which convert to 20.18/43.29/1:35.08. He also swam some meets in yards last season with Tennessee Aquatics, posting times of 20.33/43.64/1:35.15. His most competitive event figures to be the 100 free, and though it’s probably a stretch to say he could be an NCAA scorer this season, he does shore up the 400 free relay.

Flavio de Paula owns bests of 22.76/50.40 in the long course pool, converting to 19.78/43.96. He’s coming off an impressive summer, and though he’s slightly better in the 50 and 100 fly, he also produced LC 100 free relay splits of 49.24 and 49.39 for Brazil at World Juniors in August, showing some improvement from his best time.

Muhammad set a best time of 19.89 in the 50 free back in March, and he’s also been as fast as 43.48 in the 100 free, though that was back in 2021. He did set long course bests of 22.32/50.01 this past summer, which is a good indicator he’ll be setting new PBs in yards this season.

All three should be factors on Tennessee’s relays this year, but aren’t yet fast enough to be individual scorers.

As for the 200 free, the Vols are in tough with Blackman being their only returning swimmer who was sub-1:35 last season, having clocked 1:32.12 at the midseason Tennessee Invitational. He went on to place 37th at NCAAs in 1:33.80.

Martin Espernberger is the next-fastest returner at 1:35.51, while breaststroker Gabe Nunziata has solid best times across the board, with a PB of 1:35.94 in the 200 free to go along with 20.40/44.19 times in the 50/100. Bujak-Upton has the potential to be the team’s #2 200 freestyler, but it remains to be seen what he can do in yards.

DISTANCE FREE: ★

Tennessee is extremely thin in the distance free events, with Espernberger being their fastest returning swimmer by a wide margin in the 500 free at 4:20.07. They only had two entrants in the event at SECs, with the graduated Joaquin Vargas and Espernberger placing 39th and 40th in a 45-swimmer field.

Bujak-Upton joins the team with a 3:48.77 best time in the SCM 400 free, converting to 4:21.45, while domestic recruit Mac Clark has a best time of 4:22.7. With those two and Espernberger, there could be a few SEC points for Tennessee this season in the 500, but no one is close to qualifying for NCAAs.

In the 1650, the only swimmer who figures to be swimming the event this season is Clark, who owns a best time of 15:09 and has been as fast as 15:40 in long course meters. He could be an SEC scorer with a bit of a drop–it took 15:04 to place in the top 24 last season.

BACKSTROKE: ★½

All three of Tennessee’s backstroke entries from the 2025 NCAAs have walked out the door (Harrison Lierz in both events and Lamar Taylor in the 100 back), putting the team in rebuilding mode in the discipline.

There are no scorers on paper for the Vols, though they have someone who could develop into one: Ulises Saravia.

Saravia, an Argentine native who was a semi-finalist in the 50 and 100 back at the 2025 World Championships, owns best times of 24.66/53.26 in the long course pool, and he’s also been 23.63/51.67/1:55.86 in short course meters. Those times give him conversions of 21.28/46.54/1:44.37, making him an important asset for the 200 medley relay and a potential scoring threat in the 100 back, acknowledging that of all the strokes, backstroke conversions are usually the most off.

Redshirt junior Nick Simons owns strong best times of 45.45/1:40.05, though both were set in 2023.

In 2024-25, Simons went 46.63 in the 100 back at SECs and then got down to 1:40.77 in the 200 at the Tennessee Last Chance Invite, just over six-tenths shy of what it took to earn an NCAA invite (1:40.13).

The Vols also have three rising sophomores with some potential. Ben Bricca is the team’s top returning 100 backstroker at 46.20 (and 1:42.62 in the 200 back), while fellow second-year Tony Laurito was a solid 1:41.83 in the 200 back. Aidan Hill is a notch below those two, but still respectable at 46.96/1:44.28.

Among the newcomers, Jake McCoy may be the top 100 backstroker with his 56.76 long course best (though he’s only been 49.04 in yards) and his 1:44.4 200 back. As an IMer, the 200 back is likely McCoy’s #3 event.

BREASTSTROKE: ★★

Tennessee’s breaststroke group gets a big boost this season with the addition of Gabe Nunziata, the #11-ranked recruit in the boys’ high school class of 2025 and the reigning World Junior bronze medalist in the 200 breaststroke.

Nunziata owns SCY best times of 52.47 and 1:53.73 in the breast events, but projects to be even faster given the long course form he shown, with best times sitting at 1:00.36 (2024 Olympic Trials) and 2:09.70 (2025 World Juniors).

Nunziata’s improvement curve has been rapid, having entered his senior year of high school with SCY bests of 54.0/1:56.5 and then dropping a big chunk of time in both events last season. There’s still time to drop to be an NCAA scorer, with the 16th-place cut-offs sitting at 51.45 and 1:51.83 last season, but he’s well on his way.

The team’s lone returning swimmer who raced a breaststroke event at NCAAs last season is Jed Garner, who heads into his junior year fresh off his NCAA Championship debut as a sophomore.

Garner was on career-best form at the end of last season to earn an NCAA invite, setting a PB of 1:53.18 in the 200 breast at SECs, getting down to 1:52.30 at the Tennessee Last Chance Invite, and then backing that up by clocking 1:52.34 at NCAAs to place 18th and narrowly miss out on scoring.

In the 100 breast, he set a PB of 52.40 in the 100 breast to place 37th.

On paper, Tennessee has no breaststroke scorers right now, with Garner coming very close last year, but with Nunziata’s ability and improvement curve, and the graduation of several top breaststrokers in the NCAA, they could very well end up with three scoring swims in this stroke.

BUTTERFLY: ★★★★

Tennessee returns its top two butterfly contributors from last season in Gui Caribe and Martin Espernberger, who give the team one bonafide scorer in each distance. After Jordan Crooks turned his focus to the 200 free in his senior year, the only butterfly points the Vols are losing are the nine scored by Bjoern Kammann in the 200 fly.

Caribe set back-to-back best times in the 100 fly at NCAAs, clocking 44.71 in the prelims and then 44.31 in the evening to top the consolation final. The Brazilian is certainly capable of earning a lane in the ‘A’ final this season, but it will come down to executing a sub-44.5 swim in the prelims. Last season, 17 swimmers went under 45 seconds in the heats.

He was also a finalist at the 2025 World Championships in the 50 fly, placing 8th (22.92) after setting a lifetime best of 22.91 in the semis.

Espernberger, who was 6th in the 200 fly at the 2024 Olympics and then placed 9th at the World Championships this past summer, showed impressive consistency in the event last season, producing four 1:39 swims after never having broken 1:40 prior to the campaign.

The Austrian native’s fastest time came in at 1:39.34 from the Tennessee Invite, and he ended up placing 5th at NCAAs in 1:39.49. Two of the men who finished ahead of him have graduated, but Thomas Heilman is also joining the NCAA, so Espernberger is projected to finish in the 4-5 range.

Espernberger was also 45.43 in the 100 fly last season, though it took 44.94 to crack the points at NCAAs. He’s always been more of a pure 200 fly swimmer, so the Vols shouldn’t be banking on points from him in the 100, but they may have one addition who can help them out there.

That’s Brazilian Lucio Flavio de Paula Filho, who set a long course best time of 51.78 en route to winning the 100 fly at the Junior Pan Am Games in early August, two weeks before he was the runner-up at World Juniors in 52.01.

That long course time converts to 45.38 in yards, and given his speed in the 50 (23.63), he should transition smoothly into the yards format and thrive, with a top 16 NCAA finish well within his reach.

There’s also Frenchman Ethan Dumesnil, who has been 23.60/52.38 in the long course pool, with the 100 fly time converting to 45.92. He may be a long shot to score in the event this season, but certainly in the near future.

The rest of the butterfly group includes Aidan Hill (46.98/1:43.39), Tony Laurito (1:46.60) and incoming transfer Kamal Muhammad, who set a 100 fly best time of 46.00 in late February and perhaps more notably, went a long course best of 51.89 at U.S. Nationals in early June. Like Flavio de Paula, a sub-52 long course swim puts him within NCAA scoring range if it translates.

IM: ★

Tennessee had no NCAA entries in either IM event last season and though that likely changes this year, points will be hard to come by.

Incoming recruit Gabe Nunziata‘s top focus will be on the breaststroke events, but he’s also very strong in the 200 IM with a lifetime best of 1:44.97. The event fits perfectly into his postseason schedule, and while a top-16 finish at SECs is within striking distance (1:44.16 cut-off in 2025), there are still three seconds to drop to score at NCAAs (1:41.73 cut-off).

Tony Laurito is the team’s top returning IMer with best times of 1:45.18/3:43.82, the latter of which he produced at the Tennessee Last Chance Invite after making the SEC ‘B’ final with a PB of 3:43.93. Laurito ended up being just over two seconds shy of NCAA qualification in the 400 IM (3:41.62).

Jake McCoy is a solid medley recruit with best times of 1:46.4/3:47.4, meaning he could be an SEC scorer this season and an NCAA contributor down the line. Nunziata (3:48.7) and Mac Clark (3:52.3) could also end up racing the 400 IM at certain points this season.

DIVING: ★★½

Tennessee has three returning divers on its roster, all of whom are proven contributors having combined for 111.5 SEC points last season, and they’ve also got a pair of new additions.

At NCAAs, Bennett Greene scored eight points as a freshman, placing 13th on both 1-meter and 3-meter while also taking 20th on platform.

Nick Stone, a rising senior, also qualified for NCAAs, placing between 31st and 35th in all three events.

Owen Redfearn missed out on NCAA qualification after placing 10th in the 3-meter event at the NCAA Zone B Championships, but did earn a top-eight finish at SECs on platform.

Greene was on fire throughout the season for the Vols, winning 12 events throughout the regular season, and then at SECs, his 3rd-place finish on 3-meter marked the first podium finish from a UT freshman in the event in a decade. He should build on things after a successful freshman year, with at least one NCAA ‘A’ final in his sights.

The new additions are New Zealand World Championship team member Frazer Tavener and Canadian Pan Am qualifier Thomas Ciprick.

Tavener recently placed 25th in the 3-meter springboard event at the World Championships, and has multiple top-eight finishes in the event at World Aquatics World Cup events, so he could very well factor into the scoring for Tennessee. Whether that’s at NCAAs or just SECs this season remains to be seen.

Ciprick had a breakthrough 4th-place finish at the 2020 FINA Diving Grand Prix in Rostock, Germany, when he was just 16, and he represented Canada at the 2023 Pan Am Games after winning a pair of medals at the 2019 Junior Pan Ams. He also projects to be an SEC scorer immediately, with NCAA potential.

RELAYS: ★★★

Note that the grading system doesn’t align perfectly for relays as double points.

Relay grading system:

• 5 star (★★★★★) – 31+ points per relay event
• 4 star (★★★★) – 22-30 relay points per event
• 3 star (★★★) – 12-21 relay points per event
• 2 star (★★) – 5-11 relay points per event
• 1 star (★) – 0-4 relay points per event

After setting new NCAA Records and winning national titles in the 200 and 400 free relays last season, plus earning a runner-up finish in the 200 medley, Tennessee’s relays will look vastly different this season with many key losses led by Jordan Crooks.

The Vols are losing half of their sprint free relays with Crooks and Lamar Taylor graduating, and the medley relays will be completely revamped with Taylor and Harrison Lierz having been the backstrokers last season, Kevin Houseman having been the breaststroker, and Crooks the anchor leg.

Tennessee’s Relay Breakdown

For the 200 and 400 free relays, Gui Caribe and Nikoli Blackman will be the centerpieces and give the team a strong base to remain competitive, and Pedro Sansone makes a good third after he was 19.2/41.9 from a flat start last year. New additions Ethan Dumesnil, Lucio Flavio de Paula Filho, Koby Bujak-Upton and Kamal Muhammad all have enough pedigree that one of them should be able to fill in with a competitive leg in the 18-high/19-low range for the 200 and the 41-high/42-low range in the 400.

In the medley relays, the back half of the relay should be in decent shape, with Caribe capable of doing either fly or free, and then it’s either Flavio de Paula or Dumesnil taking over fly duties, or one of them, Blackman, Sansone or Bujak-Upton swimming free if Caribe slots over to fly.

Breaststroke duties will almost definitely be given to Gabe Nunziata, who should be able to provide 23/51 splits if he has a good freshman year.

The backstroke leg should be shored up by Ulises Saravia, especially in the 200 medley with his 24-point long course 50 back. His 53.26 100 back time should also make Tennessee competitive, assuming he can get into the 45-mid range or faster.

Ben Bricca and Nick Simons are the other options after both going 46 in the 100 back last year. If Simons is back to his lifetime best form in the 100 back (45.45) that’s decent for the 400 medley. Saravia will be the clear ch

As for the 800 free relay, after the team didn’t field an NCAA relay last season, it seems unlikely they will this year, unless a few swimmers take a big step and they move into scoring contention. Blackman is their only sub-1:35 swimmer entering the season with his time of 1:32.12 from last year, and it took an average split of 1:33.20 to score at NCAAs. If Bujak-Upton, Nunziata and Espernberger show they can split 1:32-33 during the season, maybe the Vols will roll the dice and send a team to NCAAs, but it’s a long shot.

Total Stars: 18.5/40

2025-26 OUTLOOK

There’s no replacing Jordan Crooks, and with four other notable losses on the roster as well, it will be a bit of a transition year for the Tennessee men this season.

Gui Caribe is a national title threat in the 50 and 100 free after what he showed last season, and he’ll also be a scorer in the 100 fly and relied upon heavily to drive the relays.

Beyond Caribe, the only returning NCAA scorers are Martin Espernberger, who should be back in the 200 fly ‘A’ final and fighting for a top finish, and diver Bennett Greene, who should put up more than the eight points he did last year as a freshman now that he’s got some experience.

But the Vols will need some swimmers to step up and contribute who didn’t last year, with the likes of Nikoli Blackman and Jed Garner both capable of doing so with modest time drops. The team will also be counting on the freshman group of Ethan Dumesnil, Ulises Saravia, Gabe Nunziata, Lucio Flavio de Paula Filho and Koby Bujak-Upton to step in and contribute right away, in relays and ideally individually as well.

Even if everyone goes well for Tennessee, they’ll likely lose their top-five spot to Arizona State this season, with teams like Georgia, Michigan and NC State potentially hot on their heels as well.

Men’s College Swimming Preview Index:

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 College Swimming Previews: #5 Tennessee Men Retooling With Loss of Jordan Crooks