When the 2025 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships take place later this March, one of Rowan’s most accomplished male swimmers in program history, Jack Watson, will be jumping into the pool for the last time. Watson holds four school records, including the fastest times in the 100 back, 200 free, 200 IM, and the 800 free relay while also being a two-time All-American. While Watson dominates meets with relative ease, his path to Rowan was much more challenging.

Watson attended Cherry Hill East High School, known for their dominant swim program. While at East, Watson helped the program win two state championships before setting his sights on major Division I college swimming.

“Out of high school, I was recruited by the University of Pittsburgh. So I started out there, but I was only there for one semester before I left Pitt and was out of school for two years before I ended up transferring to Rowan,” Watson said.

After transferring to Rowan, Watson was ready to put swimming behind him. It wasn’t until Watson went out to dinner with his old high school teammate and friend, Kevin Gillooly, that he began to have a change of heart.

“He saw me over break the semester before I was gonna transfer here and was like “Hey, you should swim here,” Watson said. “I told him I didn’t really want to because swimming was kind of in the past for me. He ended up convincing me to talk to Brad [head coach Brad Bowser] and I fell in love with the team during the first couple of practices. It’s been great ever since.”

After transferring in and competing in the spring of 2022, Watson took off in the 2022-23 season, setting the school record in the 100 back (47.36) while also earning first-team All-American honors in the event and second-team All-American honors in the 50 free. Watson followed up that season with another second-team All-American selection in the 100 back during the 2023-24 season.

After petitioning the NCAA for a fifth and final season, Watson is making the most of it. In addition to setting the school record in the 200 IM and 200 free this season, he and teammates Tobiash Cahnbley, Alex Volin, and Braden Sheehan are headed to the NCAA championships to compete in the 800 free relay. Watson reflected on everything he accomplished and whether he felt he left anything on the table headed into his last meet.

“I think I definitely made the most of my time here,” Watson said. “I’m not big on setting goals like ‘Oh I wanna get this many All-Americans or break this many records.’ My whole goal coming here was finding my love for the sport again and making some friends on the team and uplifting everyone on the team. Obviously all the accolades that came along with it were great, but that wasn’t my main goal coming in.”

Outside of the pool, Watson is also looking forward to his postgraduate career. Watson is a chemistry major and looks to land a job in a laboratory after graduating from Rowan this spring, while also not ruling out coaching on the side. Watson reflected on his time at Rowan not just as an athlete, but as a student as well.

“Being on the team has made that [being a student] so much easier,” Watson said. “Coming in and just having a group of 20, 30 guys that you’re gonna be hanging out with non-stop. I’ve made a ton of life-long friends that I’ll never forget.”

For comments/questions about this story DM us on Instagram @TheWhitSports or email sports@thewhitonline.com