Honors
Two Letters (2022, 2023)
Academic All-Big Ten (2023, 2024)
Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2021, 2022, 2023; Spring 2022, 2023)
Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2023)
Two-Time NISCA All-American (100 Breast, 2020, 2021)
Junior (2023-24)
Sydney McCracken highlighted her junior season by qualifying for the C final in two events at the Big Ten Championships. She posted a season-best time in the 100 breaststroke prelims to punch her tickets to the C final (1:02.85). McCracken finished 23rd with a time of 1:03.11. She also qualified for the 200 breaststroke C final with a prelim time of 2:15.72 and went on to finish 24th overall (2:17.05).
At the mid-season Hawkeye Invite, McCracken picked up a fifth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.07) and a sixth-place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.13). She also set a career-best in the 400 IM with her 13th-place finish and time of 4:25.57. In an early-season dual with Omaha, McCracken picked up a pair of top-three finishes. She touched the wall in 2:26.37 in the 200 breaststroke for a runner-up finish and took third in the 200 freestyle (1:56.40). McCracken finished the season with 12 top-five finishes.
Sophomore (2022-23)
McCracken continued to improve and provide top finishes in the individual medley and breaststroke events during her sophomore season. At the mid-season Hawkeye Invite, McCracken had three A Final swims and went on to finish fourth in the 200 breaststroke (2:15.43), fifth in the 200 IM (2:01.54) and sixth in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.58). Earlier in the season, McCracken chipped in a pair of runner-up finishes in the Iowa dual in the 200 breaststroke (2:21.49) and the 200 IM (2:07.95), while adding a fourth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.10). McCracken finished fourth in each of her first four times swimming the 100 breaststroke, including in a double-dual with Minnesota and South Dakota and duals against Iowa State, Iowa and Kansas. In the 200 breaststroke, McCracken started the season with a third-place finish against Iowa State (2:24.74) and a fifth-place swim in the double-dual against Minnesota and South Dakota (2:23.83). The sophomore from Pennsylvania also managed a fifth-place finish at Kansas (2:28.44) in the event. McCracken rounded out dual season with five more top-five finishes against Illinois and Rutgers.
At the Big Ten Championships, McCracken qualified for the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke C Finals. She went on to place 21st overall in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.72) and 23rd in the 200 breaststroke (2:16.82).
Freshman (2021-22)
McCracken kicked off her career at Nebraska at the South Dakota State dual, where she swam to a fourth-place finish in the 200 IM. At the Iowa dual, the freshman finished third in the 200 breaststroke and fifth in the 100 backstroke. McCracken continued to see her times improve, as she claimed three sixth-place finishes in the last weekend of October with duals against Iowa State and Minnesota in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. McCracken qualified for the finals in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.91) and went on to finish eighth at the Mizzou Invitational (Nov. 17-19). She added two more top-15 finishes in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM. McCracken wrapped up dual season with a pair of runner-up finishes in the 100 breaststroke.. She also claimed two fourth-place finishes in the 200 breaststroke. At the Big Ten Championships, McCracken cruised to three career-best times, clocking a 1:02.54 in the 100 breaststroke to place 33rd, a 2:14.20 in the 200 breaststroke to finish 33rd and a 2:02.85 in the 200 IM for 48th place.
Before Nebraska
Ranked as the No. 446 recruit in the nation among the Class of 2021, McCracken was an NISCA All-American in the 100-yard breaststroke in 2020. She posted her top 100-yard breaststroke time of 1:02.62 at the PIAA Boys and Girls 3A States in March 2020. She added a career-best time of 29.18 in the 50-yard breast at the PIAA state meet for Kennett High School.
McCracken was also a finalist in the 50-meter breaststroke at the 2018 YMCA Long Course National Championships, while competing for the Kennett Area YMCA. McCracken has been competitive at the YMCA national level in all four strokes and the medley events. She owns a top time of 2:05.26 in the 200-yard IM, which helped her to a 15th-place finish at the PIAA AAA state meet in 2020. She also carried a 4:43.13 in the 400 IM. McCracken was a member of the National Honor Society at Kennett High School and was an honor roll selection every semester.
Personal
The daughter of Brent and Diane McCracken, Sydney was born April 30, 2003. She has one younger sister, Elle, and one younger brother, Garrett. A nutrition and health sciences major, Sydney earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2023. She is a three-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. She was selected to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for her contributions to the Lincoln community in 2023. She chose Nebraska over James Madison, Richmond, Bucknell, Delaware and Pittsburgh.
“I chose Nebraska because of its outstanding appreciation and support for student-athletes,” McCracken said. “They have an amazing program and facilities that support all student-athletes. The team has some of the kindest and most genuine people I have met. The coaching staff is also one of the best I have talked with. They provided me with all the information I needed throughout this unusual recruiting experience and made it as easy as possible. I feel that this is the best place to achieve my goals as a student-athlete.”possible. I feel that this is the best place to achieve my goals as a student-athlete.”
Career-Best Times
| Event | Time | Meet (Date) |
| 200 Free | 1:56.40 | Omaha (2023) |
| 100 Back | 1:00.27 | SDSU (2022) |
| 100 Breast | 1:02.54 | Big Ten Championships (2022) |
| 200 Breast | 2:14.20 | Big Ten Championships (2022) |
| 200 IM | 2:01.54 | Hawkeye Invite (2022) |
| 400 IM | 4:25.57 | Hawkeye Invite (2023) |