This 7-time air hockey world champ is also a Baylor Bear

You probably know Baylor student-athletes are currently the reigning national champions in both women’s basketball and acrobatics & tumbling. You might know that Baylor also has the nation’s top collegiate orchestra, and that Baylor students are among the top collegiate trumpeters in the nation.

But did you know that Baylor is also home to one of the world’s best air hockey players — perhaps one of the best in the sport’s history?

In fact, at age 20, Colin Cummings has already won seven world championships — with another title opportunity coming up this summer.

Cummings first picked up the puck when he moved to Texas at age 10 and began playing with his neighbors, who were heavily involved in the sport. Fast-forward two years, and Cummings had already claimed the title of No. 1 junior air-hockey player in the world — all without even owning an air-hockey table.

At age 16, Cummings became the youngest person ever to become a world air hockey champion. His rise to the top came quickly, as he won back-to-back world championships that year. Despite having only a few years of practice, he began consistently beating players with decades of experience, faking out his opponents while using extreme force to hit the puck. (We’re not kidding; he slams the puck around at 60 m.p.h.)

The final point of Cummings’ first championship win earned him a spot on SportsCenter’s “Top 10 Plays” in 2015, and both CNN and the Houston Chronicle featured him a year later.

Here’s what world-champion-level air hockey looks like:

Cummings is currently ranked No. 1 in the world, having just recently won his fourth United States Air Hockey Association world title in March; he’ll look to win his fourth Air Hockey Players Association World Championship in July.

When not at an air hockey table, Cummings is a sophomore biochemistry major who is part of Baylor’s Air Force ROTC program. He says he plans to attend medical school and become a medical officer in the Air Force after graduation.

But for now, there are championships to win.

Sic ’em, Colin!

[Photo by Justin Flores]