Not a good sign regarding Alex Shakell which was posted in the comment section of the 2024 ranking story (Cal #11) by the admin of swimswam Braden Keith

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But worth acknowledging that Alex Shackell removed Cal from her bio (though she didn't take down her commitment picture).

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Still a year away from signing but Texas's money talk is loud & clear.. I'm just saying.8-(!

Boo Hoo looks like Alex Shackell has decommitted from Cal! Wonder what happened to make all of the Shackells leave.

https://swimswam.com/alex-shackell-decommits-from-cal-will-defer-college-enrollment-for-a-year/

I might be overly optimistic, but I took Alex's announcement as her sitting out on college for a year and exploring her options. At least, I'm glad that she's not indicting the program or staff in her statement (and clearly tried to do the opposite by saying this wasn't a reflection of her initial verbal).

Maybe she follows her brothers to Texas, stays closer to home, or who knows, ends up at Cal -- she was the first domino to fall (at least in terms of announcing her commitment) with O'Dell, Weinstein, and the rest of a highly loaded class (McDevitt, Scott, Cosgrove, Aquino, and Jia), so maybe she's still interested in building a program back up with the team. But if not -- and not to discount the impact of a talent like her -- hope the future is still bright for the program, what with 2026 recruits starting to verbal now as well.

Freestyler Martin Wrede from Germany (SwimCloud profile, #50 in the class) has announced his commitment to Cal. He's ranked among the 2025 class, so assuming he comes to Berkeley next fall (but not certain). Welcome!

SwimSwam write-up: German Sprinter Martin Wrede Verbally Commits to Cal for 2025-26

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Wrede's 100 free is the 2nd-fastest LCM time in the class of 2025. Only Maximus Williamson has been faster, and that was in 2023 at the World Junior Championships. Wrede ranks among the top 50 freestylers in the cohort, too.
Best LCM times (converted):

• 50 free 22.71 (19.73)
• 100 free 48.75 (42.47)
• 200 free 1:52.33 (1:38.31)

Wrede will join Caiden Bowers, Dar Lavrenko, Ian Platts-Mills, Julien Rousseau, Kenneth Barnicle, Matteo Palmisani, Norvin Clontz, Ryan Erisman, and Max Goettsch in Berkeley next fall.

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Thanks for the info. Do the men's and women's teams announce their respective signing classes like the other sport's teams do? Just curious. GO BEARS!

Cal women ink sensational seven 2025 recruit class!

Bears Sign Highly Rated Recruiting Class - California Golden Bears Athletics

Cal evidently lost #1 recruit, Alex Shackell. Did she join her brother, another Cal decommit, at Texas?

How did the men's recruiting go?

All domestic recruits have signed and are recognized by the Cal Swim social media. Usually a bit trickier with international recruits as they undergo additional compliance checks, visa clearance etc.