Cal Bringing On Brody Lewis (Utah) and Keanan Dols (Villanova) As Assistant Coaches For 2026-2027



The University of California is hiring Brody Lewis from Utah and Keanan Dols from Villanova to fill their open assistant coach roles for the 2026-2027 NCAA season.

Cal is replacing assistant coach Noah Yanchulis, who was promoted to associate head coach following David Marsh's retirement and Josh Huger's transition to a head coaching role at Bucknell.

Cal Head Coach Dave Durden has been in charge of the men's program since 2007 and has led the team to six NCAA men's team titles. He took over the women's program in 2022 and will enter his fifth year as the director of both programs this fall.

The Golden Bears are coming off a very strong season on the women's side that saw them finish 4th at the 2026 NCAA Championships, a four-spot jump from their 8th place finish in 2025.

They received a major boost from their freshman class which featured U.S. Olympian and American record holder Claire Weinstein, who won the 500 free, finished 2nd in the mile, and 8th in the 200 free during her first season at Berkeley.

The men are in a rebuilding phase after losing a large class following the 2025 season, but they still earned a top-10 finish in 2026, finishing 7th overall. The Golden Bears were led by sophomore breaststroker Okadome and freshman freestyler Ryan Erisman, who racked up 30 points at NCAAs and has had an excellent summer.

Both teams have very strong recruiting classes coming in. The women's roster will be headlined by Rylee Erisman, who made the decision to reclassify to the class of 2026 and immediately became SwimSwam's #1 ranked recruit for the class.

Erisman will be a major addition to the Golden Bears' freestyle program with times that would score in the top eight at NCAAs in multiple events.

Their men's recruiting class is even stronger. Cal picked up four of SwimSwam's top-10 ranked recruits: #1 Baylor Stanton, #5 Tim Wu, #7 Jordan Ragland (the fastest sprint freestyler in the class), and #10 Albert Smelzer.

When discussing the impact both coaches will bring to the program, Durden said, "Adding Keanan and Brody to our staff, alongside Noah and Maya, puts us in a great position as we look ahead to LA 2028. I am excited about the collective experience, energy, and perspective this staff brings to our program, and I look forward to working together to continue building and sustaining a world-class program. Go Bears!"

OBear073akaSMFan said:

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Both coaches seem relatively young, grad 2020 & 2022 & just starting to build their careers. Was hoping one of the new coaches was more established to help with our recruitment. What are people feeling on the new coaches?

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Have talked to a few people on the outside, and the general consensus is that both hires are low risk with massive upside. Brody and Keanan both come in with recent NCAA experience, which I believe is crucial for athlete development, and their coaching tenures are around the same as Noah Yanchulis when he was hired back in 2023. Durden is very strategic with who he selects as his assistants, and I have a feeling this is no different than the Yanchulis/Huger hirings.

I wonder how the teams will be split up with coaches, given that Durden has apparently been coaching sprint for the last season, and Yanchulis/Geringer work with mid-distance stroke and distance free.

2026-27 NCAA Women's Power Rankings: Pre-Season Edition

#15: USC -1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 14)
#14: Minnesota +2 (2026 NCAA Rank: 16)
#13: Georgia +2 (2026 NCAA Rank: 15)
#12: Wisconsin +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 13)
#11: Ohio State +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 12)
#10: Louisville -2 (2026 NCAA Rank: 8)
#9: Florida +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 10)
#8: Stanford -6 (2026 NCAA Rank: 2)
#7: NC State +2 (2026 NCAA Rank: 9)
#6: Michigan = (2026 NCAA Rank: 6)
#5: Indiana +2 (2026 NCAA Rank: 7)
#4: Tennessee +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 5)

#3: Cal +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 4)
After an NCAA Breakthrough for Weinstein, and a very productive summer from Mary-Ambre Moluh, the Golden bears should feel some excitement for what is to come for the 2026-27 season. - T.F.

#2: Texas +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 3)
#1: Virginia = (2026 NCAA Rank: 1)

2026-27 NCAA Men's Power Rankings: Pre-Season Edition

#17: USC -3 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 14)
#9: Stanford +1 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 10)

#5: Cal +2 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 7)
Cal has a dynamite recruiting class coming in to join a developing core that's headlined by Yamato Okadome, who swept the NCAA breaststroke titles last season, and Ryan Erisman, who's coming off a dominant performance at U.S. Nationals in long course. Guys like Martin Wrede and Lucca Battaglini should be able to build off solid freshman seasons last year, while brining in four top 10 recruits in Baylor Stanton, Tim Wu, Jordan Ragland and Albert Smelzer should help push them up the standings after a rebuilding 2025-26. - J.S.

#4: Tennessee +1 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 5)
#3: Florida -1 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 2)
#2: Indiana +1 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 3)
#1: Texas (2026 NCAA Ranking: 1)

RollOnYouAll said:

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2026-27 NCAA Men's Power Rankings: Pre-Season Edition

#17: USC -3 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 14)
#9: Stanford +1 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 10)

#5: Cal +2 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 7)
Cal has a dynamite recruiting class coming in to join a developing core that's headlined by Yamato Okadome, who swept the NCAA breaststroke titles last season, and Ryan Erisman, who's coming off a dominant performance at U.S. Nationals in long course. Guys like Martin Wrede and Lucca Battaglini should be able to build off solid freshman seasons last year, while brining in four top 10 recruits in Baylor Stanton, Tim Wu, Jordan Ragland and Albert Smelzer should help push them up the standings after a rebuilding 2025-26. - J.S.

#4: Tennessee +1 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 5)
#3: Florida -1 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 2)
#2: Indiana +1 (2026 NCAA Ranking: 3)
#1: Texas (2026 NCAA Ranking: 1)

The article doesn't mention the transfer of Michel Arkhangelskiy from FSU who should score in his individual events, and be a major addition to our relays.
We have also added a couple of highly rated divers who should be listed when our 2026 roster is posted.
IMHO, we have a shot at a top 3 finish at NCAAs.

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Competitor Coach of the Month: Dave Durden



Competitor Coach of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based coach who has risen above the competition. As with any item of recognition, Competitor Coach of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one coach whose work holds noteworthy context - perhaps a coach who was clearly in the limelight, or one whose work fell through the cracks a bit more among other stories. If your favorite coach wasn't selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.

It was a highly successful pair of championship meets in Irvine for the University of California swimmers and head coach Dave Durden, helping him earn Competitor Coach of the Month honors.

At the U.S. National Championships, which kicked off in late July but didn't conclude until August 1, Cal's Ryan Erisman put on a dominant display, winning gold medals in the men's 200 free (1:45.23), 800 free (7:43.53) and 400 IM (4:09.57), setting new best times in all three, while he also claimed silver in the 400 free (3:44.39).

Also representing California Aquatics, Brooks Curry was the top qualifier out of the prelims of the men's 100 free in 47.56, just shy of the 47.51 PB he set earlier this season, and he went on to place 2nd in the final (47.81). He also placed 4th in the 200 free (1:46.09).

Two weeks later, at the Pan Pacific Championships, Cal's Jack Alexy won gold in the men's 100 free in a Championship Record time of 47.14, and he also anchored the U.S. men to gold in the 4x100 free relay (46.78) and 4x100 medley relay (46.97). Alexy also snagged silver in the 50 free (21.42).

One of the breakthrough performances for the American team in Irvine came from Gabriel Jett, who won silver in the men's 200 free in a time of 1:43.96 to become the third-fastest American ever and #9 all-time. Prior to that swim, Jett had only broken 1:45 once, having set a best time of 1:44.70 at the 2025 U.S. National Championships.

Jett also set a best time of 1:57.75 in the 200 back, and anchored the U.S. men to gold in the 4x200 free relay in 1:44.09.

Another Cal swimmer performing well in Irvine was Keaton Jones, who set new lifetime bests in the 100 free (48.53) and 200 free (1:46.30) while adding a 4th-place finish in the 200 back (1:58.00) after leading the prelims in 1:55.24.

Durden also coached Ryan Murphy to a successful return to the sport this season after taking a break after the 2024 Olympics, with Murphy officially earning his 14th U.S. National Team berth on Tuesday.

2027 College Swimming Previews: #7 Cal Men Look to Grow on Okadome's Two Titles, Erisman's Summer, and Big Recruits



Men's #7: California Golden Bears

Key Losses: Joshua Thai (13 NCAA diving points), Evan Petty (7 NCAA points), Hank Rivers (7 NCAA points), Nathan Wiffen (2 NCAA points), Luca Gissendaner (1 NCAA event), Eduardo Oliveira de Moraes (2 NCAA Events)

Key Additions: Michel Arkhangelskiy (Florida State Transfer), #1 Baylor Stanton (GA - IM/back), #5 Tim Wu (CA - IM/free), #7 Jordan Ragland (CA - sprint free), #10 Albert Smelzer (NC - sprint free)


2025-26 Lookback
It was another top-10 finish for the Golden Bears at NCAAs last season, highlighted by a sweep of the NCAA breaststroke events at the hands of then-sophomore Yamato Okadome, picking up 40 individual points for Cal on their way to a 7th-place national finish.

Last season also saw a rise from youthful talent Ryan Erisman, who was highly competitive across the board for Cal and added 30 points to the team's total. It was also another solid showing for now-senior Keaton Jones, picking up 22 points, highlighted by a 7th-place finish in the 200 free.

It was a strong showing from the relays as well, picking up 108 points on the team relays, as well as 13 points from the diving events, all of which were scored in one event.

In all, the Golden Bears finished 27.5 points behind 6th-place finishers NC State, though they still managed 14 individual scorers at NCAAs.

The Golden Bear men came out on top at the ACC Championships with 1154 points.

With several top scorers returning for the 2026-27 season, and many big-time recruits and newcomers set to put on the Cal letters, the Golden Bear men will be aiming to not only finish inside the top 10, but return to contention for a national title once again.


Sprint Free: **
Distance Free: ** *1/2
Backstroke: ** *1/2
Breaststroke: ** **
Butterfly: ** 1/2
IM: ** *1/2
Diving: *
Relays: ** *

Total Stars: 23/40


2026-27 Outlook
All in all, the Cal men appear to be in a great position to get themselves back into the top 10. The team, while still youthful, is supported by several returning members with national championship experience, including Ryan Erisman, Yamato Okadome, and Keaton Jones.

The incoming freshman class is among the best in the country, with potential stars such as Baylor Stanton, Jordan Ragland, and Tim Wu.

Both the ACC competition and the opponents they will face in the College Swimming League will give them great tests ahead of NCAAs, and that will strengthen the team before some very strong event fields.

Much of the national placement will fall on Okadome if he can repeat as a double breaststroke champion. Still, if Erisman can continue the blazing summer momentum he built, he may become one of the biggest podium threats in the nation.

All in all, the Golden Bears are in a more than sufficient position to continue their climb back to the top of the national rankings.