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Santa Margarita swimmer Teagan O’Dell remained in the fast lane Monday by announcing her college commitment early into her junior year.
The Register’s reigning female athlete of the year and Orange County’s two-time swimmer of the year committed to Cal.
O’Dell shared the news on her Instagram account just two days ahead of the first National Signing Day for the Class of 2024.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to pursue my academic and athletic career the University of California, Berkeley,” she wrote. “I want to thank my family, teammates at MVN (Mission Viejo Nadadores), coaches and friends for supporting me throughout this process.”
O’Dell, who trains and races for the Mission Viejo Nadadores in club, attracted recruiting interest from top programs across the nation. She made official recruiting trips to Cal, USC, Texas, North Carolina State and Virginia.
At Cal, she joins a program now led by coach David Durden, who also leads the men’s swimming team. Durden emerged as the coach of both programs following the firing of longtime women’s coach Teri McKeever.
Durden’s ties to Orange County swimming most notably includes coaching two-time Olympian and gold medalist Tom Shields (Edison), a collegiate star at Cal.
“I trust Dave Durden with my future and can’t wait to train with the Cal women,” O’Dell said later Monday.
O’Dell bolsters Cal’s 2025 recruiting class that includes arguably the top three girls in the nation. The Golden Bears also have commitments from national team members Claire Weinstein and Alex Shackell.
“(My) top factors were coach, girls (on the team) and academics,” O’Dell said. “Cal has those three.”
O’Dell highlighted her sophomore season with Santa Margarita by blazing a national high school record in the 200-yard individual medley at the state meet in Fresno in May. She clocked a time of 1 minute, 53.38 seconds to cap her pursuit of the record.
In addition to the national record, O’Dell set four Orange County records last season, three state marks and paced the county in six of the eight individual events.
O’Dell also helped the Eagles, who won CIF-SS Division 1 and CIF State championships, set the national high school record in the 200 freestyle relay.
In early September, she won the gold for Team USA in the 200-meter backstroke at the World Aquatics Junior Championships in Netanya, Israel.
O’Dell plans to race at a few upcoming meets on the U.S. circuit, including the U.S. Open later this month in Greensboro, N.C. The meet will continue her preparations for the U.S. Olympic Trials in June.
“It’s nice to have the (college) decision early so now I can get prepared,” she added.
Please send swimming news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy
