Cal Men Set To Kick Off Second Half of Season At USC

Courtesy: Cal Athletics

The California men’s swimming & diving team opens up the second half of its 2025-2026 season on the road Friday, facingUSC in Los Angeles at 1 p.m. PT on B1G+.

The Trojans currently hold a 3-3 record in duals and are coming off a pair of wins last week over UC San Diego and UNLV.

MID-SEASON DOMINANCE: The Golden Bears capped off their fall season in early December with a strong showing at the Minnesota Invitational. Cal finished first out of five teams in the mid-season meet and won 16 of the 18 A finals to go with 36 podium finishes. Sophomore Yamato Okadome was a star for the Bears, winning five events, including the 100-yard breaststroke, in which he posted the second-fastest time in Cal history and third-fastest time in the NCAA this year at 50.48. He touched the wall at 1:50.04 to win the 200 breast, which is both the fourth-fastest time in program history and the nation this season.

ODE TO OKADOME: Okadome is following up on a stellar freshman season with a strong encore as a sophomore, having registered four national top-10 times and setting a pair of pool records at Spieker Aquatics Complex. In addition to clocking the third-fastest 100 breast (50.48) and fourth-fastest 200 breast (1:50.04) times in the NCAA this year at the Minnesota Invitational, the 2025 ACC Freshman of the Year posted a 50.89 in the 100 breast and a 1:51.66 in the 200 breast in the team’s double-dual with Stanford and Arizona State to set new standards at Spieker.

RIGHT ON, RYAN: The Bears have another freshman of the year candidate in Ryan Erisman, who made an immediate impact on the program when he set the school record in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 8:43.48 during a tri-meet against Stanford and Arizona State. That’s the fourth-best mark in the nation this season in the event.

PERPETUAL EXCELLENCE: The Bears placed second at last year’s NCAA Championships, marking a staggering 15th consecutive season they have finished either first or second nationally. Cal has won six national titles during that span.

REIGNING CONFERENCE KINGS
In its first season as a member of the ACC, Cal showcased its dominance throughout the 2024-25 season. The Bears won their first-ever ACC title in a wire-to-wire finish, which included six event crowns at the 2025 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships. Cal had nine student-athletes receive All-ACC honors in at least one event while in total the Bears finished among the top three in 12 different events. Cal also swept the conference’s swimming awards – Lucas Henveaux and Yamato Okadome were tabbed the ACC Swimmer of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively, while David Durden walked away with ACC Coach of the Year honor.

NEW BEARS IN TOWN
The Bears welcomed the fifth-ranked recruiting class of 2025, according to SwimSwam, featuring 14 freshmen. Ryan Erisman led the pack as the No. 16-ranked recruit, followed by No. 19 Kenny Barnicle and a trio of standout international swimmers, which includes Casper Pugaard, Jack Brown and Martin Wrede. Irish swimmer Nathan Wiffen, a two-time finalist at the European Aquatic Championships over the summer and the twin brother of Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen, has also joined the Bears for the 2025-26 season.

U.S NATIONAL TEAM
Seven current and former Bears were named to the 2025-2026 U.S National Team roster, announced by USA Swimming. The roster includes Jack Alexy, Ryan Erisman, Gabriel Jett, Keaton Jones, Trenton Julian, Destin Lasco and Dare Rose.