Michigan Honorable Mention All-American Cam Peel Heading to Arizona State for Fifth Year

After graduating from the University of Michigan a few weeks ago, Cam Peel is heading to Tempe to join the rapidly rising Sun Devils. Peel has informed SwimSwam that he will be pursuing a master’s in Sports Law and Business at ASU. He’ll be using his fifth year of NCAA eligibility, which was granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to compete for Arizona State next season.

Peel was very productive for the Wolverines during his four years at Michigan, especially in relays. Consistently one of Michigan’s top sprint freestylers, Peel was a critical member of Wolverine 200 free and 400 free relays, as well as the medley relays at times.

This past season, Peel helped Michigan to a 13th place finish in the 200 free relay at NCAAs, as well as a 16th place finish in the 400 free relay. He posted the fastest split for the Wolverines in the 200 free relay at NCAAs, coming in with an 18.81 on the second leg. Also swimming second on the 400 free relay, Peel came in with the second-fastest Michigan leg with his split of 42.34.

Though Peel didn’t qualify individually for NCAAs this season, he was still a huge contributor for Michigan at Big Tens, taking fifth in the 50 free (19.28) and won the ‘B’ final of the 100 free (42.73).

Here is a look at Peel’s lifetime bests:

• 50 free – 19.24
• 100 free – 42.73
• 100 fly – 47.28

Peel’s arrival in Tempe is timely for the Sun Devils, who are looking to keep the momentum rolling after a historically great year for the program. Having split 18.81 on the 200 free relay at NCAAs, Peel should be able to do a lot to help diminish some of the losses ASU is facing in their sprint group. Both Max McCusker and Grant House, two of ASU’s top sprint freestylers, were fifth-years last year, so they’ve now run out of NCAA eligibility. McCusker and House split 18.78 and 18.79 respectively on the 200 free relay at NCAAs this past season, so Peel should be able to fill one of their roles without a problem. Arizona State finished fifth in the 200 free relay at NCAAs this season.

Arizona State finished second at the NCAA Championships this season, marking both the highest finish and highest score in program history. The roster is in good shape, as they don’t face too many losses outside of House and McCusker. They are bringing in a relatively small freshmen class in the fall, however, there is still a bit of sprinting being brought in with the class that should help to bolster the relays. For example, Dynamo Swim Club’s Leo Roden has already split under 20 seconds in a 50 free off a relay start and Canadian high schooler Filip Senc-Samardzic is very good in the LCM 50 free.

In his statement to SwimSwam, Peel said in part “Love to my brothers at Michigan.” Peel also added that his decision came down to pursuing a master’s degree at Arizona State or Hope College, which is near his hometown of Spring Lake, Michigan.