New CIF-Central D2 Meet Record Holder Kylie Bell Still Looking For NCAA Team Post Cal Poly Cut

Templeton senior Kylie Bell fought through months of illness during her final high school swimming season. She fractured her rib from extensive coughing, which her coach Karen Neil says took 2.5 months to heal. As she resumed training, Neil says Bell would adapt her training to focus on whatever hurt the least that day, even if it meant she spent practice just kicking. “She’s such a worker,” Neill shared.

Bell persevered through a difficult winter and shined at last weekend’s CIF Central Section Division II Championships. She won the girls’ 100 backstroke title with a lifetime best 55.46, breaking the meet record of 57.18 that Ella Bettencourt swam two years ago by 1.72 seconds. It was her second win of the meet; she also swam a lifetime best 52.01 for gold in the 100 freestyle.

But despite her success this postseason–which isn’t over as she qualified for the CIF State Championships in the 100 backstroke–Bell might not be part of an NCAA team when she begins college this fall.

It is not by choice–Bell committed to the Cal Poly swim team last fall. The university cut the program in March, citing the ongoing instability caused by the House vs. NCAA settlement and the California state budget. The university has given the team a chance to save their program—after moving the goalposts several times, it seems they have settled on the deadline of June 4 for the program to raise $20 million. The team’s last update to SwimSwam a couple of weeks ago was that they had raised $7.5 million.

Now, it is the team and the incoming recruits like Bell who find themselves in a state of uncertainty. With the program cut, all the athletes who expected to race for the Mustangs next season must decide whether to stay or transfer, with current athletes doing so while fighting to save their program. The timing of the university’s decision was uncomfortable for the incoming freshmen class as well. Commits had to make similar decisions quickly; Chloe Quarles, for example, flipped her commitment from Cal Poly to UNLV. Simon Li, who finished 3^rd in the 50 freestyle and 4^th in the 100 freestyle at the CIF North Coast Championships, is still committed to Cal Poly on his SwimCloud page.

Typically, college decisions are settled by this point in the academic year. May 1^st is the deadline many colleges give their incoming class to commit and make a deposit. But for many of these athletes, next year remains unsettled.

Bell is in the transfer portal according to Neil, who is Bell’s high school and club coach. Neil says she hopes that Bell’s recent time drops will pique the interest of college coaches, particularly those who will be at the CIF State Championships. The drops have been impressive; she was a 57.31 in the 100 backstroke coming into this season and 54.02 in the 100 freestyle. Plus, she hit her new lifetime bests in blistering heat last weekend.

Bell and her younger brother Trevor Bell will both be at the CIF State Championships this weekend. Kylie is seeded 11^th in the 100 backstroke and Trevor is seeded first in the 50 freestyle Paralympic Class III. It’s a sweet way to end her high school swimming career, but Bell is still hoping there’s more to come in her career.