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Max Goettsch announced via Instagram on Sunday that he has flipped his verbal commitment from the Texas Longhorns to the California Golden Bears. Goettsch, a winter U.S. Open qualifier, first verbaled to the Longhorns for the 2025-26 season five months before Bowman took over the program.
I am beyond grateful and excited to announce my commitment to swim and study at the University of California, Berkeley! Thank you to my family, Coach Dave, Coach Mike, the FMC Aquatic coaching staff and my teammates. I would also like to thank the coaches at Cal for giving me this incredible opportunity. GO BEARS! 🐻🐻🐻
Goettsch is a rising senior at Naperville Central High School in Illinois and swims for the FMC Aquatic Club. In 2024, he’s rewritten his lifetime bests in freestyle and backstroke in both the 25-yard and 50-meter pools.
Most recently at the Minneapolis Futures meet in July, he reset his personal bests in the 100-meter freestyle (51.46) and 200-meter backstroke (2:08.72). During this long-course season, he’s swum lifetime bests in the 50 through 400-meter freestyle (23.54/51.64/1:53.32/4:10.35), the 100 and 200-meter backstroke (58.98/2:08.72), the 100-meter fly (1:04.28), and the 200-meter IM (2:22.57).
In yards, he holds lifetime bests of 20.41/44.42/1:37.61 in his primary events, the 50/100/200 freestyle, all swum at championship meets earlier this year.
Goettsch joins a strong recruiting class set to arrive for Cal in the fall of 2025 including #18 Caiden Bowers, HM Ryan Erisman, HM Norvin Clontz, BOTR Dar Lavrenko, BOTR Julien Rousseau, BOTR Kenneth Barnicle, BOTR Matteo Palmisani, and BOTR Ian Platts-Mills.
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So, what does a commitment mean? If you commit at the beginning of junior high school year, the coach can just cut you the next year? Is there any consequence to the coach for doing that?
No real consequence, just social/negative recruiting consequence. But no sanctions.
A verbal commitment doesn’t mean anything beyond social pressures.
I don’t think Cal would have any guaranteed scholarship money for him with his current times. Perhaps just some assurances that if he drops a lot of time that could change?
4 year full ride + additional 40k cash after 4 years.
2026 Texas recruiting
Makes sense why they’ve got 4 commits so far and other schools are at 0/1.
Well, Rowan Cox just committed too.
Help me understand the $40K cash. It’s an NIL payment but for what, exactly?
don’t know the details, just know several people got this package
For being fast and coming to swim at Texas. As if having Bowman recruit you wasn’t incentive enough.
Think BB is having conversations with some boys and letting them know they might need to start looking elsewhere? Not saying that’s the case here, just curious…
The ‘rumor mill’ is reporting that yes, the new staff has made some changes.
Pretty sure most of the guys Wyatt recruited for 2025 are no longer going to be Longhorns. Evan Conti, Clem Camacho, and possibly John Simmons but not sure on him
I know for a fact that 2 of these guys got calls from BB telling them they were cut. Pretty brutal to get cut like that during the Fall of your Senior year of high school.
I was wondering about this, too. For 2024 Texas has 17 new recruits, (including 3 divers). That’s the biggest recruiting class for Texas that I know of. It has to have an impact on the 2025 class scholarships. Texas has two 2025 recruits in the top 25, Rafael Fente-Damers #22 and Calvin Fry #6. After that it drops to #118 Andrew Shackell, #124 Clem Camacho (no longer listed as Texas on SwimCloud), #125 John Simmons, #127 Michael Gory, and #177 Evan Conti.We’ll see how things shake out.
Evan Conti just committed to Notre Dame
I could be wrong but I heard that Texas now has roster limitations so it’s possible that this guy wouldn’t make the roster and decided to go elsewhere. I’m pretty sure a solid swimmer was recently told this, and he was reaching out to other teams.
Let’s go 🐻
Lol, Shackell got from Cal to Texas and now Goettsch goes from Texas to Cal. Might not be Eddie anymore, but the Cal/Texas rivalry will remain
Not exactly an even trade.
I mean that’s not fair to Goettsch who still has 24 months to get to Shackell’s position. But Bob is clearly exercising his right to build the roster how he wants. At least he is giving kids time to find a home. Not uncommon in football to have kids get a new coach in January and have to find a new home in just a month
I actually should’ve specified, I meant Andrew Shackell and not Aaron Shackell. I think the younger Shackell and Goettsch are fairly similar in SCY best times and they’re both 2025 swimmers.
Swimming is not quite the same as football where there’s a high-risk / high-return and more roster spots. Cutting verbal commits this late is within BB’s rights but it puts those swimmers in a bad position and hurts BB’s credibility with future commits. Like someone else said, watch your back. If someone faster comes along, you’ll be replaced.