By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
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Five-time world champion and sprint freestyle phenom Rylee Erisman announced her verbal commitment to the Cal Golden Bears on Tuesday, also revealing that she’ll be reclassifying to the high school class of 2026.
Erisman, ranked #2 in the girls’ high school class of 2027, will graduate high school earlier than expected and join the Bears this coming fall.
I’m honored and excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of California, Berkeley. I would also like to announce I will be reclassifying to the graduating class of 2026. I’m so grateful for my family, coaches at Laker Swim, and friends who have supported me throughout this journey. A special thank you to all the coaching staff at CAL! I could not be more excited for this opportunity!
GO BEARS
The 16-year-old will head to Berkeley from her native Florida, where she trains at Laker Swim under coach Kyle Goller and also represents Windermere High School in the FHSAA.
Erisman has been on a record-breaking tear throughout 2025, most recently breaking Gretchen Walsh‘s National High School Record in the girls’ 100 freestyle in a time of 46.73 at the 2025 FHSAA 4A State Championships, where she successfully defended both her titles in the 50 free (21.61) and 100 free.
This past summer, Erisman delivered a dominant performance at the 2025 World Junior Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania, winning five gold and eight total medals, the most any swimmer has ever won at a single edition of the meet.
Erisman won gold in the girls’ 50 free (24.70) and 100 free (52.79) individually, and added three more titles in the girls’ 4×100 free (3:35.53), 4×100 medley (3:59.85) and mixed 4×100 free (3:26.03) relays, with the 4×100 free relay marking a new World Junior Record. She also won silver in the 200 free (1:56.76), and in the girls’ 4×200 free (7:52.82) and mixed 4×100 medley (3:46.12) relays.
In the 100 free, Erisman took hold of the girls’ 15-16 National Age Group Record in the prelims at World Juniors, clocking 53.17 (also a Championship Record) to knock off Claire Curzan‘s previous mark of 53.55 while also going under Simone Manuel‘s 17-18 NAG record of 53.25.
Erisman then lowered it two more times, touching in 53.09 in the semis, and then in the final, she dropped all the way to a stunning 52.79, which, in addition to resetting her 15-16 NAG, Championship Record and dipping even further under Manuel’s 17-18 mark, fell just nine one-hundredths shy of Penny Oleksiak‘s World Junior Record of 52.70 set back in 2016.
The swim also landed Erisman a spot on the U.S. roster for the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships.
At the 2025 U.S. National Championships, she was in the running for a spot on the World Championship roster, but ended up only making one ‘A’ final in the 100 back (8th), going on to win the consolation final in the 50 free (24.74), 100 free (53.90) and 200 free (1:57.29) for a trio of 9th-place finishes while also taking 10th in the 50 back (28.08).
In short course yards, Erisman owns the girls’ 15-16 NAG record in the 100 free (46.69), and also ranks #2 all-time in age group history in the 50 free (21.61), #7 in the 200 free (1:43.51) and #12 in the 100 back (51.36).
Erisman’s Best Times (SCY)
- 50 free – 21.61
- 100 free – 46.69
- 200 free – 1:43.51
- 500 free – 4:43.35
- 100 back – 51.36
- 200 back – 1:54.28
- 100 fly – 54.34
- 200 fly – 1:59.12
- 200 IM – 1:57.54
- 400 IM – 4:15.98
In the girls’ high school class of 2027, Erisman held the fastest time in the 50, 100, 200 and 500 free, and the 100 back. Reclassifying to the class of 2026, she would still rank 1st in the 50, 100 and 200 free, overtaking Charlotte Crush, who ranked #1 in the class and holds respective bests of 21.88, 47.85 and 1:44.34.
Crush, who is committed to Tennessee, specializes in the 100 back (49.46), 200 back (1:48.69) and 100 fly (50.00), which are all NCAA ‘A’ final-worthy times, so Erisman may not overtake her for the top spot in the class, though it’s debatable either way.
Erisman’s best time in the 100 free would’ve placed 4th at the 2025 Women’s NCAA Championships; however, even with reigning champion Walsh graduating, five women have already been faster than 46.69 in the NCAA this season.
Erisman’s 50 free time is also fast enough to make the 2025 NCAA ‘A’ final (21.63 tied for 7th in the prelims), while her 200 free PB would have placed 10th in the NCAA prelims, just over a quarter of a second shy of what it took to make the top eight last season (1:43.24). In the 100 back, her lifetime best of 51.36 is 16 one-hundredths back of what it took to earn a second swim in 2025 (51.20).
Looking at the new NCAA Championship schedule, Erisman’s lineup likely features the 200 free on Day 2, the 50 free on Day 3 and the 100 free on Day 4 in addition to relays, where she’ll be a key piece for the Bears.
Last season, the Cal women placed 4th at the ACC Championships in what was their first season in the conference, and followed up with an 8th-place showing at NCAAs, an improvement after back-to-back 11th-place finishes in 2023 and 2024.
After a few down years, the Cal women have been on the upswing with some key freshmen joining the team this season, including five from the top-20 in the high school class of 2025. Leading the way are #2 Teagan O’Dell and #3 Claire Weinstein, and they’ve also added #5 Annie Jia, #12 Elle Scott and #18 Ella Cosgrove.
In Cal’s class of 2026, Erisman joins ranked recruits #5 Kelsey Zhang, #9 Ava De Anda, along with Madeline Kohel, Egle Salu, Isabel Wolk, Canadian Halle West, Hong Kong’s Kassy Yeung and Egyptian Olympic diver Malak Tawfik.
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