{"id":603182,"date":"2025-01-12T17:58:22","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T00:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=603182"},"modified":"2025-01-12T17:58:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T00:58:22","slug":"sprinter-albert-smelzer-verbally-commits-to-cal-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/sprinter-albert-smelzer-verbally-commits-to-cal-for-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Sprinter Albert Smelzer Verbally Commits To Cal For 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sprinter Albert Smelzer Verbally Commits To Cal For 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW COMMIT:\u00a0<\/strong>Olympic Trials qualifier Albert Smelzer<\/strong> of Greensboro, North Carolina, will head to the west coast after verbally committing to the University of California, Berkeley, for Fall 2026.<\/p>\n

He will join\u00a0Tim Wu<\/strong><\/a>, JD Thumann<\/strong>,<\/a>\u00a0Baylor Stanton<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Aiden Hammer<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in Berkeley as a member of the Golden Bears\u2019 Class of 2030.<\/p>\n

Regarding his commitment, he said:<\/p>\n

“I am blessed to announce my verbal commitment to further my athletic and academic career at the University of California Berkeley! Many people have helped me tremendously in reaching this decision: I want to thank Coach Ron, my family, and my teammates for all the support I have received along the way. Thank you to the Cal coaches for this amazing opportunity. Go Bears!!”<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Smelzer trains year-round with\u00a0Greensboro Swimming Association. He was the runner-up in the 50 free at Juniors East last month where he also won the B-final of the 100 free. He also took 11th in the 50 free at the Toyota U.S. Open.<\/p>\n

Last summer, he took silver in the 50m free at Richmond Futures as well as at North Carolina Long Course Seniors. He also competed at Olympic Trials.<\/p>\n

His best times include:<\/p>\n