By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam
The #6 ranked recruit coming out of high school last spring Aaron Shackell has announced his commitment to Texas. Shackell entered the transfer portal at the beginning of April.
Shackell spent the fall semester at Cal and then headed back home to Carmel, Indiana for an Olympic Redshirt in the spring semester. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
His biggest meet in the fall was midseason as he swam a personal best time by 0.84 seconds in the 200 butterfly with a 1:43.40. He also swam a 4:22.77 in the 500 free and a 1:36.76 in the 200 free.
Since returning home during the winter break, Shackell swam numerous LCM best times at the end of March at Indianapolis Sectionals. His best times included a 49.46 in the 100 free and a 1:46.35 in the 200 free. His old best times were a 49.52 in the 100 and a 1:47.07 in the 200. As of today, May 5th, his 200 freestyle time from Indianapolis Sectionals is the #3 time for the US men so far this season.
In June 2023, Shackell competed at US Summer Nationals. There he was highlighted by a 6th place finish in the 400 freestyle and a 9th place finish in the 200 butterfly. He also finished 13th in the 200 free and 25th in prelims of the 100 butterfly.
Shackell’s best SCY times are:
- 200 free: 1:32.85
- 500 free: 4:15.35
- 200 fly: 1:43.40
Shackell’s best SCY time in the 200 free would have earned him an NCAA invite this year as it took a 1:32.93 in the event to earn an individual invite. It took a 4:14.90 in the 500 free and a 1:42.10 in the 200 fly.
Shackell was the #6 ranked recruit of last fall’s incoming freshman class. With the addition of Shackell, Texas now has three of the the top 20 ranked recruits from the class of 2023 as the team already included #2 Will Modglin and #5 Nate Germonprez.
The Texas men are loading up their roster this upcoming season and will be under Bob Bowman after Bowman was hired on April 1st from Arizona State. Also joining the roster is World Champion Hubert Kos and David Johnston is expected to return from his Olympic Redshirt season. The team also returns Coby Carrozza for his fifth year. The team finished 7th at 2024 NCAAs and had seven individual qualifiers.
It was originally announced that Shackell would take his redshirt while training with his club team, Carmel Swim Club, and that he would return to Cal this fall. Shackell’s younger siblings are both committed to Cal. Alex Shackell, the #1 recruit for the girls class of 2025, committed last September.
SwimSwam: #6 Ranked Recruit In Class Of 2023, Aaron Shackell Announces Transfer To Texas
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