By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam
RipFest Diving Club’s Madeline Kohel has committed ot the University of California as a part of the Golden Bears’ 2026 recruiting class.
Kohel was ranked the #2 diving recruit in SwimSwam’s ranking of the top 10 diving recruits in the girls’ class of 2026.
I’m so excited to announce my verbal commitment to the University of California, Berkeley! I can’t wait to continue my academic and diving career at Cal. Thank you endlessly to my family, friends, and coaches for supporting me throughout this journey. GO BEARS
Kohel hails from Minneapolis, Minn., where she represents Minneapolis Washburn High School. She has collected a pair of MNSHSL Girls Class AA State championship titles on 1-meter. As a sophomore, she notched her first state win, with a score of 520.20.
The following year (2024), Kohel repeated as champion on the 1-meter, scoring 479.05.
Kohel competed at the 2025 USA Diving Junior National Championships, where she earned a podium finish, placing 3rd on 1-meter (371.25), and also took 23rd on 3-meter (224.25). In her career, she has been a five-time finalist at the USA Diving Junior National Championships.
Best Scores:
- 1-meter: 449.60
- 3-meter: 434.45
- Platform: 294.35.
The Cal women finished 4th at the 2025 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships and 8th at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships last season.
Kohel will join Malak Tawfik in the 2026 diving class for Cal; Tawfik was a 2024 Paris Olympian for Egypt. The two will add much-needed depth to this Cal diving group.
Cal’s highest-scoring ACC Championships diver a season ago was Violet Williamson, who finished 20th in the 1-meter (237.10) and 21st in the 3-meter (264.90).
Williamson was the lone Golden Bear female diver at NCAAs last season as well, finishing 43rd on both 1-meter and 3-meter, outside of scoring position.
Kohel joins Isabel Wolk, Halle West, Kelsey Zhang, Ava De Anda, Kassy Yeing, and Egle Salu in Cal’s 2026 recruiting class.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cal Adds Major Talent to 2026 Class with #2 Diver and Two-Time MN State Champ Madeline Kohel
