Counting Down Cal's Top-50 Transfer Athletes: No. 33 Liam Bell

We rank the mid-career arrivals in Berkeley who have had the greatest impact on the Golden Bears

Liam Bell | Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

The transfer portal era in college athletics seems like it’s been with us forever. Likewise, most fans can recall less turbulent times when transfers happened, they simply didn’t look like a stampede to the 1849 California Gold Rush.

We thought it was time to rank the best transfers Cal teams have attracted, most of them in recent seasons but also including a few OGs from yesteryear. 

We limited our ranking to transfers from four-year colleges.

Here is the next athlete in our countdown: 

33. Liam Bell

Sport: Swimming

Arrival year at Cal: 2021-22

Previous school: Competed at Alabama for the 2019 and 2020 spring swim seasons, earning All-America honors in three events (100 breaststroke, 200 breast, 400 medley relay) as a freshman and setting school records in the 100 breast and 200 individual medley. He did not compete at the NCAAs as a sophomore.

Contributions at Cal: 

— Bell secured All-America status in three events as a junior in 2022, including a third-place finish at the NCAA championship in the 100-yard breaststroke, where he set a school record of 50.50 seconds.

— The 6-foot-5 native of Atlanta swam the breaststroke leg on Cal’s 200 medley relay team that set a school record and placed third at the NCAA meet. He also earned All-America honors by placing ninth in the 200 breast.

— At the 2022 Pac-12 meet, Bell scored 21 points to help Cal win its fifth consecutive conference championship.

— As a senior, Bell landed All-America status in four events, including in the 200 medley relay, where he helped the Bears to a fourth-place finish. He also finished sixth in the 100 breast and 13th in the 50 free with a time of 18.96 that elevated him to No. 6 on the school’s all-time list.

Standout performance: At the 2023 NCAA championships, Bell contributed to Cal’s runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle relay, which provided the Bears with 34 team points on their way to a second straight national crown. Bell’s third-leg split of 18.59 seconds helped the Bears to a time of 1:13.82, trailing only event winner Florida as the second-fastest time in collegiate history.

Impact on his team: Bell spent two seasons on the Cal team and earned All-America honors seven times while helping propel the Bears to back-to-back NCAA team championships in 2022 and ’23.

Previously on our list: 

No. 34: Trevor Davis

No. 35: John McLaughlin

No. 36: Ovie Brume

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