Golden Bears Snag 2028 Verbal From Versatile In-State Standout Katrin Otaegi
NEW COMMIT: Dublin, Calif. native Katrin Otaegi has opted to remain in-state for her college career, as the versatile Junior National qualifier has verbally committed to the University of California, Berkeley for Fall 2028. Otaegi is among the top recruits in her class.
She will join Stella Canoles and Noelle Benkler in the Bay Area as a member of the Golden Bears’ Class of 2032.
Regarding her commitment, she said:
“I’m thrilled to announce my verbal commitment to swim and study at the University of California, Berkeley! Thank you to Coach Dave, Maya, and Noah for this extraordinary opportunity. A huge thanks to Coach David for creating the environment I needed to grow as an athlete and a person, and Coach Natalie for helping me fall in love with this sport when I was 12. Thank you to my friends on SRVA for pushing me every day and making me laugh at ungodly hours in the morning. To my parents and sister— thank you for your unconditional love and support, and eskerrik asko to the rest of my family for cheering me on from far away! You’ve all helped me get so far, but I’m not done yet. GO BEARS!!
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Otaegi does her club swimming with San Ramon Valley Aquatics and won the 50m fly at Junior National this past summer where she also placed eighth in the 100m free, ninth in the 50m free and 14th in the 100m fly. That was after she won the 50m free, 50m fly and 100m fly at Walnut Speedo Sectionals, as well as the 100m breast, 200m breast and 200m IM at Pacific Swimming Long Course Senior Open.
Last winter, Otaegi took fifth in the 100 back, sixth in the 200 IM, ninth in the 50 free, 10th in the 100 fly and 14th in the 100 fly at Juniors West. She then went on to post six top-3 finishes at Roseville Speedo Sectionals in February in addition to winning the 50/100 free duo at Far Westerns in March.
Her best times include:
- 100 fly – 53.18
- 100 back – 53.28
- 200 IM – 1:59.96
- 50 free – 22.67
- 100 free – 49.57
- 200 free – 1:48.36
- 200 back – 1:58.58
- 400 IM – 4:22.73
Otaegi’s best time in the 100 fly would’ve scored in the C-final for Cal at last year’s conference meet.
The Golden Bears finished third at the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and fourth at the 2026 NCAA Championships.
If you have a commitment to share, please send a photo and quote via email to hs@swimmingworld.com.
