There was no hat ceremony or photo op or parade or even a press conference when Missy Franklin named the school she’ll soon be decorating with medals and trophies; instead just a tweet.
“Committed to swim at Cal Berkeley!” the four-time gold medalist posted Saturday. “I am officially a baby Golden Bear... I am so honored to be a part of such a special team! #GoBears.”
Missy will join Olympic teammate Rachel Bootsma and London women’s team Coach Teri McKeever at Berkeley, a school that’s won three of the last four women’s NCAA national team championships (as well as the last two on the men’s side), and won’t be any worse for wear when she arrives next year.
Missy also checked out Georgia and Texas, and considered Southern Cal, but the 17-year-old swim phenom told 9News in Colorado that she “instantly felt at home” in Berkeley.
"[McKeever] had such a way to motivate us and to bring the team together,” Missy said. “She encouraged the veterans to share their experiences with us. It helped us so much and made our Olympic team so close.”
All that said, she can only turn down endorsements for so long: as of now Missy plans to stay in Cal gold and blue for two years before going pro to prepare to defend her titles in Rio.