2023-24 Men's Swimming & Diving Roster
Biography
Accolades
- NCAA team championship (2022), (2023)
- Pac-12 team championship (2022)
- 10x CSCAA All-American
- 2023: 100 breast, 200 free relay, 200 medley relay, 50 free (2nd team)
- 2022: 100 breast, 200 breast (2nd team), 200 medley relay
- 2020: 100 breast, 200 breast, 400 medley relay
- All-SEC First Team (2020)
- SEC All-Freshman Team (2020)
- CSCAA Scholar All-American (2020, first team)
- 2x SEC Academic Honor Roll (2021, 2020)
At Cal
2022-23 (Sr.)
- Earned All-American honors in four events to help Cal win the 2023 NCAA Championship, scoring 19 individual points.
- Finished sixth in the 100 breast with a time of 50.88
- Set a personal best in the B Finals of the 50 free, finishing fifth (13th overall) with a time of 18.96 - the sixth fastest time in program history.
- Split 18.59 in the third leg of Cal's school-record 1:13.82 - becoming just the second program in NCAA history to get under 1:14
- Split 22.99 in the breaststroke leg of Cal's school-record time of 1:21.24 to place fourth.
- Scored 23 individual points at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships
- Notched an NCAA A qualifying time in the 100 breast with a time of 51.58 - good enough for third place.
- Finished second in the 50 free of the B Final (10th overall) with a time of 19.41.
- Took fourth in the 100 breast at the Minnesota Invitational with a time of52.29.
- Opened the year with a win in the 50 free against Utah.
- Tallied four top-10 times for Cal in 2023-23 (50 free, 100 breast, 200 breast, 100 fly)
2021-22 (Jr.)
- Delivered three All-American swims to help Cal win the 2022 NCAA Championship in his first season as a Golden Bear
- Set Cal's school record (50.50) with a third-place finish in the 100 breast
- Split 22.71 in the breaststroke leg of Cal's school-record 1:21.69 finish in the 200 medley relay, which placed third
- Won the 200 breast consolation final & placed ninth in 1:51.36
- Placed 36th in the 50 free (19.48)
- His 1:51.36 finish in the 200 breast at NCAAs was the sixth-fastest in school history
- Scored 21 individual points to help Cal win its fifth consecutive Pac-12 Championship
- Took fifth in the 100 breast (52.01) & 10th in the 200 breast (1:54.61)
- Had a 23.44 breaststroke split on Cal's third-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:23.26)
- Placed 24th in the 50 free (19.81)
- Won his first race as a Golden Bear in the 100 breast (52.49) vs. Virginia (Oct. 15)
- Touched first in the 100 breast (52.31) in a dual-meet loss at Stanford (Feb. 19)
- Transferred to Cal after swimming at Alabama for two seasons (2019-20, 2020-21)
Before Cal
2020-21 (So.) (Alabama)
- Was seeded 24th in the 100 breast (52.05), 42nd in the 200 breast (1:55.81) & 43rd in the 50 free (19.64) at 2021 NCAA Championships, but did not compete
- Won the C final of the 100 breast (53.21) at 2021 SEC Championships
- Also swam the 50 free (26th), 100 free (42nd) & 800 free relay (8th) at SEC Championships
2019-20 (Fr.) (Alabama)
- All-American in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke & 400 medley relay as a freshman at Alabama
- Was seeded sixth in the 100 breaststroke heading into NCAAs before the championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 200 breaststroke & as part of the 200 & 400 medley relays
- Impact swimmer at the SEC Championships, winning gold in the 400 medley relay & earning silver in the 100 breaststroke
- Also scored in the 200 breaststroke (fourth), 200 individual medley (17th) & as part of the 200 medley relay (fourth) at the SEC Championships
- Set Alabama's school record in the 100 breaststroke (51.39), 200 freestyle (1:36.01) & 200 individual medley (1:44.35) with career-best times, shaving nearly a second off his 100 breaststroke mark & nearly four seconds off his 200 IM time, at the SEC Championships
- Swam the breaststroke leg on the school & SEC Championships record-setting 400 medley relay (3:02.17)
- Posted a career-best 1:44.38 in the 200 breaststroke at the SEC Championships, slashing more than four seconds off his previous best time and ranking him third all-time at Alabama
- Closed the dual-meet season with a win at Florida State as part of the 200 medley relay
- Picked up a win as part of the 400 medley relay at the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational
- Earned a win at Auburn in the 100 breaststroke
- Opened SEC competition in Birmingham against Georgia with wins in the 100 breaststroke and as part of the 200 medley relay
- Opened the season with wins at Delta State in the 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley and as part of the 200 medley relay
National (USA)
- U.S. Junior National Team member (2020, 2021)
- Qualified for the 2021 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, but did not compete
- Was the youngest male to qualify for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials
- Won the USA Junior National Championship in the 100m breast in 2019, posting a 1:01.19, the ninth-fastest time ever for the U.S. 17-18 National Age Group & won the race by over a second
- Also earned bronze in the 200m breast with a career-best mark of 2:15.17 at 2019 Junior Nationals
High School/Club
- Swam for Sergiy Useinov at United States Aquatic Club and Lorri Reynolds and Greg Valley at Druid Hill High School
- Four-time All-American
- 2019 Georgia High School State Champion in the 100 breaststroke & 200 individual medley
Personal
- Full name is Liam Kai Bell
- Born on Sept. 18, 2000
- Son of Mandi & John Bell
- Has three siblings, Andre, Lainie & Sophie
Historical Player Information
-
2021-22Junior
Breast
6'5"
200 lbs
-
2022-23Senior
Breast
6'5"
200 lbs
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2023-24Graduate Student
Breast
6'5"
240 lbs
