Coleman’s Carpool: Meet Cal Berkeley’s Wyatt Hodges

In Coleman’s Carpool we get the insider’s perspective on your favorite swimmers. SwimSwam Head of Production, Coleman Hodges, invites swimmers to take a ride with him and talk about anything…except swimming. Mostly.

This week I took a ride with a seasoned veteran of the sport, my big brother! Wyatt Hodges started swimming for Columbia Swim Club in Columbia, Missouri at age 11. He got his first JR National cut in the 200 breast at age 17, and a week later got his first senior national cut in the same event. He swam for Purdue University for 4 years, and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Currently he is working toward his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is also continuing his post grad swimming career and training with the Cal men’s swim team. He has qualified for and swam at 2 separate Olympic Trials (2012, 2016) in 2 events (100 & 200 Breast).

Wyatt and I both indulge in the trading card game Magic the Gathering (if you don’t know what it is, look it up. You’ll get hooked). You can play Magic online, and participate in numerous kinds of simulated drafts with players from around the world. Magic even puts out a special pool of cards to draft around Christmas called the Holiday Cube, which consists of the best of the best cards in the entire game. Wyatt gave us his insight into the holiday cube, and (what a guy) put it into swimming terms for those who might not quite be on the same level of geek as the hodge tribe.