Olympic gold medalist Alex Shackell will use a ‘hybrid schedule’ while competing for Indiana University, according to Carmel Swim Club head coach Chris Plumb.
Statement from Plumb:
After careful consideration, Alex Shackell has decided to continue her training in Carmel while pursuing her collegiate experience. Indiana University offers Alex the flexibility to balance her elite swimming career with her academic goals. She will begin at IU in Spring 2026 under a hybrid schedule. Alex’s primary focus will remain on international competition as she continues to represent the United States at the highest levels of the sport.
While Plumb has declined to describe what the ‘hybrid schedule’ will look like, other individuals with knowledge of the situation have outlined a plan that will allow Shackell to divide her training between Indiana University and the Carmel Swim Club.
Indiana also declined to elaborate on the hybrid schedule, though the school does offer a robust online degree-seeking education program.
Shackell, who won an Olympic gold medal and Olympic silver medal at the Paris Games as part of American relays, is the top-ranked women’s recruit in the high school class of 2025.
The Carmel Swim Club, one of the top, if not the top, junior-aged swim clubs in the United States, has proven to be a draw back home for many program alums. Alex’s older brother Aaron has spent a semester at Cal and a semester at Texas before returning home, for example. Others, like former Michigan swimmer Wyatt Davis, have done the say.
The Indiana women last week finished 2nd at the Big Ten Championships last week.
Shackell is scheduled to join the Hoosiers in spring 2026. Carmel is about a 75 minute drive from Bloomington.
Nm
Unfiltered Waters with Alex regarding her decision:
https://youtu.be/z1lFs8JM8_g?si=zInqczK5ljmwo95t
Would Chris Plumb have to be added to the IU staff? Each team can only have so many coaches on staff coaching the university athletes. If he is added to the staff does the NCAA still have a rule about college coaches only being able to coach athletes in a 50 mile radius of campus?
Why is this worth 400 comments?
417 comments now.
Because it’s an extremely unique setup and given prior experiences members of this particular family have had with college swimming, this is certainly one that is intriguing toward discussion. How that discussion materializes is probably what the issue at the heart of this post is getting at.
wonder if her brother will have a similar arrangement if he also decides to join IU?
third time a charm??
Sad state of priorities. Enjoy new experiences.
Why would a college coach allow this?
To be clear, I agree with you. But a college coach would allow this because she is worth a metric ton of points
Shackell family reminds me of the Ball family. Lonzo was the first and more hype than actual performance. LiAngelo was meh. LaMelo has skill, but really, we are all way more tired of hearing about the drama than interested in watching them. Parents way too much running their kids’ lives. Maybe Nick Shackell can start a company called Shack Super Suits (SSS) to exploit the kids before their spotlight fades…
don’t take about my goat lavar ball like that. dude honestly went 3 for 3; all his kids made it to the NBA (even if gelo had only a short stint). he has crazy self-confidence in himself and his sons, and what more could you want from a parent? sure, the optics may not look good when he says that he can beat mj, but results are results: lonzo’s a starting pg for the bulls, and lamelo’s an all-star (he was snubbed this yr). lonzo, when healthy, is arguably a top 5 pg in the league — his career has just been derailed by injuries. all of his kids genuinely have skill; it’s just that nba teams are hesitant to… Read more »
No need to place a race card. I didn’t say that it didn’t work to get attention for their kids. Just that great athletes don’t need their parents controlling their every move to be great. It’s old and tiresome. Dell Curry didn’t hype his sons like that and coming out of high school they needed it way more than any of the Ball boys.
FWIW faking a persona and hyping up someone for draft positioning and endorsements to gain them money that they don’t earn on their merits is more deceitful, than justified.
How are you gonna hate a man for believing in his kids
As long as one of them doesn’t start rapping
This is the “NCAA Elite Athlete” exemption, any athlete that is a National Team member of a governing body sponsored by USOPC gets this treatment… as well as International athletes also on their respective national teams.