Cal had several of its priority targets on campus over the weekend for official visits, and it has been fruitful so far. The latest piece of the puzzle fell into place Thursday when high three-star tight end Taimane Purcell became the next commitment for the Bears in the 2026 class.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound prospect from Honolulu is now the 11th commitment for the Bears in the cycle leading to a spot at No. 20 in the Rivals team recruiting rankings.

The Bears battled with several top programs for a commitment from Purcell, who plays at at Kamehameha High School. Purcell visited Oklahoma State prior to his trip to Berkeley and had visits lined up with USC and North Carolina as well.

Stanford, BYU and SMU had all been contenders for a commitment from Purcell this spring as well.

Instead, he is headed to Cal where he will join a growing group of players from Hawaii to make the move to the Bay Area in recent years. The Bears added three recruits from the Aloha State for 2025 highlighted by elite quarterback Jaron Sagapolutele. Both Sagaopoutele and safety Aiden Manutai earned opportunities to contribute during their first spring with Cal, and Purcell leaned on both prospects ahead of his decision.

“For Cal, it’s that Poly pipeline with Aiden Manutai and Jaron Sagapolutele,” Purcell recently told Rivals. "Just knowing people from over there and coming from Hawaiian culture, there is that family feel."

Purcell made the trip to Berkeley previously for Cal's matchup against Syracuse last season.

The Polynesian influence that has continued to grow around the program as of late has played a big part in the Bears landing several of their top targets in the last two classes.

However, the coaching staff as a whole has been able to push things over the top for Cal, and getting to know tight ends coach Mike Saffell since being offered last June. Saffell helped develop Jack Endries into the top pass catcher on the team, and Purcell feels like he could be a successful player in Cal's offensive system under his future position coach.

“Coach Mike Saffell has been recruiting me really hard and he’s a really great guy," Purcell said. "He really believes in me and talks about playing really early."

There was plenty of emphasis on defense earlier in the cycle, but Purcell continues a run on offensive recruits for the Bears in recent days. Rivals250 offensive tackle Tommy Tofi and four-star running back Victor Santino both gave Cal their commitments this week while high three-star offensive lineman Elisha Faamatuainu committed to the Bears on Saturday night during the busy weekend in Berkeley.

Oregon, Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida, UCLA and Michigan State are some of the other schools that offered Purcell throughout the process.