NCAA Champion Emma Sticklen will return to Texas for her COVID-19 fifth year, she told SwimSwam on Monday. Sticklen won the NCAA title in the 200 fly at the 2023 and 2024 NCAA Championships.
The #9 recruit coming out of high school made a huge impact for Texas in all four years of undergrad, scoring at NCAAs helping Texas finish as one of the top teams each year.
Sticklen scored 18 individual points at NCAAs as a freshman, finishing 7th in the 200 fly and 11th in the 100 fly. She also was 37th in the 50 free. The Texas women finished 3rd as a team at 2021 NCAAs.
Returning to NCAAs as a sophomore, she made the ‘A’ final of both the 100 and 200 butterfly events. She led the way as the top seed in prelims of the 200 fly and finished 7th in finals. She also was 4th in the 100 fly, bringing her individual point total to 27 points. She also swam on three relays, including helping the team to 4th in the 400 medley relay.
She won her first NCAA title as a junior, swimming to a 1:49.95 in the 200 butterfly to become the 4th woman to ever break the 1:50 mark. She also finished 5th in the 100 fly. She switched her event lineup to the 200 IM, instead of the 50 free, and finished 6th in the event. She scored a total of 46.5 individual points, leading Texas to a 2nd place finish.
This past season, Sticklen defended her NCAA title in the 200 fly swimming a 1:50.99, coming home with a strong final underwater to secure the win. She also finished 2nd in the 100 fly and 11th in the 200 IM. She scored a total of 43 individual points, the 2nd most on the team as they finished 2nd once again.
Sticklen’s return is huge as Texas looks to maintain its spot as one of the top NCAA programs. The team’s top NCAA scorer Kelly Pash used her 5th year of eligibility this past season. Sticklen is not the only fifth year for Texas this season as Ava Longi and Grace Cooper already announced their returns. The team also welcomes fifth year Abby Arens from NC State.
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What about Bray?
Let the games begin Emma! I know your parents are happy for your return …
When are we gonna find out if Regan is swimming in the NCAA this year? If so, it’ll be fun to see her swim against Sticklen in the 200 fly
Would love to see Regan back in the NCAA but that feels doubtful. I think her one year at Stanford, while it was generally successful, left a bad taste in her mouth. But who knows I hope I’m wrong
You are wrong as Regan enjoyed Stanford, but wanted to spend more time training than NCAA rules permit. Her teammates adored her and she is still in touch with many of them, including my daughter. Bob offered the professional swim group and she seemed to mesh well. Unfortunately the NCAA turned down her request to return to amateur status and plans to attend classes at Texas in the fall as a “normal student”
I remember an article a couple months ago regarding this that I’m pretty sure mentioned Regan was not eligible for NCAA, anyone else remember the specifics?
Sticklen should be fun to watch for another year and be a help to the Texas women’s team