Sammi Thiele will join Emory for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year to use her COVID-19 fifth year of eligibility. Thiele spent her undergraduate career at Austin College and spent the last year finishing her masters degree at Austin College while teaching at the local high school as the head swim coach. In addition to swimming at Austin College, she also played water polo for four years.
“So incredibly excited to announce my commitment to swim at 5th year at Emory University while pursuing a master’s in business management”
As a junior, Thiele qualified for the 2023 NCAA Championships finishing 23rd in the 100 backstroke in a 56.73. That was just off her lifetime best at the time of a 56.23 that she swam at the 2023 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships.
She made huge strides as a senior, dropping about a second and a half in the 100 backstroke to finish 3rd at 2024 NCAAs touching in a 54.73. She also was 7th in the 200 back in a 2:02.55 but swam a 1:59.67 in prelims. She finished 4th in the 200 IM in a lifetime best of a 2:01.86.
Thiele’s SCY best times are:
- 100 back: 54.73
- 200 back: 1:59.67
- 200 IM: 2:01.86
The Emory women finished 6th at the 2024 NCAA Championships, the last meet Thiele swam at, and moved up to 5th this past season with 337 points. Denison was 4th with 370.5 points.
Thiele’s time from 2024 NCAAs in the 100 back would have finished 4th this year. Emory notably did not have any ‘A’ finalists in the event but had two ‘B’ finalists. Her 200 back best time would have been 7th at 2025 NCAAs, adding points to another event the team had no ‘A’ finalists in. Emory also had zero ‘A’ finalists in the 200 IM, an event she would have been 5th in.
It will be interesting to see if Sami can get back up to form after taking the year away. Emory is sure to be a much more intense training environment than Austin College! Wishing her the best!
yeah she’s an interesting pickup for them, wasn’t a huge recruit but reeally developed at austin college with basically no one to push her in practice. super high ceiling. i wish she could have more time at a competitive program like emory but it’ll be cool to see what she does in just a year!