TCU Announces Addition Of Keith Dawley & Kelsie Saxe To Coaching Staff

TCU swimming and diving head coach Sam Busch has announced the additions of Keith Dawley and Kelsie Saxe to the team’s coaching staff.

Dawley came to TCU after being an associate head coach at the University of Miami (Ohio) during the 2016-2017 season. Dawley swam at Indiana before transferring to South Carolina where he finished his collegiate career. He focused primarily on the butterfly.

“Growing up in the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex, TCU has always been on my radar,” Dawley said. “The opportunity and demand for excellence across the board makes TCU an ideal place to coach in my opinion, and I couldn’t be more proud to call TCU home.”

“Keith is extremely well rounded when it comes to knowing our sport,” Busch said. “I would trust him to coach any event or event group at any time. He’s the master of X’s and O’s.”

This is not the first time Dawley and Busch have coached together. The two were on the University of Virginia’s staff during the 2015-2016 season, with Busch as the assistant head coach and Dawley as a volunteer assistant. That connection helped land Dawley in Fort Worth.

“He’s someone I wanted get on staff here since I knew him at Virginia,” Busch said.

“Sam and I have had countless discussions on the exact opportunity we find ourselves in at TCU,” Dawley said. “Joining Sam was one of the easier decisions I’ve ever made.”

Saxe came to TCU after being an assistant coach at her alma mater, the University of Idaho, where she coached from 2015-2017. Before becoming the assistant coach, Saxe also swam competitively in the 100 and 200 breast and 200 individual medley for the Vandals from 2009-2013. Between her swimming career and coaching stint at Idaho, Saxe got her masters at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where she served the swimming and diving program in a manager role.

“I want to thank Coach Busch and the TCU athletics department for welcoming me into the Horned Frog family,” Saxe said. “I am excited to be joining such a dynamic staff full of energy and passion for this sport. TCU is an exemplary model of excellence within academics and athletics and I look forward to continuing to raise the bar within both.”

“She’s a very ambitious coach, young and hungry,” Busch said. “She really did her homework. She knew this was the place to be and the staff to be on.”

The hiring of Dawley and Saxe continues TCU’s change of culture in the swimming and diving program. Busch brings youth and energy to the Horned Frog program and his two newest staff members are extensions of that mindset.

“My mindset was that I wanted to surround myself with people who were eager to learn from me, but also being young, energetic, and relentless recruiters,” Busch said. “Relating to the modern-day student athlete is critical in my opinion, so that’s why I wanted to surround myself with this young staff who is eager to move this program forward.”

Press Release courtesy of TCU Athletics.