Courtesy: VMI Athletics
LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Athletics and Jamaal Walton have signed VMI Swimming & Diving Head Coach Scott Thacker to a four-year extension, inking him at The Institute through 2029.
“My wife [Whitney] and I are deeply grateful to Lenny Brown, Jamaal Walton, and Maj. Gen. Wins for their trust and commitment in continuing to lead VMI Swimming and Diving,” says Thacker. “VMI is an unparalleled institution, and coaching here is a profound privilege and joy. I am thrilled to build on our program’s momentum and guide our cadet-athletes to excellence in the pool, on the boards, in the classroom, and on the hill. Rah Va Mil!”
Thacker has been improving the swim & dive programs since his first season in 2022-23. In year one, Thacker led his squads to 17 broken records in the America East Championships. The following season, the Keydets shattered 26 records in the league championship meet. In 2024-25, 43 team records were broken, and 84 total records (Rat, team, relay) were snapped during the season. There were also 77 program top 10 times set throughout the season. Four national invitational relay qualifying times, 14 individual qualifying times, and nine individual national invitational qualifiers were invited to the CSCAA National Invitational, the most all-time in team history.
This year, Thacker led the VMI men to a 5-3 record, their first winning season since 2021 and most wins since 2020, with three conference medals, while helping the women achieve a 2-8 record, tied for the most wins in a season and claim their first DI victory since 2014. During the season, Thacker led a trio of Keydets to weekly conference honors, with two Swimmers of the Week and one Diver of the Week.
At the America East Championships, the Keydets totaled 46 finals appearances, the most since 2020. The women had the most finals appearances in team history, and the men produced their first relay medal since 2019 and produced the most medals at the championships since 2019. At the 2025 CSCAA National Invitational, the men placed 26th, scoring 102 points, a dramatic improvement from 2024, where the men placed 35th, scoring 16 points.
Outside of the pool, Thacker has promoted positivity in the classroom, as both men’s and women’s squads were named CSCAA Scholar All-America Teams, with three Keydets being named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District list and two more landing on the America East All-Academic Team.
“Coach Thacker is building something special within the Swimming and Diving Program,” says Walton. “His energy and dedication towards the program are appreciated, and I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Since 2023, the women have produced 67 individual top 10 times while the men have produced 88 individual top 10 times for a total of 154 individual program top 10 times, which accounts for 58% of all top 10 times. The men have broken 36 team records, breaking all men’s varsity swimming records and all but two Rat swimming records. The women have broken 18 team records , which accounts for 66% of all team records.
Very impressed with this coach, and VMI is definitely a program on the rise. Nice to see a school investing in their aquatic program, a $44MM dollar facility is pretty darn impressive for a school with an enrollment of 1600 +/-.