NCAA Champion Emma Sticklen Starts Coaching Career at Penn
Three-time NCAA champion and 200 fly record holder Emma Sticklen has been hired as an assistant coach at Penn.
Sticklen will work with both the men’s and women’s teams, under head coach Mike Schnur. She begins her coaching career after wrapping up a stellar career in the pool at the 2025 NCAA Championships.
Sticklen was 23 times named an All-American, one of the most decorated in the University of Texas’ long and storied history over her five seasons. She won her third straight NCAA title in the 200 fly in March at NCAAs, the first Texas swimmer with three straight national titles in the same event since Leigh Ann Fetter in 1989-91.
“I am incredibly excited to be joining the University of Pennsylvania as an assistant coach,” Sticklen said in a press release. “Penn Swimming has a strong tradition, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to its continued success. I look forward to giving back to the team in their pursuit of excellence at the Ivy League, NCAA, and international levels.”
Sticklen won SEC titles in the 200 individual medley, 100 fly and 200 fly in Texas’ first season in the conference, to go with a pair of relay wins. She won silver at NCAAs in the 100 fly in 2024 after winning the Big 12 title that year in that event.
In 2023, the Big 12 Swimmer of the Year won her maiden NCAA title in the 200 fly and her second Big 12 crown in the event. She was a 12-time Big 12 champion overall, with the Longhorns winning all four team titles. Sticklen qualified for Olympic Trials in 2021 and 2024. She finished eighth in the 100 fly and fourth in the 200 fly at the latter.
The native of Katy, Texas, graduated in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science. She earned a master’s degree in communications and media studies in 2025. She was a first-team CSCAA Academic All-American in each of her last two years.
“I am thrilled to add someone of Emma’s caliber and character to Penn Swimming,” Schnur said. “Her experiences as a three-time NCAA champion, an NCAA record holder, and multi-year member of the United States national team will be invaluable for our student athletes as they strive for Ivy, NCAA, and international excellence.”
