Stringfellow previews upcoming year in athletics for TU

Stringfellow previews upcoming year in athletics for TU Published 11:25 pm Thursday, August 7, 2025 By Grayson Plunkett THOMASVILLE With the new year on the horizon, Thomas Universitys athletic programs are preparing for their players to return from Summer.

Going into the 2025-26 academic year, the athletic department experienced a few coaching changes to its womens basketball, swimming, football and flag football programs.

Its very exciting in many ways, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Athletic Director Kurt Stringfellow said.

We had to replace some coaches, but we replaced them with people in our family.

Trending TU President Andy Sheppard announces resignation after nine years One arrested for Blaine Oliver shooting; agents say shooting unrelated to disappearance Jordan Booker, the interim womens basketball coach was a standout on the mens side of TU basketball, helping lead the team to its first appearance in the NAIA Tournament in 2023 while also earning a spot as a NAIA All-American in the same year.

Wyatt Dalton, who takes over as interim for the Swim team, was a two-time NAIA All-American in the 200-yard backstroke, which he set the school record for along with being a team captain in his senior year.

Nija Seals, the current interim for womens flag football following the departure of Chelsea Parmer played for two years with the team and was a part of the team who won the SUN Conference Championship in 2023 and were runner-up in the NAIA National Tournament.

Email newsletter signup The only new coach who is not originally from TU is head football coach Vincent Davis, who came over from conference foe Webber International earlier this summer.

I am looking forward to seeing that growth as they learn to develop and adjust with their teams over the next year.

Stringfellow said.

Stringfellow will be going into his fourth year as Athletic Director and eighth year overall at Thomas University and what he is looking forward to this year and in the future is how the athletes develop on and off the field.

Trending Whigham highway named in honor of Trulock Thomasville Center for the Arts announces major fall exhibition and expanded programs Were giving kids an opportunity to compete at the college level while also earning their education, Stringfellow said.

About seven to 10 percent of all high school kids get to go to college and be a college athlete.

So, our kids are part of that percentage.

And from my standpoint, that makes them elite.

Stringfellow also spoke about being able to meet and build relationships with the international students as well.

I enjoy every year when we have freshmen who are from abroad because they bring such a unique perspective to both our campus and local community.

He also went on to talk about how student-athletes can look back at their experience and how it can give them a leg up in the job market.

And so, when they come out of college and they play athletics, Stringfellow said.

When they go into a job interview, the person interviewing them can recognize that they learned how to adapt, overcome and work in a team.

Stringfellow continued to say, Even though we know that athletics often gets measured by winning, the real measurement of winning to me is, how that young person develops into a mature adult as they go through life.

He also invited the community to come out to practices to meet the players, cheer them on and support them.

I would just like to make an open invitation to our community and surrounding communities to come out and be part of what we are doing and to greet the players.

TU begins their athletic season with mens soccer traveling to Florida to face Daytona State College on August 16 th .

They will host their first home football game of the season against Faulkner University on September 13 th .

You Might Like Lady Bulldogs looking for bounce back year Lady Jackets take down SGA in season opener Rock Bottom? Braves Enduring Lackluster, Injury-Filled Season Central Impressive in Blowout Win Over Lowndes in Scrimmage.

This article has been shared from the original article on timesenterprise, here is the link to the original article.