Samantha Thomsit Selected as Next Head Coach of Gardner-Webb Women’s Soccer

Proven Winner with Over a Decade of Experience Set to Lead Runnin’ Bulldogs

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Gardner-Webb University Vice President and Director of Athletics Brendan Fahey has announced Samantha Thomsit as the next head coach of the women’s soccer program. She arrives at Gardner-Webb after four seasons at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala.

“We are excited to welcome Sam to our Runnin’ Bulldogs family,” Fahey stated. “She is a proven winner and has experienced success at all levels of the game, both here and abroad. We look forward to seeing our student-athletes take big steps towards success both on and off the field under her leadership, helping to establish Gardner-Webb women’s soccer as a contender in the Big South Conference for years to come.”

Thomsit’s track record backs that belief. She engineered one of the top turnarounds in women’s college soccer at Spring Hill, inheriting an 0-17 team in 2021 and building it into a program that combined for 14 wins across the 2024 and 2025 seasons—the most success the program had seen in over a decade.

With a proven ability to rebuild and elevate programs, Thomsit is eager to begin her next chapter. “I am incredibly excited and honored to take over the Gardner-Webb women’s soccer program,” Thomsit affirmed. “Gardner-Webb is a special institution with a rich history and a program that has experienced tremendous competitive success, and I am grateful for the opportunity to lead it into its next chapter.”

Her teams showed steady progress each season, producing the highest conference point totals in program history and consecutive Gulf South Conference Quarterfinal appearances, the deepest postseason runs in school history.

That forward momentum will carry into her approach in Boiling Springs. “I cannot wait to get to work with our student-athletes and become part of the Gardner-Webb community,” Thomsit added.

Beyond wins, Thomsit’s teams developed standout talent and consistency. She coached the Gulf South’s top scorer in 2024, developed the program’s first All-Conference First Team and All-Region selections, and retained nearly her entire roster over four seasons.

Prior to Spring Hill, Thomsit spent four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, helping guide the Jaguars to Sun Belt regular season championships in 2019 and 2020 and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2020 and 2021. South Alabama posted double-digit wins in three of those seasons, including a 2018 squad that allowed just 0.57 goals per match. Twenty-six players earned All-Sun Belt honors during her tenure.

Her experience also includes extensive work in youth and international soccer, with coaching stops in California, Tennessee, and Singapore, where she helped develop collegiate pathways for young players.

As she steps into the role, Thomsit expressed her gratitude to Fahey and others who have encouraged her throughout her career. “I would like to sincerely thank Brendan Fahey for believing in me, trusting me with this opportunity, and allowing me to lead this program,” she said. “I would like to thank all of Spring Hill college and Joe Niland for their continued support during my four years. Lastly, I want to thank my husband for his unwavering support and the sacrifices he has made to help me pursue this opportunity. I am incredibly grateful for everything he has done for me along this journey.”

Her success on the field began at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tenn. Thomsit started nearly every match as a freshman and senior and helped lead the Eagles to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2009. She graduated in 2013 with a degree in physical education.

Her former coach at Carson Newman, Richard Moodie, who now leads the program at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., shared that Gardner-Webb has made an exceptional hire. “She has won and overachieved everywhere she has been and I would identify her not only as one of the top female coaches in the college game, but one of the top collegiate coaches overall,” Moodie praised. “I truly believe in Sam and the impact she can have on any program fortunate enough to hire her. Any institution would be making an exceptional hire by bringing Sam into their program.”

Originally from Trowbridge, England, Thomsit holds FA Level 1 and USSF B coaching licenses and an NSCAA Level 2 Goalkeeping Diploma. She brings more than a decade of high-level coaching experience to Gardner-Webb and will arrive with her husband, Walker.

For updates and more news on the Runnin’ Bulldogs, visit gwusports.com, or follow @gwusports on Instagram, X and Facebook.

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Become More at gardner-webb.edu.