Texas Longhorn alum Susan Temming is back in Austin, this time as an assistant coach. On Tuesday, head coach Dave O'Neill said the 26-year-old from Utrecht would join his staff, leaving UCLA after less than a year in Westwood.
She returns to a programme that has kept winning since she left. Texas won the 2021 and 2022 NCAA titles with Temming in the I Eight both times, then added a third in 2024 and a fourth this May at Lake Lanier. That 2026 championship was won on 130 points, ahead of Stanford on 125 and Tennessee on 119, with the I Eight clocking 5:47.706 and Texas also taking the I Four. The Longhorns are only the second programme to collect four NCAA titles inside six years, after Brown between 1999 and 2004, and all four have come under O'Neill.
O'Neill explained the hire by pointing to her time as an athlete and to her coaching since:
"She played a huge role in our program as a student-athlete, and she brings a wealth of knowledge to this role."
Temming’s path from crew boat to coaching launch
Temming has packed a lot into the three years since graduating. She spent a year as an assistant at Texas Rowing Center in Austin before moving to SMU in August 2024. The following year UCLA announced her arrival in December, and she spent the season there under head coach Vanessa Tavalero. "Her outstanding collegiate career at Texas and her recent coaching experience at SMU have shaped her into an exceptional leader and technician," said Tavalero.
NCAA titles and international rowing record
Temming raced for Texas from 2019 to 2023 and reached four NCAA Championships. Along with the two team titles and I Eight crowns, she won four Big 12 Championships and made the 2023 All-Big 12 Team. Her talents extended to the classroom too: nine appearances on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll, two Academic Provost Awards for a semester GPA of 4.0, and two CRCA National Scholar-Athlete awards. She graduated with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Educational Psychology.
She made her international debut in 2016 at the junior world championships in the Dutch eight. The following year she raced in the four, and she won a bronze medal in the quad in 2018. In 2021 she was part of the silver-medal-winning Dutch U23 eight. She is also a four-time Dutch national champion.
Texas Rowing’s award-winning coaching staff
In June, the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association named O'Neill Coach of the Year for the fourth time at Texas and gave the Texas staff its fourth Coaching Staff of the Year award.
"I couldn't have had a better experience as a student-athlete at Texas, and coming back, this time as a coach, is a dream come true," Temming said.
