Lee signs with Rutgers, rejoins forces with her sister

It has been a big couple of weeks for the Lee family and the Rutgers swimming program, as younger sister Thomi Lee committed to the Scarlet Knights and older sister Brogan Lee was named captain of the team. This incoming freshman class will have a little extra significance for Brogan. Thomi, a senior at Chisago Lakes High School, decided to sign her Letter of Intent to swim at Rutgers also. The choice wasn’t easy for Thomi, who won a state championship in the 500 free in her junior year and broke her sister’s school record this past swim season. She visited Towson University, the University of Nebraska, University of Minnesota, University of North Dakota, and Rutgers.

Lee explained the process, “I held off on recruiting visits during the summer and fall swim seasons and missed the early signing period, so I could focus on my training and post my best times at the high school state swim finals,” she said. “Unfortunately, some schools finished their recruiting before I got started after the state meet in November. But, after the holidays I eventually found several schools that I was interested in and that were still interested in me. I visited a variety of schools and swim programs during my selection process.” She said each school had benefits that pulled her in different directions all over the nation. The University of Minnesota features the pedigree, having won the past three Big 10 Championships, Towson, which boasts a strong distance group, and UND, which had reciprocity and teammates Thomi knew from club swimming. In the end, it came down to Rutgers and the University of Nebraska. The Huskers were the first to make Thomi a “generous” offer, and she knew she could contribute immediately.

They also are coached by former Olympic gold medalist Pablo Morales, who specializes in the butterfly, which is one of Thomi’s strong events. “But, in the end as with my sister Brogan before me, Rutgers made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Rutgers was not only tied with the U of Minnesota as the best ranked school academically that I visited, but they also offered the best athletic scholarship as well as a substantial four-year academic scholarship,” Lee explained of her choice. “On top of that, I have three years of experience watching Brogan compete for Rutgers in the Big East. I feel like I know what to expect and what it will take to succeed at Rutgers, both academically and athletically. Also, being able to spend one more year with my sister—now with us both as adults – played a part in my decision. But if Rutgers hadn’t pulled out all of the stops at the very end of the recruiting process I was very close to signing with Nebraska. It has been a very stressful few weeks, and arriving at a decision was the hardest thing I’ve had to do so far in my life.”

Brogan, the elder sister who will be a senior at Rutgers University this year, was voted as a team captain for the Scarlet Knights as they enter the Big 10 Conference. She swims the 500, 1,000, 1,650 free, 400 IM and 200 fly. The Chisago Lakes grad is majoring in Psychology and Exercise Science. She has made the Big East All-Academic team as well as the Dean’s List at Rutgers. A press release from the school stated, “Brogan will help provide experience and leadership to the team, which includes seven incoming freshmen. Brogan will also play an important role by leading training and team building exercises next year, including hosting yet another class of freshmen swim and dive recruits as they visit Rutgers and consider joining the team. “Brogan’s guidance will be especially valuable to the team as the Lady Knights join the Big 10 this fall and begin their climb up the conference rankings.”