Asia Thigpen’s father was an assistant football coach at both Auburn and Tennessee. He’s currently the co-defensive coordinator at North Carolina.
Recent Kentucky volleyball commit Asia Thigpen of North Carolina is a top 60 player in the 2024 recruiting class and an outside hitter who is switching to libero this season.
She called Kentucky her “dream school” and knows plenty about Division I college athletics because her father, Tommy Thigpen, is a long-time Division I football coach and a former three-time all-ACC linebacker at North Carolina.
She is a personable, outgoing athlete who is a terrific interview and credits much of that to her father and his coaching position.
“I learned a lot from him (about interviewing),” she said. “I have heard him in press conferences and paid attention to how he did.”
Tommy Thigpen is currently the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers ready to start his fifth season. He’s also coached at Auburn and was part of the 2010 national championship team there before going to Tennessee until he returned to his alma mater.
“I know a lot about football and the SEC,” she said.
That made me wonder how involved her father was in her college choice and recruiting process since he obviously knows plenty about big-time recruiting.
“For me, I wanted whatever school I would go to not be because one parent wanted it or one parent did not like it or another school,” she said. “Everyone loved Kentucky and coach (Craig) Skinner was the perfect fit.”
She said friends/teammates in North Carolina were very supportive when she picked Kentucky.
“They even surprised me with a bunch of Kentucky goodies,” she said.
