Hall of Fame honor caps remarkable UK journey for PT alumna Asia Seidt

By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director

When Asia Seidt walks into the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame this September, she’ll do so as one of the most accomplished student-athletes in school history.

But ask the 2023 University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences physical therapy graduate what she remembers most, and she doesn’t immediately talk about medals, records or awards.

She remembers the people.

“I think, specifically with the College of Health Sciences, I would immediately talk about the people,” Seidt said. “They’re supportive. Whatever your goals are, they’re not going to set them for you. Whatever your goals are, they want to be resources to help you reach those goals.”

Those relationships helped shape one of the most remarkable careers ever produced at the University of Kentucky.

Earlier this summer, Seidt was selected as one of six members of the 2026 University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame class, joining Paul Calhoun (football), Tim Duckworth (men’s track and field), Leah Edmond (volleyball), Patty Jo Hedges-Ward (women’s basketball) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (men’s basketball). The class will be formally inducted during Hall of Fame Weekend on Sept. 25-26.

For Seidt, the honor came as a surprise — and in an unlikely setting.

She was working at a Louisville hospital when she received the message from UK Athletics.

“I was actually in a closet in the hospital where I worked,” she said with a laugh. “(Assistant athletics director) Tony Neely had texted me that he wanted to call. The closet was the only quiet place I could find.”

Moments later, she learned she was headed to the Hall of Fame.

“It was an incredible honor,” Seidt said. “But it was also one of those moments where I had to get right back to work because I was on the clock.”

That humility has defined Seidt throughout her career.

A Louisville native, Seidt arrived at Kentucky in 2016 as one of the nation’s top swimming recruits. Her decision surprised even those closest to her.

She had scholarship opportunities from some of the country’s premier swimming programs, including Michigan, Stanford, Texas and North Carolina. Kentucky wasn’t originally in her plans.

“It was actually kind of a last-minute decision to take a recruiting trip to UK,” Seidt said. “There was just something about the campus, the people and the atmosphere. I came home and told my mom, ‘I think I'm going to Kentucky.’”

Her mother initially hoped she would leave the state for college.

“We actually didn’t talk for about two weeks,” Seidt recalled with a smile. “Now she says it was the best decision I ever made.”

It certainly proved to be one of Kentucky’s best recruiting victories.

Over four seasons, Seidt qualified for the NCAA Championships every year, earned 21 All-America honors — including eight First Team selections — won 15 SEC medals and still holds five school records. She also qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials and represented the United States at the World University Games.

Yet her accomplishments outside the pool were equally extraordinary.

Seidt graduated with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average while earning a bachelor's degree in kinesiology before enrolling in UK’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Her combination of athletic achievement, academic excellence, leadership and service culminated in perhaps the most prestigious honor available to a collegiate student-athlete.

In 2020, Seidt became the first person in University of Kentucky history to receive the NCAA Woman of the Year award, selected from more than 600 nominees representing all three NCAA divisions and every women’s sport.

For Seidt, however, the award’s lasting significance isn’t the trophy itself.

She remembers the people who celebrated alongside her.

The announcement came during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She had begun physical therapy school, rarely saw classmates in person and had not reunited with many of her swimming teammates since graduation.

Then she heard car horns outside her family’s home.

“The entire swim team drove by with signs, notes and decorations,” Seidt said. “Almost every person who had been part of my four years at Kentucky showed up. That’s what I remember the most.”

The moment reinforced something she had already learned throughout her time on campus.

“Community is everything,” she said. And that same sense of community carried over into the College of Health Sciences.

Initially, Seidt envisioned continuing her competitive swimming career while beginning physical therapy school. When the pandemic disrupted those plans, faculty members offered unwavering support, even encouraging her to defer enrollment if she wanted to continue training professionally.

“They basically told me, ‘If that’s what you want to do, your seat will be here,’” Seidt said. “When people support your goals like that, why would you ever not want to be at that place?”

Ultimately, she chose physical therapy.

Her interest in the profession grew naturally through years of studying movement as an elite swimmer.

“I became fascinated with how the body moves,” Seidt said. “Swimming is so technical. You’re constantly thinking about biomechanics — how your hand enters the water, how your feet touch the wall. That curiosity eventually led me to physical therapy.”

She quickly discovered that many of the traits required to succeed in Division I athletics translated directly into healthcare.

Time management. Goal setting. Discipline. Building relationships.

“I think there’s a lot of overlap,” she said. “You learn how to manage your time, how to stay motivated even when motivation isn’t always there, and how important community is. In PT school, just like swimming, you rely on the people around you.”

One of those people was longtime physical therapy professor Dr. Tim Uhl, who served as her faculty advisor.

“He always cared,” Seidt said. “He’d stay late to help students, and even now he’s someone I know I can reach out to professionally.”

Today, Seidt is doing what she envisioned years ago — helping patients regain movement and improve their quality of life while remaining connected to the sport she loves through youth swim coaching.

Looking back, she has no regrets about choosing physical therapy over extending her competitive swimming career.

“There are always those ‘what if’ thoughts,” she admitted. “But I love the work I’m doing. I love helping people.”

As she prepares to enter the UK Athletics Hall of Fame at just 28 years old, Seidt hopes future healthcare students understand that success is measured by more than awards.

“The connections you make aren’t temporary,” she said. “The friendships, the relationships, the support system — those stay with you. That’s what made my experience at Kentucky so special.”

The new Hall of Famers will be inducted during UK’s Hall of Fame Weekend on September 25-26.