Honors & Awards
- One Career Top-10 Finish
- Five Career Top-25 Finishes (1, 2018-19)
- Tied for 39th at Big Ten Championships (2016)
- Tied for 66th at Big Ten Championships (2019)
- 79th at Big Ten Championships (2018)
- WGCA Scholastic All-American (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020)
- Academic All-Big Ten (2018, 2019, 2020)
- Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019; Spring 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020)
- Nebraska Heart & Soul Award (2020)
- Sam Foltz Hero 27 Leadership Award (2018)
- Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
- Trusted Choice Big "I" National Champion (2015)
- Nebraska Women's Amateur Champion (2017)
- Nebraska Women's Amateur Stroke Play Champion (2017)
- Two-Time Nebraska Girls Amateur of the Year (2013, 2014)
- Two-Time Nebraska Girls Match Play Champion (2013, 2014)
- Nebraska Girls Match Play Runner-Up (2015)
- Nebraska Girls Stroke Play Champion (2013)
- Nebraska Girls Stroke Play Runner-Up (2014, 2015)
- Three Top-15 Finishes at Nebraska Class C Boys State Tournament (2013, 2014, 2015)
- Three-Time Nebraska Four-State Team Member (2012, 2013, 2014)
Best Career Finish: T6th (UNO, 2017)
Career Stroke Average: 77.14
Senior (2019-20)
Fifth-year senior Haley Thiele (pronounced TEEL) continued to contribute for the Huskers by posting a 77.80 stroke average over 15 rounds. The two-time Nebraska Girls Amateur of the Year out of Wahoo closed her Husker career with a 77.14 average over 100 rounds.
Thiele opened her senior year with a tie for 51st (77-75-74-226) at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. (Sept. 9-10). She added a 240 (84-80-76) to finish 91st at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colo. (Sept. 23-25), but did not compete for the Huskers at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational. Thiele closed the fall by tying for 71st (82-78-74-234) in an 87-player field in the Battle at the Beach in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (Nov. 1-3). She opened the spring with a 244 (80-81-83) to finish 79th at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.
She produced her best tournament total of the season with a 223 (73-75-75) at the Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 23-24).
Thiele was a star in the classroom and community for Nebraska. She was a four-time WGCA Scholastic All-American and was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2019. She was a five-time member of Nebraska’s Tom Osborne Citizenship Team and was one of just five Huskers across all sports to earn a prestigious Nebraska Heart & Soul Award for her outstanding community service in 2020.
Junior (2018-19)
Thiele joined Kate Smith and Kirsten Baete in Nebraska’s lineup for all 27 rounds in 2018-19. She made adjustments to her swing and saw better results while continuing to overcome injuries. Thiele got off to a solid start, tying for 35th with a 228 (77-76-75) at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. (Sept. 17-19).
She produced her best overall performance with a season-best 218 (72-68-78) to help Nebraska to a team title at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz. (Feb. 24-25). Her season-best four-under 68 was part of Nebraska’s season-best 276 in the second round. She tied for 35th individually.
Thiele battled injury the next time out at the Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. (March 15-17), settling for a 244 (81-82-81) to finish 73rd. She battled back to tie for 29th with a 229 (76-77-76) to close the regular season at the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio (April 13-14). Thiele closed the season with Nebraska’s top individual round - a one-under-par 71 - on the final day of the Big Ten Championship. She tied for 66th at 155 (84-71) in the weather-shortened event at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
She closed the year with NU’s No. 4 stroke average (76.93), which ranked as the 10th-best average by a junior in school history.
Thiele notched her best individual tournament finish of the season by tying for 21st at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colo. (Sept. 24-26). She led the Huskers with a 219, including a three-under 69 in the final round.
Thiele managed a 234 (77-80-77) to tie for 75th at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate (Oct. 5-7). She added a tie for 74th with a 230 (76-77-77) at UNLV (Oct. 21-23). She closed the fall in a tie for 53rd (81) at the rain-shortened Rainbow Wahine Invite (Oct. 31).
Thiele opened the spring with a 239 (78-81-80) over three rounds at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic (Feb. 10-12) to tie for 76th.
Sophomore (2017-18)
Thiele returned to the Nebraska lineup after redshirting with a wrist injury in 2016-17. She got off to a strong start with a career-best tie for sixth with a 227 (72-77-78) at the UNO Invitational at ArborLinks in Nebraska City (Sept. 1-2).
She tied for 44th over two rounds of stroke play (79-78-157) at the East & West Match Play Challenge in Madison, Wis. (Sept. 17). She tied for 30th (78-82-80-240) in challenging scoring conditions at Nebraska’s Chip-N Club Invitational at Wilderness Ridge (Oct. 1-3). She added a tie for 60th at the Pinehurst Challenge in North Carolina (Oct. 9-10) despite a 225 (73-74-78). Thiele added a 231 (75-75-81) to tie for 72nd while playing as an individual at the UNLV Collegiate Showdown (Oct. 22-24).
She struggled to a 259 to finish 66th at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic (Feb. 11-13), but bounced back with her best score of the year with a 218 (74-68-76) at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz. (Feb. 25-26). Her second-round 68 was a season best.
Thiele managed a 249 (86-80-83) to finish 81st at the Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. (March 16-18). She did not compete in the regular-season finale at Mountain View in Tucson, Ariz. (March 23-25), before finishing 79th with a 244 (80-82-82) at the 2018 Big Ten Championships in Maineville, Ohio (April 20-22).
Redshirt (2016-17)
Thiele redshirted with a wrist injury as a true sophomore in 2016-17.
Freshman (2015-16)
Thiele set Nebraska’s freshman record with a 75.63 stroke average while playing all 32 rounds for the Huskers. The previous NU freshman mark was set by Kate White (76.94) in 2006-07 and has since been broken by teammate Kate Smith (73.90) in 2016-17. Thiele produced Nebraska’s No. 2 finish at the 2016 Big Ten Championships, closing her season with a 222 (75-73-74) at The Fort Golf Resort in Indianapolis (April 22-24). Her tie for 39th was the second-best finish by a Husker freshman at a Big Ten Tournament, trailing only Cassie Deeg’s 32nd in 2013.
Thiele tied the then-Nebraska freshman record with a five-under 67 in the first round of the UNLV Collegiate Showdown (Oct. 25).
She went on to smash Nebraska’s freshman tournament record, while matching first-team All-American Sarah Sasse’s then-school-record tournament score of 209 (67-69-73). Thiele finished in a tie for 18th at UNLV.
Thiele finished 11th with a 214 at the Pinehurst Challenge (Oct. 12-13), which included a four-under 68 in the second round. A week earlier, she tied for 17th with a 226 (77-72-77) at Nebraska’s Chip-N Club Invitational at the Country Club of Lincoln (Oct. 5-6). She competed as an individual outside the Husker lineup.
Thiele, who finished with four rounds better than par in 2015-16, fired a one-under 71 in the second round of the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invite to open her career. She was NU’s No. 2 finisher, tying for 39th (88-71-76-235) to lead the players inside the Husker lineup at Colbert Hills (Sept. 7-8).
She tied for 60th (78-76-81-235) at the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, Colo. (Sept. 21-23).
She opened the spring by finishing 49th (83-75-158) at the Peg Barnard Invitational in Stanford, Calif. (Feb. 13-14). Thiele matched Cassie Deeg as NU’s No. 2 finisher (76-74-73-223) to tie for 53rd at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz. (Feb. 21-22).
Thiele tied for 49th with a 232 (75-82-75) at the Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. (March 11-13), before tying for 31st with a 226 (72-78-76) at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Hawaii Invitational, March 22-23.
She tied for 85th (78-79-84-241) in a loaded 18-team field at the Silverado Showdown in Napa, Calif. (April 3-5).
High School/Amateur
In the summer of 2015, Thiele captured the Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship a week after tying for third at the Optimist International Junior Championship. She also tied for fifth at the North & South Junior Amateur.
In 2014, Thiele took fourth at the Trusted Choice Big “I” after finishing 12th at the event in 2013.
A two-time Nebraska Girls Amateur of the Year (2013, 2014), Thiele claimed back-to-back state Girls Match Play crowns, while adding the 2013 Nebraska Girls Stroke Play title. She also won the 2013 Nebraska Junior PGA Championship.
A three-time Nebraska Four-State Team member, Thiele was a three-time Nebraska Class C Boys High School State Golf Tournament top-15 finisher. Bishop Neumann did not sponsor girls golf, but Thiele helped her school to a Class C state runner-up finish in 2015 by finishing fourth individually (74-73-147) at Holmes Golf Course in Lincoln, just two strokes back of the boys champion.
Thiele tied for 11th (80-73-153) at the 2014 Nebraska Class C tournament and tied for 13th (80-81-161) at the Class C boys meet as a sophomore. She finished 35th (86-82-168) as a freshman.
In the summer of 2014, Thiele qualified for the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur Championship by winning a sectional qualifying tournament at the Elks Country Club in Columbus with a one-under-par 71. She competed at the U.S. Junior Championships in Flagstaff, Ariz. Thiele also qualified to compete at the 2015 Junior PGA Championships. She tied for 59th at the 2014 PGA Junior Championship at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C.
Thiele defended her state junior match play title in 2014 with a win over her sister. Hannah Thiele settled for second with a loss to her sister in the 2015 final. Haley also finished second to her sister in the 2014 and 2015 state stroke play events.
Thiele was a three-sport high school standout at Bishop Neumann, competing in golf, basketball and volleyball. She drew recruiting interest in all three sports. She was the top female golfer in the state her final three years of high school.
In basketball, Thiele was a second-team All-Nebraska pick by the Omaha World-Herald and a third-team Super-State choice by the Lincoln Journal Star in 2014 and 2015. The two-time first-team Class C-1 all-stater averaged 20.6 points per game as a 5-8 senior shooting guard for the Cavaliers. She averaged 20.5 points per game as a junior in 2014. She also played summer basketball for the Husker Elite and coaches Doug Goltz and Kevin Thiele.
As a volleyball player, Thiele was a starting outside hitter. As a junior in 2013, she produced 142 kills and 335 digs, before adding 145 kills and 317 digs as a senior in 2014.
Personal
Haley is the daughter of Kevin and Lisa Thiele and has four younger sisters, Hannah, Lindsey, Lauren and Brooke. A nutrition, health science and dietetics major, Haley earned her bachelor's degree from Nebraska in May of 2020. She was a four-time WGCA Scholastic All-American (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020). She earned academic All-Big Ten honors in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and was a nine-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. A Sam Foltz Hero 27 Leadership Award winner in 2018, Thiele was one of just five Huskers across all sports to earn a prestigious Nebraska Heart & Soul Award in 2020. She was a five-time Tom Osborne Citizenship Team member.
Thiele's Career Statistics
|
Year |
Rounds |
Strokes |
Avg. |
Low 18 |
Low 54 |
|
2015-16 |
32 |
2,420 |
75.63 |
67 |
209 |
|
2016-17 |
Redshirt |
|
|
|
|
|
2017-18 |
26 |
2,050 | 78.85 | 68 | 218 |
|
2018-19 |
27 |
2,077 | 76.93 | 68 | 218 |
| 2019-20 | 15 | 1,167 | 77.80 | 73 | 223 |
|
Totals |
100 |
7,714 |
77.14 |
67 |
209 |