Sammie Charters - Volleyball Coach - University of Tennessee Athletics

Sammie Charters

Title:
Associate Athletic Trainer - Volleyball
Email:
scharter@utk.edu
Phone:
(865) 974-1916

Sammie Charters joined the sports medicine staff full time in June of 2015. Serving as an Associate Athletic Trainer, she was recently promoted to Co-Manager of the East Athletic Training Room in July of 2024 and serves as the primary athletic trainer with the volleyball and women’s golf teams. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, she oversees the Assistant Athletic Trainer for men’s and women’s tennis and the intern athletic trainer for the Tennessee spirit programs. Her current administrative duties include Nike ordering and inventory, assisting with Graduate Assistant/Intern hiring, new staff orientation & onboarding, women’s health liaison and Graduate Assistant/Intern education programming.

During Charters’ second season with volleyball, the Lady Vols enjoyed one of the best campaigns in program history in 2023, advancing to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2005, hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and earning the program's best-ever national seed at No. 10. She worked with four All-Americans, including 2023 AVCA Southeast Region Player of the Year and SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Morgahn Fingall as well as freshman standout and All-SEC setter Caroline Kerr.

A staple with the program since the 2016-17 season, Charters continues to serve women’s golf during an impressive stretch, as the team boasts seven NCAA Regional appearances in eight years (excludes the 2019-20 season) and a pair of NCAA Championships berths in 2019 and 2025. During the 2024-25 golf season, the Lady Vols posted eight top-five finishes and a 13th-place showing at the 2025 NCAA Championships while also advancing to the match play portion at the SEC Championships. Additionally, UT compiled an overall record of 109-62-4 and eclipsed the 100 head-to-head wins mark for the first time since 2019. Throughout her time with the program, Charters has worked with two-time All-American Anna Newell and All-SEC performer Michaela Williams.

Charters previously served as the athletic trainer for Tennessee softball from 2015-2022. During her seven seasons with the Lady Vols, UT hosted the NCAA Knoxville Regional every year, reached the Super Regional round three times and finished top-4 in the Southeastern Conference on five occasions. She oversaw medical care for 14 All-SEC players and five NFCA All-Americans, including 2017 SEC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year Finalist Meghan Gregg.

Charters also served as a two-year graduate assistant athletic trainer at Tennessee from 2013-2015, earning a Master of Science in Recreation and Sport Management. She worked directly with the Lady Vol tennis team.

Prior to arrival at Tennessee, Charters worked as an Intern Athletic Trainer at Missouri State University for the 2012-2013 season. There she was responsible for the health care of the field hockey and women's cross-country teams.

A native of Chesapeake, VA, Charters received her Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from James Madison University in 2012. While at JMU, she worked directly with JMU Women’s Soccer, East Mennonite University spring sports, JMU Football, and JMU Softball. She worked various summer camps as a sports medicine student at the University of Virginia, College of William & Mary, and Old Dominion University in 2010 and 2011. Additionally, she served as the Madison Athletic Training Student Association President and earned the JMU Director’s award her senior year.

Charters is a board-certified athletic trainer and licensed through the Tennessee Board of Health. She is trained in Sound Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (SASTM), Myofascial Decompression, Level II Kinesiotaping, Level I Graston Technique, certified in Blood Flow Restriction Therapy through Northeastern Seminars & BStrong, QPR Institute, McKenzie Spine Institute Course A, Postural Respiration Institute Myokinematic course, and a Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She has also served as an American Heart Association CPR instructor since 2019.

Updated: September 2024