Sophie Verzyl has always been a great diver, and recently some of her childhood athletic dreams have begun to come true.

She is a member of Team USA and the University of South Carolina’s diving team.

The Columbia, South Carolina, native is pursuing her career in diving and business through USC. She started diving at the Blatt PE Center at the age of 8.

Verzyl took a gap year last school year to train at RipFest Diving at the Indiana Diving Academy. RipFest is the world’s largest elite diving training camp, offering 40 hours per week of training and allowing divers to pursue their dreams of personal and diving excellence.

She trained with Olympic diving coach John Wingfield.

“It was super rewarding to watch her grow athletically, technically, competitively and personally,” Wingfield said. “I love when she has an ‘epiphany’ moment when the light goes off in what we are trying to achieve.”

Verzyl’s day in the life at RipFest consisted of dry-land training at 7:30 a.m. for about three hours, conditioning training and practicing flips and acrobatic out of the pool. She then exercised, stretcheds or did Pilates till around 11:15. Then she took an hour for lunch, followed by three hours of training in the water, then weightlifting.

“This training style completely shaped me as an athlete, … making me able to develop talent much faster than the average diver in the U.S.,” Verzyl said.

Wingfield also focuses on sports psychology for his athletes to better their mental strength for competing at high levels.

“We even had Navy SEALs come and talk to us about techniques they use,” Verzyl said.

Her hard work paid off this year, as she was rewarded with several world and national titles. In 2025 alone, she received a gold medal on the 3-meter springboard at the USA nationals, the Jr. Pan American Games, the American Cup and SEC championships, and a silver medal for the 1-meter springboard at SEC Championships. This adds to her hefty collection of golds, silvers, and bronzes from meets around the world, including the World Championship Games. She has been named SEC Diver of the Week 10 times. And she finished in fifth place in 2024’s Olympic diving trials.

Her achievements also are well documented in synchronized diving as well.

“Knowing that I have fulfilled one of my childhood dreams of traveling the world and competing for the USA is hard to put into words,” Verzyl said.

Sophie’s father, Scott Verzyl, “knew she was always going to be an athlete,” he said. “… She seemed to have an extra level, another gear to go into, no matter what sport she played.”

Scott Verzyl is the vice president for Enrollment Management and dean of admissions at USC. Having Sophie competing close to home has been a blessing for her family, he said.

“We have been able to attend most of her meets, which I love,” he said. “… If she had gone away further for college, we would not have been able to be as supportive and present for her.”

Her encouraging and lighthearted attitude is another way she is recognized in the sport.

“Sophie is simply loved by her teammates, others in the sport of diving, and comrades throughout the world due to her unassuming personality, non-judgmental interactions and her quiet confidence,” Wingfield said.

Her father also describes her athletic achievements as wonderful. But they’re not what define her, he said. Sports is just one aspect of who she is.

Verzyl is also highly accomplished in school as well. She is a graduate of the USC Honors College and is now a graduate student in the Master of Sports and Entertainment Management program. She earned an academic honors certification and completed her thesis while overseas competing during the World Championships this past summer. 

And she just got her first tattoo, on her ankle. It is three small stars, representing the stars and stripes of America, since she competed on the national team this past year.

“It is a reminder of how far I have come, and I am hoping my next tattoo will be of the five Olympic rings,” she said.

Verzyl’s goals are to continue helping the team at USC and defend her SEC and national titles.

An ambitious goal is to break a school record like her former teammate, Brooke Schultz, and to compete in the 2028 Olympics.