(Photo: Casey McNulty/Sun Devil Athletics)
All-American, three-time Big 12 Champion, three Arizona State top-10 times and two top-two national times. What do these accolades have in common? ASU swim and dive senior Patrick Sammon collected all of them during the 2024-25 swim season.
When the season wrapped up, Patrick prepared to conclude his swimming career as a Sun Devil at the 2025 NCAA Championships. Amid his final collegiate competition, Patrick broke records in a familiar fashion and was a member of two national runner-up relays. In between defending ASU’s national title and establishing new personal bests, he stepped up to receive the Elite 90 Award.
The honor wasn’t praising his athletic feats. Instead, the Elite 90 Award recognizes the student-athlete with the highest GPA at each NCAA Championship. Like most student-athletes, Patrick’s identity lies beyond the lane lines of the pool. His most recent national recognition as the smartest athlete on deck was just one example.
Patrick swam with the Arizona State swim and dive program for four years. A strong foundation in family and an innate sense of determination fueled his academic and athletic drive, which ultimately helped him become one of the top swimmers on the team and in his class.
“[Swimming and school] go hand in hand,” Patrick said. “Communication is number one in being able to effectively talk with your coaches and professors. Having that skill down has been one of the reasons why I’ve been able to do so well in the pool… I’m sure it’ll go hand in hand when I’m in the real world.”
He put in the work in both the pool and the classroom, and now, Patrick will graduate in May with a Master of Real Estate Development. After he walks across the stage, he plans to pursue an entrepreneurial path and continue his swimming career professionally.
However, before he achieved his current success, he had to face the challenge that many student-athletes struggle to overcome: finding the perfect balance between prioritizing academics and athletics. Luckily for Patrick, he mastered his skill long before he became a Sun Devil.
“How you do anything is how you do everything,” Patrick said. “So I’ve been trying to live like that motto in school and swim.”
The pool has been calling Patrick’s name since he was young. Kim Sammon, Patrick’s mother, noticed his instincts early on but thought it was normal for children to want to be near the water.
“I had this kid that loved to jump in and swim at three years old,” Kim said. “I didn’t realize that was unique. He was really drawn to the water at an early age and comfortable in it. It confirmed our choice of putting him in swimming.”
They say a mother’s instinct is never wrong. When a family friend suggested the pursuit of a summer swim team, it only affirmed Kim’s observations. She described her son as a “natural athlete,” sharing that out of multiple sports, he was the “most gifted” at swimming.
Over the years, Patrick was able to recall the pure joy he felt while in the water. Although he had his struggles with the sport, all roads always led back to the pool.
“Ever since [I was young], I’ve had a love for the sport,” Patrick said. “There were definitely times I didn’t like the sport, but in the long run, I’d say it was worth it.”
As he became more confident in his swimming abilities, Patrick’s athleticism and mindset eventually led him to want to swim for Arizona State. His motivation channeled a love for his family, who would prove to be a monumental support system for the pressures of being recruited at the collegiate level.
One of Patrick’s biggest supporters is his brother, Quinn. Quinn has been with Patrick through the ups and downs of his swimming career. He remembers Patrick rigorously training every day to be fast enough to be recruited by ASU.
“As we got older, maybe when he started to get into high school before he went to ASU… we started to get really close,” Quinn said. “That’s also when he was working the hardest before going to ASU when he started getting in their sights and really developed as a swimmer.”
Through the tough times, Patrick found a safe space with his younger brother, while Quinn found a role model. To Quinn, nothing was more motivating than seeing the real version of his older brother and helping him in any way he could to achieve his goal of swimming for ASU. The two were each other’s rocks and constantly confided in one another.
“Pressure was definitely a thing for [Patrick],” Quinn said. “I guess he could come to me and vent about stuff. He really didn’t need to, though, he was able to solve his own problems, which was so inspiring for me to look up to.”
Although the brothers’ relationship didn’t blossom until recent years, it was established early on, according to Kim. In classic brotherly fashion, competition fueled every day of their childhood, and Kim attributed that foundation to Patrick’s fierce competitiveness today.
“The brotherly bond was there,” Kim said. “I think it helped Patrick realize that not everyone thinks like he does, that everything is an aggressive competition. I think it definitely grounded him.”
Patrick represented the iron will of never giving up, while Quinn balanced him with his calmer and supportive presence. There was no doubt that Patrick possessed the coveted skill of unwavering determination, but before he grew closer to his brother, he gave his all to every challenge he faced.
“It was innate,” Kim said. “He was always driven… he was very competitive, and it was very easily detected early on when he was little. He’s got that mindset, if you’re gonna do it, you do it 110%.”
This natural sense of initiative and commitment propelled Patrick forward in his life. Now that the end of Patrick’s collegiate journey is within his sights, he believes his mindset will continue to guide him as a professional swimmer and throughout his career.
However, for someone as driven and accomplished as Patrick, the mantra he plans to live by post-graduation is actually quite simple.
“Just take it day by day, see what happens,” he said.
