Western New York native Kelsey Devine was named head coach for the Nazareth University field hockey team in January of 2024.
In her first season as head coach in 2024, DeVine turned a one-win team in 2023 to a nine-win team (9-8), delivering the first winning season for the program since 2007. Nazareth put together six conference wins which marked the most-ever in the history of the program. The Golden Flyers earned the No. 4 seed for the Empire 8 tournament, eventually bowing out to St. John Fisher, 3-0.
First-year Michaela Cushman burst onto the scene in 2024 with 13 goals and 6 assists en route to being named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. Five Golden Flyers were named all-conference in 2024, including Audra Mieczcowski earning a first team nod.
The Clarence, NY native and graduate of SUNY Brockport came to Nazareth after two seasons as assistant coach at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Devine graduated from Brockport after a four-year playing career and worked as an assistant coach for the Golden Eagles for three seasons before moving on to Denison.
She helped the Big Red to an overall record of 24-12 and a record of 15-3 in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play. The team played in a pair of conference tournaments, winning the title in 2023 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The 2023 coaching staff earned the NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year award.
At Brockport, she finished her career with 49 starts in 51 games, scored two goals and added one career assist as a defensive midfielder. She was named to the SUNYAC All-Conference Second Team in both 2016 and 2018. In her senior year, she earned SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Week, led the SUNYAC in defensive saves and was tied for second in the country with 12 defensive saves.
Following her playing career for the Golden Eagles, Devine joined the coaching staff at Brockport for three seasons. She helped the Golden Eagles finish the 2019 season with a 9-8 record overall, followed by a 7-8 mark in 2021. The team did not play during the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020.
During the same time, she was one of the head coaches of the U16 club teams in Rochester, Empire United Club Field Hockey team and assisted with the Williamsville Stampede Club team.
The 2018 graduate earned her Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science and graduated with her master’s degree in psychology (general research) from Brockport in 2022.
