PHILADELPHIA – Hannah Prince has been selected as the new head coach of the Saint Joseph's field hockey program, Vice President and Director of Athletics Jill Bodensteiner announced on Wednesday.  A former Hawk assistant, Prince brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from her high-level playing and collegiate coaching careers into her first head coaching position.

"Thanks in large part to the success of our field hockey program under Lynn Farquhar, we had a tremendous pool of applicants for the head coach position," Bodensteiner said.  "I'm excited to announce that Hannah Prince, a superstar in the field hockey coaching world, will join Saint Joseph's Athletics.  Hannah is a great coach whose style mirrors the Jesuit ideal of developing the whole person.  I truly believe that Hannah is the perfect person to take us to the next level and can't wait to welcome her to Hawk Hill."
 
"First, I would like to thank Jill and [Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student Experience and field hockey program administrator] Renie Shields for believing in me and giving me this incredible opportunity to lead the Hawk program," Prince said.  "I have dreamed of taking over a successful program like the one here at Saint Joseph's.  Lynn did an amazing job growing this program and has been, and will continue to be, a mentor to me.  Making history with the Hawks as part of her staff, and now having this opportunity to start a new chapter as the head coach, is something words cannot describe."
 
Prince returns to Hawk Hill after spending the previous two seasons as the associate head coach at Louisville, where she helped lead the Cardinals to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.  Louisville reached the Final Four in the spring of 2021 after the NCAA Championship was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic and claimed the 2021 ACC regular season title last fall, going unbeaten in conference play.  The Cardinals spent the entirety of the 2021 season ranked in the top 10 of the NFHCA Coaches Poll and were ranked as high as third in the nation at one point.
 
During her two seasons at Saint Joseph's, the Hawks swept the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles, with the 2017 postseason crown clinching the program's first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament.  Prince was instrumental in the growth and development of four All-Americans in Tonya Botherway, Victoria Kammerinke, Pepa Serrano, and Anna Willocks; Kammerinke, Serrano, Willocks, and Kathrin Bentz would all go on to earn Atlantic 10 Offensive or Defensive Player of the Year honors as well.
 
After her tenure on Hawk Hill, Prince spent two years on the coaching staff at Princeton, helping guide the Tigers to the national championship game in 2019 before the squad's 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Princeton won the Ivy League title in 2019 as well, while its coaching staff was named the NFHCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year and Clara Roth earned Mid-Atlantic Player of the Year accolades.
 
Prince began her coaching career at New Hampshire, helping lead the Wildcats to the America East title game in each of her two seasons on campus, prior to coming to Saint Joseph's.
 
"In our search for the next head coach to lead the St. Joe's field hockey program, it was important to find a leader who valued our departmental goals of competitive excellence and transformative student-athlete experiences," Shields said.  "In our meetings with Hannah, it was clear she is a competitor who will work with our student-athletes to bring out their 'best selves,' both on and off the field."
 
"I look forward to getting to know the current Hawks and connecting with future Hawks as soon as possible," Prince said.  "My passion is to develop student-athletes as field hockey players and caring members of the amazing Philadelphia community.  Bringing in student-athletes who will fit with our mission is very important to me.
 
"I am honored to be a part of this Hawks program and Saint Joseph's University!  We will be working hard to get ready for our fall season and I cannot wait to see you on the sidelines this fall.  Go Hawks!"
 
Hailing from Gorham, Maine, Prince is a 2014 graduate of UMass, where she was a four-year starter and three-time Atlantic 10 champion and reached the NCAA quarterfinals with the Minutewomen in 2013.  She also played with the U.S. Women's Outdoor National Team before going on to serve as the captain of the Indoor National Team for six years, where she won a gold medal at the 2017 Pan American Cup and took part in the 2018 Indoor World Cup in Berlin, Germany.  Prince recently earned her USA Field Hockey Level 3 Coaching Certification, the highest level of accreditation currently offered by the organization, and graduated from the NCAA Women's Coaches Academy in 2018. 
 
What They're Saying About Coach Prince:
 
"Congratulations to Hannah on this great opportunity as she embarks on her first head coaching position.  She is one of the brightest young coaches out there and St. Joe's is lucky to have secured her.  Hannah was always destined to lead her own program and I wish her nothing but the best now and in the future."
– Justine Sowry, Head Coach, University of Louisville
 
"St. Joe's has made a great hire with Hannah Prince.  She has a relentless work ethic and an energy and passion for the sport that is contagious.  I am excited for Hannah to have this opportunity.  The St. Joe's program has risen into the ranks of being a consistent top-15 program; the decision on who to hire to lead the program forward was such a critical decision, and I think they made an excellent decision."
– Carla Tagliente, Head Coach, Princeton University
 
"Welcome back, Hannah!  Hannah epitomizes the ideals of selfless leadership and community and embraces the competitive greatness journey; I love her courage to take calculated risks and earn it!  This is the Hawk legacy, starting with role models such as Ellen Ryan, Michelle Finegan, Regina Johnson, and so many more.  The Hawk Will Never Die!"
– Lynn Farquhar, former head coach, Saint Joseph's University
 
"I am thrilled to see Hannah return to Saint Joseph's as a head coach after all the hard work she has put in at top schools.  Her 'never quit' attitude and high expectations were monumental in helping us win Atlantic 10 tournament titles when she was on our coaching staff in 2017 and 2018.  I am excited to see what she will do with one of the most talented groups of athletes I have seen represent Hawk field hockey."
– Nicholl Fenton '21, Saint Joseph's all-time leader in games played