Head Coach

Steve Jennings

Head Coach Steve Jennings will enter his 24th season at the helm of the American University field hockey program in the fall of 2022. One of the most decorated field hockey coaches in the country, he holds an overall record of 284-151 (.653), including a staggering 103-25 (.805) in the Patriot League. 

On a national level, Jennings' involvement with the Women’s National Team spanned a 13-year period. He was a part of key tournaments including the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing–where the team finished 8th, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro–where we finished 5th, the 2002 World Cup in Perth, Australia–a 10th place finish, the 2006 World Cup in Madrid, Spain–a 6th place finish, two Pan American Games–where the team won a silver and gold medal, and finally the 2016 Champions Trophy in London where the team won bronze.

Throughout his illustrious career, Jennings has led the Eagles to 10 undefeated conference seasons, 12 Patriot League titles and 11 NCAA Tournament berths. Among those postseason runs were two Elite Eight appearances in 2004 and 2005.

In 2018, he became one of only 27 coaches in Division I field hockey history to reach 250 career victories. As of 2021, he ranked 20th all-time among Division I field hockey coaches with his .650 win percentage, and 25th with 271 wins. He was also 50th all-time among all divisions for his total wins.

Jennings earned his 10th Patriot League Field Hockey Coach of the Year honor in 2021 after guiding the Eagles to their 12th Patriot League title and 11th NCAA Tournament appearance. American went 13-4 through the regular season, including a perfect 6-0 in conference play, en route to an NCAA Tournament First Round battle at Iowa. The Eagles nearly upset the Hawkeyes, who had ranked No. 1 in Division I for much of the season, before falling, 3-2.

The 2021 season also marked American's return to the NFHCA Division I rankings for the first time since 2019. The team peaked at its highest spot since 2011 with a #15 ranking heading into the NCAA Tournament.

The Eagles also continued to dominate the postseason awards, highlighted by a second-consecutive Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for senior Aidan Rossman, and the program's first Goalkeeper of the Year since 2018, and only the third in program history, with sophomore Bryn Underwood. Graduate student Noor Coenen and senior Georgia Davies joined Underwood on the First Team All-Patriot League while Rossman and grad student Gaby de Kock earned spots on the Second Team All-League. Coenen (First Team), Davies (Second Team), and Underwood (Second Team) also earned All-Region selections.

2021 marked the end of an illustrious career for Coenen, who added her third NFHCA All-America honor to her resume. One of the most successful players in AU history, she ranks fourth in the career record books for points (137), second for goals (55), and ninth for assists (27).

One of the most well-balanced programs in the country, the Eagles also had success in the classroom with Rossman, Underwood and senior Josie Formica earning selections to the Patriot League All-Academic Team. Rossman and Underwood, along with Kendall Jung, Katelyn Bailey, Gaby de Kock, and Tayla-Jade Weiss were also selected as NFHCA Scholars of Distinction. A total of 22 Eagles made the NFHCA Academic Squad while the team earned its 19th consecutive NFHCA National Academic Team Award.

Throughout his over two decades at AU, Jennings has mentored a multitude of student-athletes to success on nearly every level, including the 2008 Junior Pan-American Games Player of the Tournament, Christine Fingerhuth. Jennings has guided 17 players to 24 All-America selections, including 2019 graduate Rafaela Rubas who also closed her illustrious career as one of three players in program history to earn four consecutive All-Region honors along with Magdalena Aguilar (1999-02) and Camila Infante (2003-06). Now, Noor Coenen joined that illustrious group with her fifth consecutive All-Region selection and third All-American honor. In all, the Eagles have amassed 81 All-Region selections during the Jennings era.

The list of accolades continues to grow on the conference level, with 10 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year awards, 11 Defensive Players of the Year, and three Goalkeepers of the Year. Nine Eagles have also been selected as PL Rookies of the Year, five of which went on to earn either Offensive or Defensive Player of the Year later in their career. Since joining the Patriot League in 2001, Jennings has helped guide his players to a staggering 105 All-Patriot League First and Second Team awards.

For all their success on the field, Jennings student-athletes have been equally successful in the classroom. Since 2003, 11 of Jennings' teams earned one of the top-five GPA's in Division I field hockey, including three seasons with the top GPA in the country - 2011 (3.55), 2013 (3.58), and 2015 (3.65).

In AU's 21 seasons as a member of the Patriot League, the Eagles have earned 12 Patriot League Field Hockey Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, including five consecutive selections with Grace Wilson (2014), Natalie Konerth (2015, 2016), and Maura Jacobs (2017, 2018). Konerth is also one of two Eagles to be selected as a CoSIDA Academic All-American along with Heidi Hershberger.

As his teams and student-athletes continued to collect accolades on both the conference and national level, so too did Jennings as he was named the 2004 NFHCA Division I Coach of the Year, was inducted into the NFHCA Hall of Fame in 2012, and named an Honorary Member of the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014. Jennings was also selected as the U.S. Junior National Team head coach in 2012 and served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women's National Team six times. He holds a Level III coaching certification - the highest level for field hockey in the U.S. - and in May 2008 became the first U.S. citizen to be awarded the Title of Federation International de Hockey (FIH) Coach - High Performance.