Virginia Names Ole Keusgen New Field Hockey Head Coach

Ole Keusgen has been named the next head coach of the Virginia field hockey program, UVA director of athletics Carla Williams announced on Tuesday. Keusgen, who has been on UVA's staff since 2015, becomes the ninth head coach in program history.

“Ole has been an integral part of our field hockey program’s success over the past decade and we are very excited to elevate him to head coach,” said Carla Williams. “He is a skilled teacher and gifted tactician, but most importantly he is an inspirational leader who cares about the overall development of young people. We are fortunate to have someone of Ole’s caliber leading our program.”

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒!!!!!
Ole Keusgen has been named the ninth head coach in program history #GoHoos ⚔️
🔗https://t.co/SU37MT9c3K pic.twitter.com/2Tmioq07PI
— Virginia Field Hockey (@UVAFieldHockey) November 21, 2023

Keusgen had been serving as UVA's head coach on an interim basis since October 26th, when head coach Michele Madison went on leave for undisclosed reasons. Madison has now formally vacated her position, but there has still been no official word as to the circumstances surrounding her departure. In 18 seasons at Virginia, Madison held a 257-141 overall record and coached the Cavaliers to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, three Final Fours, and the 2016 ACC Championship.

Keusgen took over as interim head coach just before postseason play began and proceeded to lead the Cavaliers to a 3-2 record, winning one ACC Tournament game and then two NCAA Tournament games, including a 4-0 victory at No. 4 Maryland in the quarterfinals to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2019. UVA's 2023 season ultimately ended with a 2-0 loss to No. 1 North Carolina the semifinals.

“It is an absolute honor to be named the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers,” Keusgen said. “I would like to thank president Jim Ryan, director of athletics Carla Williams and deputy athletics director Steve Pritzker for allowing me the opportunity to lead this gifted and incredible group of young women and those who will follow them. The University of Virginia is a truly special place, one that I love dearly, and I am grateful to continue to be able to represent it and all that it stands for.”

Keusgen was brought onto Virginia's staff as an assistant in 2015 and he was promoted to associate head coach in May of 2021. In his nine years at Virginia, Keusgen coached the Cavaliers to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, two Final Fours, an ACC regular season title in 2017, and the ACC Tournament Championship in 2016.

“This year, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first game in our program’s history,” Keusgen said. “It was an amazing opportunity to reflect on how much success the Virginia field hockey teams have had over the years. I have seen that for myself in my nine years here and am very excited about the opportunity to continue that tradition and take us to the next level. We made it to the Final Four this year, which was awesome, but it has also left us wanting more. Our team is ready to take that next step, to win an NCAA Championship, and I can’t wait to get started on doing what we need to do to make that happen.”

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