Virginia Athletic Director Carla Williams announced Tuesday that interim Coach Ole Keusgen has been named the permanent head coach for Virginia field hockey. Keusgen served as the interim head coach for the ACC and NCAA Tournaments after it was announced that former coach Michelle Madison had been placed on leave by the University late last month.
Keusgen has been in the Virginia program since 2015 when he was hired as an assistant coach. He was then promoted to associate head coach in 2021. During his time in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers have won one ACC regular season championship and one ACC tournament title, the latter being their only in school history. In addition, Virginia has advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals twice, with the most recent being in 2023. Williams hopes he will be able to continue the Cavaliers’ success as he takes over the full-time position.
“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,” Williams said. “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.”
Prior to coming to Virginia, Keugsen played the sport professionally in Europe on one of the continent’s most prestigious teams, Uhlenhorst Mülheim, winning both the German Indoor championship and the Euro Indoor Club Cup in 2015. In addition, he was a member of the German national team that won a bronze medal in the 2013 World University Games. Finally, he has held various roles with USA Field Hockey, most notably serving as the head coach of the U19 National Team in 2019.
“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 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.”
The Cavaliers recently lost in the NCAA semifinals to North Carolina but will look to compete at the top of both the ACC and NCAA in 2024.
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