Kelsey Koelzer, head coach of the women’s hockey program at Arcadia University in Glenside, was featured in NHL News in an article titled “Color of Hockey: ‘Rising star’ Koelzer excelling as 1st Black woman coach of NCAA team“.
The story details Koelzer’s ascent as the first Black woman to lead an NCAA hockey team, a program she began building from scratch in 2019.
“My initial qualms or nervousness my first year of coaching was just kind of wondering how much passion I truly would have for it and how much I would like it,” she said. “But it’s been so awesome, and at this point, I can’t picture myself doing anything else.”
Under Koelzer, the Knights won their first Middle Atlantic Conference women’s hockey championship in the program’s third season in 2024, going 15-10-0 and 13-7-0 in the MAC.
Arcadia is 16-3-3 this season, second in the eight-team conference (14-2-2), and 9-0-2 on the road.
“Kelsey has lived up to the expectations we had for her from Day 1,” Arcadia athletic director Brian Granata said. “We saw a rising star in the industry, someone that certainly early on was young and inexperienced in her professional career, but we felt she had a tremendous upside. She obviously played at a high level and has a very good IQ and was invested in becoming a successful coach here at Arcadia, and that’s really come to fruition.”
In related news, Jamison Lynam, a freshman point guard for Arcadia’s men’s basketball team, was featured by Philly Sports Nation in an article titled “Once Again the Lynam Name is Basketball Gold in Philadelphia“.
According to the story, Lynam is the grandson of Philadelphia basketball legend Jimmy Lynam, a former star at West Catholic High School and St. Joseph’s University, and a former NBA General Manager and head coach of the 76ers between 1987–1994.
This season, he’s averaging 14.0 points per game and 3.4 assists for the Knights.
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Photos: Arcadia University, The New York Times via Philly Sports Nation