Growing NCAA College Field Hockey
The 2024 NCAA college field hockey season is in full swing, with almost 300 colleges and universities competing for conference titles and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. College field hockey is going strong, with approximately 7,000 student-athletes playing in fierce competitions and rivalries across all divisions. The 2024 NCAA Championships will take place on November 22 to 24, with Division I being held at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., Division II at Limestone University in Gaffney, S.C., and Division III at Washington and Lee in Lexington, Va.
This fall, a new program was welcomed to the Division III lineup – Penn State Harrisburg. They celebrated their inaugural home game on September 4, 2024, and are off to a successful start. Read more below.
The 2025 season is slated to welcome four additional NCAA programs: Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y. (DIII), Barton College in Wilson, N.C. (DII), Dominican University in Orangeburg, N.Y. (DII) and University of Hartford in Hartford, Conn. (DIII). Growing the collegiate footprint has been a targeted effort of Field Hockey Forward, a USA Field Hockey and NFHCA partner initiative. More collegiate programs mean more opportunities for student-athletes to continue to pursue competitive field hockey while continuing their education.
More About Penn State Harrisburg
It was announced in 2023 that Penn State Harrisburg would make the jump from a club to varsity program for the 2024 season, giving head coach AJ Misselhorn, who previously coached at Indiana University, a chance to build out her team.
“I’m so grateful to be able to start a brand new program and grow the sport that I love,” said Misselhorn. “I’m very thankful that I was hired in June 2023 and given a year to build and recruit talented student-athletes. Our Athletic Director Rahsaan Carlton gave our field hockey program over a year to prepare for this moment and get some structures in place before our first NCAA fall season.”
For their home opener on September 4, the team had the full support of the Penn State Harrisburg Athletics Department.
“Our Athletic Director Rahsaan Carlton and Penn State Harrisburg did a fantastic collaboration to get our Athletic Department, our Sports Information Director, other coaches, Development Office, Marketing Office and Chancellor’s office to invite all the faculty, staff, department chairs, coaches and students to create excitement around our first home game,” commented Misselhorn.
U.S. Women’s National Team Manager Krista Page and Beijing 2008 Olympian Dana Sensenig Risser attended and gave motivational speeches to the team and spoke about the growth and success of Field Hockey Forward at the Chancellor’s Reception.
“It was a beautiful day for hockey as the growth of our program from day one last year to our first home game was amazing to see the progress made so early,” added Misselhorn.
Penn State Harrisburg has already seen several milestones achieved this season, from winning their opening match against Lycoming, to winning the home opener against FDU-Florham. As of today, Penn State Harrisburg is currently 6-3, with fifth-year graduate transfer Natalie Rocuskie leading the offense. Rocuskie also tallied the game winning penalty stroke in the match against FDU-Florham. Sophomore Maggie Kutz, who made her first start against Sweet Briar on September 13, made history by becoming the first known athlete with Down Syndrome to play collegiate field hockey.
