Kelly Nash is the 2024 NEWHA Coach of the Year.
Nash has guided the Sharks to the conference's regular-season title each of her first two seasons as LIU's coach as well as to the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in her inaugural season in 2022-23.
A two-time national champion during her collegiate playing career, and with extensive experience coaching at the pro and college levels, Nash joined LIU Athletics as women’s ice hockey head coach in June 2022.
She arrived from the Premier Hockey Federation’s Metropolitan Riveters, where she served as associate head coach and head scout during the 2021-22 season.
Nash previously played with the Riveters, including on their Isobel Cup championship-winning team in 2018.
She spent a combined six seasons as an assistant coach at the collegiate level. Her focus at Vermont (2013-17) and Princeton (2017-19) centered on player development, recruiting, practice planning, and video analysis and scouting.
During her collegiate playing career, Nash produced 22 goals and 47 assists in 153 career games with the Wisconsin Badgers spanning four seasons. She earned the team’s Jeff Sauer Award as the “most dedicated player” as a senior and graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Nash worked with LeagueApps, a youth-sports management platform, in addition to her duties with the Riveters immediately before joining LIU. Her responsibilities included managing the company’s partnership with the NHL, particularly the league’s “Learn to Play” and “Breaking the Ice” initiatives.
