Kelsey Koelzer enter her fifth season behind the bench for Arcadia in 2025-26.
In 2024-25, Koelzer led the program to its first postseason win, while also coaching the first All-American in Karahkwenhawe White, along with three All-MAC selections.
In 2023-24, Koelzer led the Knights to their best finish in conference history and the first-ever home playoff game. The team had both the MAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year and the first-ever selections to the All-UCHC teams in Karahkwenhawe White and Hannah Bergeron. White was also named the MAC Women's Ice Hockey Senior Scholar-Athlete and Arcadia's NCAA Woman of the Year nominee.
Koelzer led the team to a playoff appearance in its inaugural season as the Knights went 9-10-1 in UCHC play, earning a trip to the quarterfinals. Five players were named All-MAC, including Co-Rookie of the Year Karahkwenhawe White. Four players were also named to the UCHC All-Rookie Team following 2021-22.
In Koelzer's second season, the Knights finished with 13 wins and another trip to the quarterfinals. Four players earned All-MAC including Offensive Player of the Year Morganne Dee and Rookie of the Year Abbi Komrofske. Under Koelzer's coaching, two players were also named to the UCHC All-Rookie Team in 2023.
A Horsham, Pa., native and graduate of Hatboro-Horsham High School, Koelzer enjoyed an illustrious Division I collegiate playing career. She was a three-time, First-team All-Ivy League honoree at Princeton University (including being named the Tigers' first First-team All-American), and was named Ivy League Player of the Year in 2016—a season that culminated in an Ivy League Championship and a trip to the NCAA national quarterfinals in Minneapolis, Minn.
Following the 2016 season, Koelzer was selected for the United States National Women's Ice Hockey Under-22 team and was a United States Olympic tryout participant a year later. In 2016, the Metropolitan Riveters made Koelzer the first-overall pick in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) Draft, making Koelzer the first African American to be the top selection in the highest level of American professional hockey. During the 2018 season, Koelzer led the Riveters to the NWHL Isobel Cup Championship and was named Co-MVP of the 2018 NWHL All-Star game.
In addition to her playing background, Koelzer brings a wealth of coaching experience, including three years with the Princeton Hockey Youth Camps and a summer with the National Collegiate Development Camp in 2017. Koelzer also serves on the NHL/NHLPA Female Hockey Advisory Committee, a group formed to accelerate the growth of female hockey in North America and ensure that girls experience all the opportunities and benefits that the sport provides.
Koelzer earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Princeton. She was also featured in a November 2016
New York Times story,
Two Black Women Embrace Their Chance to Be Hockey Role Models.
