Jennifer Averill

Head Coach

Jennifer Averill is Wake Forest Field Hockey.

In 33 years as head coach at Wake Forest, Averill owns a record of 426-244-3 (.635) as a Demon Deacon and an overall mark of 446-276-6 (.617) in 36 years of coaching. She has built the Wake Forest program, almost from scratch, into a perennial national power. The ACC recognized Averill’s continual improvement with her eight ACC Coach of the Year awards, including her most recent honor after the 2022 regular season season.

Averill has guided the Demon Deacons to three-straight NCAA titles in 2002-04, while finishing as the runner-up in 2006 and 2008. The 2002 title marked the first national championship by a women's athletic program at Wake Forest.

Additionally, Averill's squad has been selected to the national tournament 18 times during her tenure, with the most recent selection coming in 2022.

During the 2024 season, head coach Jen Averill earned her 425th victory as the head coach of Wake Forest and now sits just four wins away from her 450th career win with the Deacs overtime victory at James Madison. Wake's underclassmen were the story for the 2024 season, as freshmen and sophomore student-athletes combined for 62 of Wake's 81 points (76.5 percent) A season ago, the Deacs had just one athlete go for over eight points on the season. In 2024, four student-athletes are over the eight-point mark, with all four being underclassmen Freshman Lauren Storey's 17 points mark the most by a first-year Wake Forest student-athlete since 2016 ACC Freshman of the Year Nicola Pluta's 41 points. Sophomore Mia Schoenbeck received All-ACC honors for the first time being named Second Team All-ACC.

The Deacs defeated two top-10 teams during the 2023 regular season, with an early season 1-0 win against then No. 4 Michigan in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge and a 2-1 win in the ACC regular season finale against No. 10 Syracuse. Nat Friedman received All-ACC honors for the fourth-straight season and senior midfielder Grace Delmotte was named to the All-ACC Second Team for the third time in her career and second-straight season. A program-record 17 Demon Deacons were named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Academic Team.

In 2022, Wake Forest's victory in the ACC Championship quarterfinals against Duke helped the squad become the first Wake Forest team since 2008 to win at least 15 matches in a season. Wake Forest finished 2022 winners of 15 of its last 19 matches, outscoring opponents 51-20 during that span.

The Deacs defeated three top-10 teams during the 2022 regular season, with the trio of victories coming against ACC opponents including a win at Virginia who is No. 5 in the latest RPI.

In addition to its five conference victories, Wake Forest posted a 9-3 record against non-league opponents, outscoring them 34-16.
In 2018, a strong postseason run landed the Deacs in the Final Four for the first time since 2008. Wake Forest fell to eventual champion North Carolina, but strung together a 13-10 record, defeating four top-12 teams in its final six contests.

The Deacs went 12-8 overall and 3-3 in the conference, which included two wins over top-five opponents and made a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. Jule Grashoff earned NFHCA Second Team All-American honors. Grashoff and Nicola Pluta were named to the All-ACC First Team.

The Demon Deacons finished 2016 with an 11-8 overall record. The season was highlighted by a 10-1 record in nonconference games. Nicola Pluta was named ACC Freshman of the Year and earned NFHCA Third-Team All-American honors.

In 2015, the Deacs went 13-6, including a 4-2 mark in a loaded ACC field. Wake Forest, which earned the second seed in the conference tournament, qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row and for the 15th time under Averill's watch.

Her 23rd season in 2014 was another memorable year as part of her decorated history at Wake Forest and one that she will never forget, as the Demon Deacons won their fourth ACC Field Hockey Championship in program history. Wake Forest defeated Syracuse, 2-0, in the championship game to take home the title.

The title was Wake Forest's first ACC team title since women's soccer in 2010, and is the athletic department's 47th all-time team ACC Championship. Averill's accomplishment earned her a seventh-career ACC Coach of the Year honor. The ACC Championship victory marked the program's 450th win and coach Averill's 325th at Wake Forest.

Perhaps the most prestigious honor Averill has received came in January of 2010 when she was inducted into the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Prior to Averill's arrival in Winston-Salem, Wake Forest had never played in an NCAA postseason game. The Deacons enjoyed 12-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1999-2010.

Here are just a few more of the reasons why Averill continues to earn respect on the national and global field hockey stage:

In 2008, Wake Forest appeared in the NCAA Final Four for the ninth consecutive season.
Wake Forest won back-to-back-to-back NCAA championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004. No other women's athletic team at Wake Forest has won an NCAA title of any kind.
The Deacons captured championships in the nation's strongest conference, the ACC, in 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2014.
Averill has coached two National Players of the Year - Kelly Doton in 2003 and Kelly Dostal in 2004. Dostal, in fact, was named the ACC Female Athlete of the Year for all sports.
Averill's players have earned first team All-American honors 16 times and first team All-ACC honors 51 times. She has coached the ACC Player of the Year four times.
In 2008, two of Averill's former athletes, Lauren Crandall and Kelly Doton, represented the U.S. at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Averill's coaching goes far beyond the playing field. She expects her players to make good grades, graduate on time and to represent the campus and community.

In 2021, Wake Forest placed a program-record 20 Demon Deacons on the NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad, while tying a program record with seven All-ACC Academic honorees.

Perhaps more importantly, she cares about her players after they leave Wake Forest. Several former players have returned to work as assistant or volunteer assistant coaches. Most recently, Lauren Crandall Liska was on the 2021 Wake Forest Field Hockey staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Each year, Deacon field hockey alumnae flock back to Kentner Stadium for as many games as they can attend.

The 2006 season may have been Averill's most difficult one on an emotional level. One of her former players, Maria Whitehead, spent much of the fall battling cancer. In a demonstration of support for her friend and former player, Averill shaved her head.

Tragically, just before Wake Forest embarked on the ACC Tournament, Whitehead lost her battle with cancer.

Playing with heavy hearts, the Deacons remarkably battled their way to an ACC Tournament championship, beating eventual national champion Maryland in the final. The Deacons went on to advance to the national semifinals for the seventh straight season, beat Duke in the semifinals, and advanced to the national title game for the fourth time in five years.

It was during the 2006 NCAA Tournament that Averill earned her 200th career victory, in the first round against American.

The Deacons fell in the final to Maryland to finish the 2006 season with a 22-6 record. Averill was named ACC Coach of the Year for her efforts.

Behind first team All-Americans Michelle Kasold and Lauren Crandall, Wake Forest led the nation in scoring average, points per game, goals per game, assists per game, shutouts per game and scoring margin.

In 2005, Wake Forest put together an undefeated regular season that included nine shutouts and a regular season win over eventual national champion Maryland. In the postseason, the Deacons fell to Maryland in the ACC Tournament, then lost to Duke in the national semifinals, ending their streak of consecutive NCAA championships at three.

Averill was the choice for ACC Coach of the Year after the Deacons won the league's regular season crown.

Wake Forest made it three national championships in a row by winning the title in 2004. Wake Forest swept through the semifinal and championship games, defeating Maryland, 3-0 and Duke, 3-0 to clinch the title.

The Deacons went 20-3 behind National Player of the Year Kelly Dostal and three other first team All-Americans. Averill was once again named National Coach of the Year in 2004.

The 2003 season was a dominating one for Wake Forest. Ranked No. 1 the entire season, the Deacons began the year 12-0, extending their winning streak to a remarkable 31 games. Wake Forest out-shot opponents 491-113 and outscored foes 96-13 to lead the nation in scoring defense, winning percentage and victory margin.

The Deacons' only loss of 2003 was a regular season setback to Duke. Wake Forest avenged the loss to the Blue Devils by beating them twice on the biggest of stages - in the finals of the ACC and NCAA Championships.

Averill was named ACC Coach of the Year, Division I South Region Coach of the Year and the National Coach of the Year in 2003.

Wake Forest field hockey began in 1971, but it wasn't until 1992 that it made a commitment to the program.

Three significant things happened in 1992 that put Wake Forest on the long road to national prominence in field hockey. First, Wake Forest left the Deep South Association to join competition in the ACC. Secondly, it added scholarships and committed money for facilities.

Thirdly, and most importantly, Averill took over the head coaching reigns in 1992.

Averill's impact on the program was immediate. Wake Forest made its debut in the national rankings, at No. 20, in 1994. The Deacons have been a fixture in the top 25 ever since. Wake gained its first No. 1 national ranking in 2001, ended the 2002 season at No. 1 and spent the entire 2003 season atop the national polls.

Behind her tireless recruiting efforts, Averill began to bring in some of the nation's top young talent. The program turned the corner in 1999 when it advanced to the ACC Tournament final for the first time and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. Averill was named ACC Coach of the Year and NFHCA South Regional Coach of the Year.

In 2000, Wake Forest began its streak of nine consecutive national semifinal appearances. Since that time, no school has enjoyed more consistent success in field hockey.

Wake Forest basketball coach Skip Prosser, upon reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2003, only half-jokingly said: "We are just trying to build a basketball program that the field hockey program can be proud of."

Averill was a highly-successful player before she embarked on her coaching career. She was a four-time All-American at Northwestern. As a senior in 1987, she earned the prestigious Honda Broderick Award as the nation's best field hockey player.

Also in 1987, Averill won the Big Ten's Medal of Honor for academic excellence and the Jesse Owens Award as the conference's best athlete. In 1989, Averill was honored by Northwestern as the University's Female Athlete of the Decade for the 1980s.

Averill competed in two Final Fours as a Wildcat and from 1983 to 1987 and played on the U.S. National Team. She was inducted into the Northwestern Hall of Fame in September of 1996.

She began her coaching career with a short tenure as an assistant at Dartmouth before accepting the head coaching job at Bucknell in 1989. She remained with the Bison until 1991, when she led them to their first .500 season in seven years and was named Patriot League Coach of the Year.

Averill remains active in field hockey outside of Wake Forest, as both a coach and player. She is a member of the reserve assistant staff for the United States National Team as well as the Under-23 and Under-16 teams. From 2000 to 2002, she played for Southern Charm, the United Summer League champions.

Averill and her wife, Karen, have a son, Nicolas, and a daughter, Gianna.