Sam Brown

Sam Brown was named the head coach of the Saint Joseph’s field hockey program on March 31, 2026.

“We are absolutely thrilled to bring Sam Brown to Hawk Hill to lead our field hockey program,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Jill Bodensteiner said upon Brown’s appointment. “Sam is an outstanding coach, and an even better person, who will fit perfectly with the culture of Saint Joseph’s Athletics. I am confident that Sam will lead our nationally-prominent field hockey program to new heights, and will continue our strong tradition of developing our student-athletes on and off the field.”

“It is truly an honor and a privilege to be named head coach of the Saint Joseph’s University field hockey program,” Brown said. “This program has built an incredible legacy over the past decade, and I have great respect for the sustained success and high standards that have been established here. I'm excited for this opportunity and want to thank Jill and [Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student Experience and field hockey program administrator] Renie Shields for believing in me and my vision for the future of the program.”

Brown comes to Hawk Hill from Syracuse, where he spent the previous three seasons as associate head coach under former Saint Joseph’s head coach Lynn Farquhar. Syracuse reached the NCAA Tournament in each of those three seasons, reaching the quarterfinals in both 2023 and 2025.

During his time with the Orange, he has helped develop six NFHCA All-America selections, including 2025 First Team honoree and Honda Award finalist Bo van Kempen, who was also named the NFHCA Mid-East Region Player of the Year. Brown also helped guide 15 student-athletes to All-Region honors and saw players earn eight All-ACC accolades and four ACC All-Tournament laurels. In his role, he also oversaw the attacking penalty corner unit as well as scheduling and data analysis for the Orange.

Prior to his stint at Syracuse, Brown was the associate head coach at James Madison for four seasons under USA Field Hockey and Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame inductee Christy Morgan, where he was part of both the 2020 and 2021 CAA Coaching Staff of the Year as the Dukes claimed a pair of CAA regular season championships. While at JMU, he coached two All-Americans, eight All-Region selections, two CAA Players of the Year, 12 All-CAA honorees, six CAA All-Rookie selections, and eight CAA All-Championship honorees.

Brown brings copious international coaching experience to his first collegiate head coaching position, having coached for both men’s and women’s programs in the United States, England, and his native New Zealand. After serving as a coach at the New Zealand U21 selection camp for three years, he later worked as a regional talent center coach for the North Region of England’s U16/U18 boys and girls programs. Upon moving to the United States, Brown was the head coach of the U18 boys team in 2021 and served as an assistant with the U22 women’s team for a four-match series against Chile in 2022 in which the United States won three of the four games.

At the club level, Brown was the head performance coach for Wakefield HC and the head coach of both the men’s and women’s first teams. He led both teams to promotion to the National League Conference in 2019; his men’s team claimed the North Premier League title that season for the first time in two decades. Prior to his time in England, Brown worked with the Southern Storms and Midlands Hockey club teams in New Zealand.

A 2011 graduate of Otago University, Brown originally hails from Christchurch, New Zealand. He lives with his wife, Anna, and their dog, Kirby.