Columbia University Athletics

Nicole Miller was named the seventh head field hockey coach in program history in August 2024.

Miller arrived in Morningside Heights after six seasons as Wagner’s first-ever head coach. She led the Seahawks to three straight Northeast Conference Tournament appearances from 2021-23 and reached the final last season. Miller amassed a 19-8 record in NEC play at Wagner and oversaw 14 Seahawks garner All-NEC recognition.

In her first season at Columbia in 2024, Miller guided the Lions to their first-ever appearance in the Ivy League Tournament. Goalkeeper Katie Wimmer was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, NFHCA Division I All-Mideast Region First Team, NFHCA Collegiate Senior Team, and All-ECAC Second Team. Wimmer ranked second nationally in save percentage (.824) and fourth in saves per game (8.1) at the conclusion of the regular season. Her 122 saves on the season led the conference and ranked fifth in the country.

Three Lions garnered All-Ivy recognition in 2024: Wimmer (First Team), Jacinta Solari Etcheberry (Second Team), and Lindsey Yu (Honorable Mention).

The Washington, New Jersey, native arrived at Wagner from Sacred Heart, where she served as an assistant coach for the field hockey team under head coach Sydney Van Der Merwe for two seasons. During her tenure with the Pioneers, Miller oversaw the teams' offensive development, implementing strategies for practices and games that resulted in a 62.5 percent increase in goals from 2017 to 2018. She also played a pivotal role in recruiting, successfully attracting more than 10 commitments from high school athletes.

At Sacred Heart, Miller was an integral part of a coaching staff that placed heavy emphasis on academics, resulting in a high level of performance by Pioneer student-athletes in the classroom, achieving the second-highest overall GPA in NCAA Division I Field Hockey. Twenty of her 24 student-athletes earned National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-Academic Team honors.
 
Miller's field hockey background includes serving as a head coach for both the USA Field Hockey Futures and Fairfield County United Field Hockey Club teams. Her main goal with both of these organizations was to help develop young players and prepare them for the next level of field hockey. Three of her athletes from the USA Field Hockey Futures went on to attend the USA Field Hockey Juniors national camp.
 
Prior to embarking on her collegiate coaching career, Miller was a standout field hockey athlete at UMass Amherst. In her time there, she helped lead the Minutemen team to three Atlantic 10 Championships and three NCAA Tournament berths, having reached the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite 8 once. She was appointed captain of the team in her junior and senior seasons and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament team in her final season.