Chelsea Herlocker enters her first season at the helm of the Belmont Abbey, having been announced in the position on Feb. 11 of this year. She officially started March 1 after four seasons as an assistant coach at Ball State.
"Having conducted an extensive and exhaustive national search, which included thorough and inclusive deliberation of the merits of the strongest applicants, we are thrilled to announce Chelsea Herlocker as Head Coach of Belmont Abbey College's Field Hockey Program," Miss said at the time of her hiring. "Coach Herlocker's prowess as an athlete, her capacity to lead - honed during two separate four-year stints assisting in running two different Division I programs - and her alignment with The Abbey's mission and values clearly elevated her candidacy and impressed all involved in our search process.
"Under Coach Herlocker's direction, our future is very bright. Coach Herlocker's open embrace of the charge to better enable each and every one of our students to realize her full potential as a whole person and to own her purpose as a leader, spouse, and parent bodes well for the life-long success of our ladies, which is our top priority; on a programmatic level, the very exciting addition of our Outdoor Athletics Complex (coming on-line Fall 2023), positions us well under Coach Herlocker's guidance to realize our collective vision for national relevance in the rapidly growing sport of Field Hockey."
Elevated to Associate Head Coach status in 2018, Herlocker and the Cardinals have focused on a defensive style, posting eight shutouts over the last four years. In the spring of 2021, Ball State limited opponents to 1.81 goals per game for its best showing on defense since allowing a 1.78 average in 2002.
Off the field, the Cardinals made program history by placing the entire 24-member roster on the 2020 NFHCA (National Field Hockey College Association) Academic Squad. That total is the second-most amongst all NCAA Division I field hockey programs. This year, 14 players earned Academic All-Mid-American Conference honors.
Prior to Muncie, Herlocker served as assistant coach and director of operations at her alma mater, the University of Richmond. She has also assisted with the USA Field Hockey Futures program, Panthers United FHC and the Edge Field Hockey Club. While with the Edge Field Hockey Club, she coached the U19 team to a gold medal at national tournaments in 2010 and 2012.
Herlocker played four years collegiately at Richmond, serving as team captain for two seasons. The Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year in 2010, she earned all-conference honors four time (three first-team) and was All-South Region twice. While at Richmond, Herlocker helped her team to a conference championship and NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2011. She was also a member of the 2010 USA Field Hockey Junior National Team.
Herlocker holds a bachelor of arts in psychology from Richmond and earned her master's degree through North Dakota State in 2019. She and her husband, David, have an infant son, Jackson Thomas.
