St. Olaf has announced the hiring of Ashley Holmes as an assistant coach for the women’s hockey team.
Holmes joins Johnson’s staff after spending two seasons as the director of operations for the Minnesota women’s hockey team. Prior to that, she served as an assistant coach at fellow MIAC member Augsburg for nine seasons.
“Ashley is the perfect fit for our program,” St. Olaf head coach Tracy Johnson said in a statement. “She brings incredible energy, passion for developing student-athletes, and a commitment to the values of Ole athletics. She also brings a proven track record of success in recruiting and in building programs that compete at the national level. I have no doubt that her experience, work ethic, and ability to connect with players will help take our program to the next level. We are thrilled to have her join the St. Olaf family and can’t wait to see the positive influence she will have on our student-athletes.”
At Minnesota, Holmes managed and organized all aspects of team travel, oversaw all administrative functions of the women’s hockey office, coordinated scheduling of facilities for team practices/functions, and was responsible for video operations, among other responsibilities. The Golden Gophers posted a 56-22-3 (.710) record during Holmes’ two seasons and qualified for the NCAA tournament in both seasons, including a run to the Frozen Four in 2024-25, while finishing both seasons ranked in the top five nationally.
During her nine seasons at Augsburg, Holmes helped the Auggies to a record of 123-73-24 (.614) and eight consecutive MIAC playoff appearances from 2016 to 2023. She was primarily responsible for the team’s defense and coached one two-time All-American, eight all-MIAC selections, seven honorable mention all-MIAC honorees, and one MIAC rookie of the year. Holmes recruited 52 traditional first-year and 11 transfer student-athletes over nine recruiting classes at Augsburg.
Holmes played collegiate hockey at North Dakota, skating in 138 games while earning all-WCHA academic team honors in 2011-12 and WCHA scholar-athlete award honors in 2009-10. She graduated from North Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in biology/pre-medicine and a minor in psychology in 2013 before earning a master of arts in leadership from Augsburg in 2018.
Holmes got her start in coaching as an assistant coach at Alexandria Area High School in 2013-14, helping the program to a Section 6A title and a fifth-place finish in the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Class A state tournament.
