CMU Names Johnstone New Field Hockey Head Coach

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan Athletics announced today the hiring of Jennifer Johnstone as its new field hockey coach.

Johnstone brings a diverse set of experiences as a head coach, assistant coach and as a student-athlete. She has been a member of the coaching staff at Michigan State the past five seasons and was also a member of the CMU coaching staff in 2015.

"I am excited to welcome Jennifer Johnstone to our CMU Chippewa family, she will be a fantastic addition," Amy Folan said, the Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics. "Jennifer knows what it takes to build a successful program that provides an excellent experience for our student-athletes. She is a championship coach who values the relationships with all the individuals in her program."

As a head coach, Johnstone guided Husson University to the 2011 North Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship and an NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. The next season her squad won the NAC regular season title. Johnstone coached 11 All-NAC selections and was named the 2012 conference coach of the year.

'I am honored to become the field hockey coach at Central Michigan University," Johnstone said. "I have known what a special place Central Michigan is since 2015 when I began pursuing my master's degree and worked with the field hockey team. I cannot wait to lead this program and its dedicated student athletes.

"I would like to thank Athletics Director Amy Folan and CMU Athletics administration for providing me with this opportunity. Their vision for the field hockey program and the belief in developing the whole student-athlete aligns with my coaching philosophy. I look forward to the challenges ahead and building a team that can consistently compete in the Mid-American Conference."

Johnstone was also a head coach at Frostburg State in Maryland and Kenyon College in Ohio. She served as assistant coach at Ohio Wesleyan and helped the 2007 squad to its best finish in eight years. Johnstone started her collegiate coaching career in the Ivy League, serving as an assistant coach at both Brown and Cornell.

In addition to her collegiate experience, Johnstone has had a variety of coaching roles at the amateur level, highlighted by coaching the U.S. field hockey team at the 2017 and 2018 AAU Junior Olympic Games. She has also served USA Field Hockey regional futures manager for Region 9 and coach of Michigan's Level 1 north futures training site. She has been involved with coaching high performance and has served as a selector at USA Field Hockey's National Futures Tournament.

Johnstone was a standout student-athlete at Maine, earning National Field Hockey Coaches Association Regional All-America recognition three times and was twice named to the All-America East First Team. She was a four-time letter winner, leading the Black Bears in scoring twice.

Johnstone graduated from Maine in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in secondary education with a concentration in mathematics. She earned her master's degree in administration from CMU in 2018.

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