Hired in November of 2024, Colleen Cassada became Barton College’s first-ever Head Field Hockey Coach, leading the Bulldogs into their inaugural NCAA Division II season in Fall 2025 as an Associate Member of the South Atlantic Conference.

Cassada arrived at Barton following her tenure as Head Coach at Meredith College (Raleigh, N.C.), where she guided the program from its founding in 2019 through its first intercollegiate season in 2021.

At the national level, Cassada is a Coach for USA Field Hockey’s NEXUS Development System and has also served as a Head Coach and Site Director for the USA Field Hockey Futures Program. She holds both a USA Field Hockey Level 2 Coaching Certification and an FIH Level 1 International Coaching Certification. Her previous coaching experience includes roles at Cary Academy, Carolina Fury Club, and Chapel Hill High School.

A former U.S. Junior Olympic Team member (1997), Cassada competed on the U16, U18, and U21 U.S. Junior National Teams before a standout collegiate career at the University of Maryland (2001–04). With the Terrapins, she earned NFHCA First-Team All-America honors, was named ACC Rookie of the Year (2001), and helped lead Maryland to three NCAA Final Fours and the 2001 ACC Championship.

Cassada holds two degrees from the University of Maryland — a B.A. in Criminal Justice (2005) and a B.S. in Family Studies (2006).