Makenna Newkirk - Women's Ice Hockey Coach - Brown University Athletics

Makenna Newkirk

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
makenna_newkirk@brown.edu
Joined Brown:
June 2021-July 2022
Alma Mater:
Boston College '19

Makenna Newkirk spent one season at Brown as an assistant coach on head coach Melanie Ruzzi's staff during the 2021-22 season. Newkirk departed Brown in July 2022 to assume the position of assistant coach at Penn State.

In her lone season on College Hill, Newkirk helped guide the Bears to their best overall record in five years, and their most ECAC wins since the 2008-09 season, giving them their highest finish in the ECAC standings in a decade. The team went unbeaten in seven of its final nine games, which included a pair of wins over nationally ranked opponents in No. 9 Quinnipiac and No. 7 Yale, an eventual national semifinalist.

Brown’s turnaround in 2021-22 also saw the team score 0.7 more goals per game and allow exactly one fewer goal per game from the previous season.

Before coming to College Hill, Newkirk was a coach and assistant director at the North American Hockey Academy, where she transitioned the program from Vermont to Massachusetts. She managed all of the U16 team's dynamics and worked with the U19 group during practice and games for two seasons.

Prior to the North American Hockey Academy, Newkirk was an assistant coach at Milton Academy for one season (2019-20) and was a marketing specialist and skill development coach for Eagles Elite Sports, LLC.

Newkirk starred at Boston College from 2015-19, where she was a two-time captain and ranked fifth all-time in points (73-116-189) for a career. She helped the Eagles appear in the NCAA National Championship and win two Hockey East Championships and three Beanpots. She was voted the conference's Best Defensive Forward in 2019 and was named Rookie of the Year in 2016.

Following her stellar career with the Eagles, Newkirk competed for USA Hockey and attended three National Team Festivals. She was a member of the U22 National Team in 2016 and was an invitee to the Olympic Tryouts for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Newkirk additionally played two seasons in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association in the New Hampshire Region and was drafted seventh overall in the 2019 NWHL Draft.

Newkirk graduated from BC in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in Management and Leadership.

COACHING TIMELINE