Field Hockey

Head Coach

Kayla Bashore

Head Coach
Kayla Bashore

Kayla Bashore

Head Coach

Kayla Bashore was named the head coach of Indiana Field Hockey in 2019. During her time with the Hoosiers, Bashore has seen athletes to Big Ten preseason watchlists, All-Big Ten, and Big Ten Sportsmanship honors. Before her current position, Bashore was an assistant coach for Indiana from 2006-07. Bashore is a former assistant coach for Columbia (2009), Transylvania University (2010-11) and Brown University (2014-16).

Bashore is the founder of multiple field hockey programs across the country, Whitewater Festival, Inc., KaPow Field Hockey Club, and Abundant Life Sports, L.L.C.. Whitewater Festival, Inc. is a company that designs, implements, and manages youth field hockey tournaments, camps, and clinics for kids. KaPow Field Hockey Club has 180 members. Abundant Life Sports manages a variety of field hockey programs for kids. 

As a student-athlete, Bashore was a two-time All-American and four-time All-Big Ten selection for the Hoosiers. She received multiple honors, including Big Ten Player of the Year (2005), National FCA All-American (2003 & 2005), first-team All-Big Ten (2002, 2003, 2005), the Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership Award (2003), and the IU Balfour Award (2001). At Indiana, Bashore ranks among the program’s all-time leaders in goals (6th), points (7th) and shots (2nd) and was part of the 2005 single-season win record squad. 

After her collegiate career, Bashore spent eight years as a national team member with USA Field Hockey, participating in 175 international competitions. With Team USA, Bashore competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, placing eighth and twelfth, respectively.

COACHES

Dani Castro

Dani Castro

Assistant Coach
Dani Castro

Dani Castro

Assistant Coach

Dani Castro was named to the Indiana Field Hockey staff as an assistant coach in 2019.

During her time with the Hoosiers, Castro has seen athletes to Big Ten preseason watchlists, All-Big Ten, and Big Ten Sportsmanship honors. Before coming to Indiana, Castro was the head coach of Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego, California. While at SRHS, Castro was named California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Coach of the Year in 2018 and was nominated for the 2018 California State Coach of the Year. Her team claimed the 2018 CIF (Southern California Section) Championship and the 2018 Western Division Champions honors. Her team ranked seventh in the MaxPreps 2018 West/Midwest Region. She was also the program director for the San Diego Flyers Field Hockey Club for four seasons. 

As a student-athlete, Castro played 76 games for Indiana between 2005-2009. She was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten Conference selection and was captain of the Hoosiers in 2008. She has been named a Sportsmanship Award honoree, All-Big Ten Tournament selection, and Longstrength/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division 1 West All-Region nominee. She was selected in 2008 to play in the NFHCA Senior All-Star game.

Castro was a NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship winner. She earned a master’s degree from the University of the Pacific in sports sciences with an emphasis in sports pedagogy in 2013. There she served as a volunteer assistant coach in 2010.

Will Holt

Will Holt

Assistant Coach
Will Holt

Will Holt

Assistant Coach

Will Holt was named to the Indiana Field Hockey staff in 2020. Holt comes to Indiana from teams at the national and international level. 

Holt has filled many roles for the U.S. Men’s National Field Hockey Team. Holt’s first position was as an assistant coach for the under-21 men’s team, where he still contributes, followed by being the associate head coach of the under-16 men’s team. He was eventually elevated to head coach of the under-18 team.

Outside of his coaching duties, Holt has served on the USA Field Hockey Judicial Committee since 2017 and spent two terms on the Athlete Advisory Council. 

Internationally, Holt was the head coach of boy’s under-16 Royal Oreé T.H.B. in Belgium in 2010. Later in 2016, he was named the head coach of the boy’s under-16 Royal Penguins HC and assistant coach of the boy’s under-18 first team. In 2017 Holt was named the director of strength and conditioning with HC Ludwigsburg in Germany. Holt coached in the Netherlands for the boy’s under-16 first team at V.M.H.C Cartouche in 2018 and the head coach of the girl’s under-14 team with NMHC Nijmegen in 2019. 

As an athlete, Holt is a member of the USA Men’s National Field Hockey team. He debuted in 2007 and has scored 85 times in 142 international appearances, including the 2019 FIH Series Finals, the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games, among others. He has played for multiple European Club competitions. 

Holt earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the University of Louisville in 2013, where he earned his master’s degree in athletic administration in 2016. He served as the field hockey volunteer assistant coach from 2012-15 where he assisted in the development of team game plans and breakdown of game film. He was a penalty corner specialist and goal scoring expert.

FACILITIES

IU Field Hockey

After playing its first seven seasons in Mellencamp Pavilion and being one of the only field hockey programs in the country to play indoors, the team made the move to the brand new IU Field Hockey Complex during the summer of 2007. The first home game was held August 31, 2007, when the Hoosiers welcomed the University at Albany.

The IU Field Hockey turf, located next to Armstrong Stadium, features a PolyTan internationally certified playing surface and a Nelson Water Cannon system that enables the entire field to be watered for play in under 30 minutes. The field also gives the team a facility of its own to practice at its convenience.

The Ireland Family Fieldhouse was completed in August 2009. Located adjacent to the IU Field Hockey turf, the building houses the team’s locker room, meeting room for the staff and storage for equipment.

FIELD HOCKEY

4 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS

1996 • 2009 • 2013 • 2014

6 BIG TEN REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIPS

1925 • 1932 • 1938(co) • 1949(co) • 2013 • 2014

Photo/video gallery

Notable Alums

 

 

Former Indiana Field Hockey midfielder Kayla Bashore-Smedley was named to the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Bashore-Smedley was the lone Big Ten player representing the U.S. in field hockey in London. She was one of seven players on the U.S. roster that played in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. After being selected to the USA Women’s National Team in 2006, Bashore-Smedley has participated in the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Rome, Italy (2006), Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro and Bermuda (2007, 2009), the 2008 Olympic Games, the AtaHolding World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Chula Vista, Calif. (2010), and the Champions Challenge in Dublin, Ireland (2011) with the U.S. National Team.

A native of Shoemaker, Pa., Bashore-Smedley helped lead Indiana to the 2005 NCAA Tournament after finishing second at the Big Ten Tournament during her senior campaign. She was a nominee and a finalist for the Honda Award and the Big Ten Player of the Year during that same season. Bashore-Smedley was a four-time NFHCA All-West Region honoree and a four-time All-Big Ten selection between 2001-05 at Indiana. She was also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and was named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad four times.

Indiana field hockey alum Kate Barber received All-American first team honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) after the 2016 season. Barber, after a superlative senior season, became Indiana’s second-ever All-American first teamer (Kayla Bashore, 2005). Combining the NFHCA recognition with her first team All-American accolade from Synapse Sports, Barber is the first player in IU Field Hockey history to receive first team recognition from two publications.

Mutsa Mutembwa was named a 2010 Rhodes Scholar.

She is the 14th student from IU to become a Rhodes Scholar and the fourth student-athlete.

“Mutsa is a most deserving choice for this special honor,” said IU President Michael McRobbie. “Her academic accomplishments here at Indiana University are every bit as impressive as her extraordinary ability on the playing field. We are all very proud of her.”

She ended her athletic career at Indiana tied as the career defensive saves leader — matching IU All-American and Olympian Kayla Bashore’s numbers. She also ranked second in saves for the season in IU’s single-season record.

“Mutsa Mutembwa personifies what Indiana University student-athletes are all about,” said IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass. “Her commitment to her education is remarkable, her dedication to her sport is commendable, and her interest and concern for the world around her is simply extraordinary. Indiana University is proud to be represented by a young woman like Mutsa Mutembwa, and we congratulate her on this extraordinary achievement.”