Head Coach

Kelly Cook

Kelly Cook, a former standout Patriot League student-athlete herself, was named head women’s soccer coach at Bucknell on March 24, 2015. In just her second year as a head coach, she helped the Bison return to championship glory, and then the team repeated as Patriot League champions in 2017. Cook presided over two more conference titles in 2021 and 2022.

Cook wasted little time impacting the Bison program. In her very first season as a head coach in 2015, she guided the team to a 6-1-2 Patriot League record (11-6-3 overall), a first-round bye in the Patriot League Tournament and an appearance in the championship game for the first time since 2007. The Bison set team records for shutouts (11), consecutive shutouts (6) and scoreless minutes (655:03) while going unbeaten in eight-straight contests.

Cook was named Patriot League Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year in 2015, becoming the first Bucknell coach to receive the award since 2001. She also coached six players voted onto All-Patriot League teams.

The Bison fared even better in 2016, setting a school victory record while finishing 16-2-2 overall and 8-1-0 in the Patriot League. Bucknell captured its third league title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 after winning a thrilling overtime game against Boston University in the PL Championship at Emmitt Field. The Bison placed a league-high eight players on All-Patriot League Teams, while claiming three major awards, including Cook earning Patriot League Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season.

In 2017, Cook tested her squad against the most arduous non-conference schedule in program history, and it paid off with a 7-2 conference record and second straight Patriot League title. The Bison pulled off dramatic wins over Boston University and top-seeded Navy in the Patriot League Tournament, and then battled West Virginia tough in a 3-0 loss in the NCAA first round.

The Bison were hit hard by both graduation and injuries in 2018, but Cook's squad still managed to finish in fourth place in the 10-team Patriot League and host a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal game.

Bucknell entered the 2021 season picked to finish ninth in the Patriot League preseason poll. Boosted by a high-impact first-year class and the emergence of Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Rylee Donaldson, the Bison blew away those predictions and captured the fifth league championship in school history and the third under Cook's direction. The fourth-seeded Bison posted consecutive shutouts over Lehigh, Navy, and Boston University to claim the Patriot League Tournament title for the fifth time, and Bucknell then put forth a strong NCAA Tournament showing in a 2-0 first-round loss at eventual national semifinalist Rutgers.

The Bison repeated as Patriot League champs again in 2022, once again doing it with defense. Scoreless draws with Boston University and Army were followed by victories in penalty kick shootouts in the two conference tournament matches, and then in the first round of the NCAA Tournament the Bison kept Ohio State off the board until finally conceding in the 107th minute.

In addition to getting it done on the pitch, the Bison have also excelled in the classroom. Under Cook's guidance, the women's soccer team has annually produced one of Bucknell's top team grade-point averages and has garnered three CoSIDA Academic All-America citations: Kendall Ham in 2016 and 2017 and Alexis Gannon in 2016.

One of Cook's key performers was Ham, who became the program's very first All-American in 2016, while also garnering Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year and Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Ham graduated with 41 career goals to rank No. 2 all-time at Bucknell.

Following the 2016 season, Cook and assistants David Madsen and Leigh Howard were named NSCAA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.

A 2006 graduate of Colgate University, Cook entered the coaching ranks at Amherst College, where she spent three years as an assistant coach with a nationally ranked Division III program. In 2010 she moved on to Dartmouth, and over the last five years with the Big Green she coached 26 All-Ivy League players and five NSCAA All-Region honorees. Dartmouth finished in second place in the competitive Ivy League in three of her five years there, and the team posted a 40-34-9 record during her tenure, including a 29-15-7 mark over the last three seasons. The 2012 team fell one shy of the school record for wins in a season with 13, and last year’s Big Green squad finished 8-5-4 overall and 3-1-3 in the Ivy League, just missing out on the conference title in a race that came down to the final day of the season.

In addition to her on-field coaching duties at Dartmouth, Cook also served as the team’s recruiting coordinator, and she was involved with the program’s fundraising and alumni functions. Those efforts helped lead to an overseas trip to England and Scotland in June 2013.

While at Dartmouth, Cook served as assistant director of Elite Soccer Camps of New England. From 2008-13 she was an Olympic Development Program (ODP) coach in New Hampshire, and during her tenure at Amherst she was assistant director of AWS Elite Soccer Academy.

A native of Warners, New York, near Syracuse, Cook is no stranger to the Patriot League. She was a two-year captain and three-time Second Team All-Patriot League selection at Colgate, where she recorded 27 goals and 23 assists in her career. She ranked in the top 10 in program history in career points (77) and assists. As a junior in 2004, Cook (then Kelly Kuss) was named Patriot League Tournament MVP after leading the Raiders to the league title, and then her team knocked off Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, marking the first NCAA win in school and league history.

At Colgate, Cook was a two-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll member, and she earned the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence. She also spent time playing in the W-League with the Rochester Rhinos and the Western Mass Pioneers. In 2010 she earned a master’s in education degree in higher education administration from the University of Massachusetts.

Cook resides in Williamsport with her husband Andrew and their two young children.