NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Doug & Lisa Jones family Notre Dame women’s soccer head coach Nate Norman has selected Jason Hamilton to fill out his staff as the new assistant coach for the Fighting Irish. Hamilton brings over a decade of coaching experience to South Bend, including seven years as a head coach.
“I want to thank Coach Norman and Claire Venard for this opportunity. After hearing from them where the program is and where they see it going, I knew it was a chance to be a part of something special,” Hamilton explained.
“I am very excited to be joining the program and getting to work with Nate and Dawn. I think my strengths are a perfect match for what is wanted in this role and to best serve their student-athletes.”
Hamilton is fresh off a four-year head coaching stint at East Carolina, where he compiled 26 victories and qualified for three American Athletic Conference Championship Tournaments – advancing to the semifinal round on two occasions. Under his leadership, the Pirates recorded their first victory over a ranked opponent since 2011 after knocking off No. 23 Memphis 2-1 last Oct. 24. In all, he tutored eight All-AAC selections and four all-rookie team performers, including the 2021 league rookie-of-the-year pick.
In the classroom, Hamilton’s program earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award in three-straight seasons and is on track for a possible fourth consecutive honor.
“I’m very excited for Jason to join our team,” Coach Norman said. “We set out to find the best coach and person that could bring a vast amount of experience to our team. I have no doubt that we found that and certainly got better today. He has coached at the very highest level and will bring a wealth of experience to our team. He will be an invaluable asset as we continue to strive to win national championships and provide a fulfilling experience on and off the field.”
Hamilton began his collegiate coaching career at University of Miami, where he served as the Hurricanes’ assistant coach from 2011-2013. During his time in Florida, the Canes appeared in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2011 and 2012, and earned the highest GPA in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and highest in program history, in 2011. He was also instrumental in bringing in back-to-back top-15 recruiting classes.
He then left Miami for the Boston Breakers of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) where he was an assistant coach in 2013. While with the Breakers, he coached NWSL Best XI Player Sydney Leroux and Second XI Player Lianne Sanderson. The 2013 season saw Boston’s best finish in the NWSL and best record to date.
Next, Hamilton joined the University of Florida in 2013 where he helped the Gators to a SEC regular season championship and a NCAA Tournament second-round appearance. While in Gainesville, he created and implemented a curriculum for UF’s goalkeepers, while overseeing the team’s defense that set program records in shutouts (13) and goals against average (0.61).
From there, Hamilton earned his first head coaching position at the NCAA Division I level with Troy University. He led the Trojans to a 37-19-5 record from 2014 to 2016 and set a program single-season record for wins with a 16-6 mark and a Sunbelt Conference Tournament runner-up finish in 2014, his first year at the helm. From 2014-15, his Trojans ranked among the top-20 in defense. Ultimately, Hamilton left with the highest winning percentage of any coach in the program’s 23-year history and the only coach to post a winning record in their tenure.
Next up for Hamilton was a one-year assistant coach stint at Mississippi State for the 2017-18 season, where he helped the Bulldogs to their best season in 16 years, going 9-5-4 en route to their first winning season since 2012, and first top-50 RPI finish in program history. Three Bulldogs were named All-SEC for the first time, a program first, and Mallory Eubanks became State’s first SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was selected 17th overall in the 2018 NWSL Draft. In addition, goalkeeper Catalina Perez was named Third Team All-America by the NSCAA – the first all-America selection in Mississippi State’s 23-year history.
From there, Hamilton landed the head coaching gig at East Carolina and the rest was history. Along with his responsibilities at ECU, Hamilton has served as a head coach for US Youth Soccer Region III Olympic Development program. There he worked with the oldest age group of players from the region, selecting a team to compete in the US Youth Soccer inter-regional tournament as well as traveling out of the country for competition.
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