Celeste Brown enters her fourth year as an assistant coach with Penn State women's hockey in 2020-21 not far removed from her reputable career on the ice. Primarily responsible for coaching the team’s forwards, Brown has had a direct impact on the Nittany Lion offense which scored 73 goals in 2018-19, the second-highest total in program history.
An alumna of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Brown returned for her second stint in College Hockey America (CHA) after serving as an assistant coach at Connecticut College for the 2016-17 season.
Before beginning her coaching career, Brown played for the New York Riveters during the inaugural season of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) in 2015-16. While coaching at Connecticut College, Brown played for the NWHL’s Connecticut Whale in 2016-17.
Brown closed out her collegiate career as RIT’s Division I career leader with 30 goals between 2012-15 and her nine-career game-winning goals rank in the top 10 at RIT.
Her class tallied a 15-2 record in postseason play, which included an NCAA Division III National Championship in 2012. After the Tigers elevated to Division I in the 2012-13 season, she helped the Tigers to back-to-back CHA titles in 2014 and 2015. She was a two-time captain and netted 70 points on 42 goals and 28 assists in 139 career games played, the fifth most games in program history.
The 2012 NCAA Division III National Championship game featured Brown recording the go-ahead goal 1:23 into the third period to help lead the Tigers to a 4-1 victory over Norwich.
In the classroom, Brown posted a cumulative grade-point average of 3.73, was named a three-time CHA All-Academic Team honoree and received the 2014 CHA Academic All-Star honor for posting a 4.0 GPA.
From Great Falls, Montana, Brown graduated from RIT in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology.
