Ashley Holmes is in her first season as an assistant coach for the St. Olaf women's hockey program in 2025-26 after joining the coaching staff in June 2025.
Holmes joined head coach Tracy John's staff after spending two seasons as the director of operations for the University of Minnesota women’s hockey program. Prior to that, she served as an assistant coach at fellow Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) member Augsburg University for nine seasons.
At the University of Minnesota, Holmes managed and organized all aspects of team travel, oversaw all administrative functions of the women’s hockey office, coordinated scheduling of facilities for team practices/functions, and was responsible for video operations, among other responsibilities. The Golden Gophers posted a 56-22-3 (.710) record during Holmes’ two seasons and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both seasons, including a run to the Frozen Four in 2024-25, while finishing both seasons ranked in the top five nationally.
During her nine seasons at Augsburg, Holmes helped the Auggies to a record of 123-73-24 (.614) and eight consecutive MIAC Playoff appearances from 2016-23. She was primarily responsible for the team’s defense and coached one two-time All-American, eight All-MIAC selections, seven Honorable Mention All-MIAC honorees, and one MIAC Rookie of the Year. Holmes recruited 52 traditional first-year and 11 transfer student-athletes over nine recruiting classes at Augsburg.
Holmes played collegiate hockey at the University of North Dakota, skating in 138 games while earning All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Academic Team honors in 2011-12 and WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award honors in 2009-10. She graduated from North Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in biology/pre-medicine and a minor in psychology in 2013 before earning a master of arts in leadership from Augsburg in 2018. Holmes got her start in coaching as an assistant coach at Alexandria Area High School in 2013-14, helping the program to a Section 6A title and a fifth-place finish in the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Class A State Tournament.
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