Laura Hurff was officially named head coach of the Saint Louis University field hockey program in December 2025 after serving as the Billikens' interim head coach during the 2025 season.
Hurff guided the Billikens to five victories in 2025, including a historic 2-1 win at eventual Atlantic 10 regular-season champion Richmond. The triumph was SLU's first-ever victory over the Spiders, its first Atlantic 10 road win since 2007, and made the Billikens the only conference team to defeat Richmond during the regular season. Saint Louis remained in contention for its first-ever Atlantic 10 Championship berth until the final conference match of the season.
The Billikens' five-win campaign marked just the fourth time in the previous 20 seasons that the program reached the five-win mark. Under Hurff's leadership, four student-athletes earned Atlantic 10 postseason honors, the program's most since 2005. Olivia Smith garnered second-team All-Conference recognition, while Macy Budd was selected to the All-Rookie Team. Sierra Larson, Smith and Abby Vidas earned All-Academic Team honors, marking the first time in program history that three Billikens were recognized in the same season. Goalkeeper Abby Schalow collected three Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week awards.
Prior to arriving at Saint Louis in August 2025, Hurff served as interim head coach at Rhodes College in 2024. She led the Lynx to a 14-6 overall record and a perfect 5-0 mark in conference play, advancing to the championship match of the Collegiate Field Hockey Conference Tournament. Hurff earned CFHC Coach of the Year honors while mentoring the league's Defensive Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year.
Hurff previously held assistant coaching positions at Cornell (2019) and Stanford (2021).
An accomplished player, Hurff was a four-year starter at Syracuse from 2014-17 and helped lead the Orange to the 2015 NCAA Field Hockey National Championship. A three-time All-American, she totaled 55 career points on 20 goals and 15 assists.
Hurff also represented the United States on the international stage, appearing in 32 matches with the U.S. National Team. She was a member of the U.S. U-21 squad that captured a silver medal at the Junior Pan American Championship.
Hurff earned a bachelor's degree in health and exercise science from Syracuse in 2018 and completed her MBA from DeVry University in 2022.
