Kelley Frassinelli was named Senior Woman Administrator at Southern Connecticut State University in the spring of 2017. She is in her 31st season as head field hockey coach in 2025. Frassinelli also served as the inaugural head coach of the Owls’ women’s lacrosse team, a program that she guided for 12 seasons.
During her time as head field hockey coach, Frassinelli coached 15 All-Americans, 41 National Field Hockey Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game participants, 29 All-Northeast 10 Conference picks and a two-time conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Â
However, equally as impressive is the fact that 175 players have been selected to the NFHCA National Academic squad and more than 250 student-athletes have been named to the NE10 Commissioners Honor Roll. The field hockey squad has been honored with National Academic Team honors from the NFHCA for 15 straight years.
Â
The field hockey squad has been honored with National Academic Team honors from the NFHCA for 14 straight years. Southern posted the fifth-highest GPA among all Division II programs in 2013 and had the fourth-best mark in the nation in 2010.
In addition, the Owls continue to be active in numerous community service projects, including work with St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the March of Dimes, Special Olympics and the Springfield (Mass.) Rescue Mission. Frassinelli has also played a pivotal role in the team’s annual ‘Play 4 The Cure’ game, which debuted in October, 2008.
As a result of their community efforts, the Owls won the department-wide Community Service Cup for the 2009-10 academic year. The program was also recognized by the Connecticut Department of Higher Education for their service.
The 2013 team finished with five victories and qualified for the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament for the second straight year. The team was also awarded with National Academic Team honors by the NFHCA for the sixth consecutive year and had the fifth-highest team GPA among all Division II field hockey programs in the nation.
Â
In 2012, the team finished with eight victories and qualified for the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. Sarah Cebry collected All-America honors, while two seniors were selected for the NFHCA North-South Senior All-Star Game. Three Owls were also tabbed for the Northeast-10 Conference Field Hockey All-Academic Team. Frassinelli’s squad also collected National Academic Team honors from the NFHCA, with seven individual student-athletes also capturing NFHCA Academic honors.
The 2011 squad posted five wins on the field, while academically, the club had two selections to the NE-10 Field Hockey All-Academic Team and seven honorees for the NFHCA National Academic Squad.
In 2010, SCSU hosted a Northeast-10 Conference Tournament game and closed the year with eight wins. Along the way, it defeated PSAC member Mansfield and captured a win in its annual ‘Play 4 The Cure’ game.
The team had three student-athletes honored by the Northeast-10 Conference, as well as three selections to the NFHCA Senior All-Star Game. Senior Ann Farrier also earned All-America honors from the NFHCA.
Academically, the Owls had 13 selections to the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll and 10 selections to the NFHCA National Academic Team. As a squad, SCSU had the fourth-highest team GPA of any Division II program in the nation.
The 2009 season was highlighted by an appearance in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. The Owls also defeated No. 4 nationally ranked UMass-Lowell at home. Individually, Dieny Charlot was named All-Conference and All-ECAC. Ten student-athletes were also recognized with NFHCA National Academic honors, while the team was also honored for its cumulative grade point average.
The 2008 campaign was punctuated by the second NCAA Tournament berth in program history. Southern Connecticut finished with 13 wins on the year and reached the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Tournament.
In the process, the Owls improved on their 2007 win total by five games. Four players were recognized with year-end honors from the Northeast-10 Conference, while three student-athletes were selected to participate in the NFHCA Senior All-Star Game. In addition, senior Whitney Martin captured First-Team All-America honors from the NFHCA.
Frassinelli’s team was also recognized with the 2008 Northeast-10 Conference Field Hockey Team Sportsmanship Award for their conduct on the field. Seven student-athletes were also named to the NFHCA National Academic Team for their performance in the classroom.
The 2007 schedule featured 10 games against opponents that were nationally ranked in the top 10. Nevertheless, Frassinelli’s squad was in the hunt for a conference tournament berth up until the final day of the regular season and finished with eight victories.
Following the year, defender Kate Gedney earned All-America, All-ECAC and All-Northeast-10 honors. Gedney and classmate Angela Cafarelli were both tabbed to play in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association North/South Senior All-Star Game. Junior Whitney Martin was also selected for All-Northeast-10 laurels.
The Owls were also well-recognized for their achievements in the classroom. As a team, the program earned National Academic Squad honors from the NFHCA. Individually, eight student-athletes were also selected for their academic accomplishments.
On the field, Frassinelli guided the Owls to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004 after the club posted a 15-7 mark. She also led the Owls to an ECAC Tournament berth in 1998.
After starting the women’s lacrosse program, she coached one NCAA statistical leader, two IWLCA Senior All-Star Game participants, two IWLCA Academic All-Americans, five IWLCA Academic Honor Roll selections, five Northeast-10 Women’s Lacrosse All-Academic Team members, one All-Conference pick and 64 Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll members.
As a student-athlete at SCSU, Frassinelli (then Kelley Kimball) was an All-American midfielder and two-year team captain for the Owls field hockey squad. She also was a multi-sport performer in track and field, and was a part of Southern’s record-setting shuttle hurdle relay team at the Penn Relays. During her scholastic career at Concord (N.H.) High School, she was the Boston Globe Player of the Year and appeared in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd.
Frassinelli holds a bachelor’s degree in human performance from SCSU. She holds a United States Field Hockey Level I Coaching Certificate and is a graduate of the NCAA Women's Coaches Academy.
Inducted into the Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame in September 2005, Frassinelli resides in Stafford Springs, Conn. with her husband, Damian, and daughters, Olivia and Sofia. In 2024 she became the second coach in Southern Connecticut history to coach her child when her daughter, Sofia, joined the Owls’ field hockey program.
