Meridith Thorpe was named head coach of the Owls field hockey program prior to the 2026 season. A former NCAA Division I assistant coach and player, Thorpe own a wealth of experience, across many different levels.
A graduate of University of Virginia, Thorpe's playing days for the Cavaliers included an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year award, two team MVP awards, four All-ACC awards and four All-America honors. At the time of her graduation, she was both Virginia's and the ACC's record holder with 230 career points and 101 career goals.
In addition to her collegiate playing experience, throughout the mid-1990s Thorpe was a member of the United States Under-18 and Under-21 National Field Hockey teams. In 1996, she was named to the United States Senior National Field Hockey team.
Following her playing career, Thorpe began her coaching path as an assistant at The Ohio State University for two seasons. In 2001, she returned to Virginia to coach the Cavaliers for six seasons and, during that span, the program was consistently ranked within the Top-20 and twice made appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Thorpe then spent one year as an assistant coach at University of Richmond before moving back to the Big Ten in 2007, accepting an assistant coaching job at University of Iowa. During her two-year stay in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes were a combined 35-9 with two Big Ten Tournament championships and one NCAA Final Four appearance.
In 2009, Thorpe moved to Saint Louis and began working at John Burroughs School, taking on multiple duties, including assistant principal, physical education teacher, director of admissions, and varsity field hockey coach. In her 16 years at John Burroughs, Thorpe's teams produced a 220-85-8 overall record and twice won state championships. She was twice named the Max Field Hockey Missouri Coach of the Year. During that same time, Thorpe spent five seasons as the director/head coach of the United States Field Hockey Association Futures Program (Region 10).
