WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — After achieving a decorated coaching and playing career at Hamilton College,
Abby Kuhns has been named assistant coach of the fifth-ranked Williams College women's ice hockey team Monday.
"We are thrilled to welcome Abby to the Williams' community," said head coach
Meghan Gillis. "Her impressive background in the league, as a student-athlete and coach, equips her to step in and make an immediate and positive impact on our program. Abby's knowledge of the game and genuine passion stood out immediately, and we are incredibly fortunate to have her joining the Williams' women's ice hockey program."
Kuhns spent the last seven years of her life with the Hamilton women's ice hockey program, the last three as an assistant coach and the previous four as a student-athlete. During her first year as an assistant in 2023-24, Hamilton reached the NESCAC Championship and earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament, winning a first-round game on home ice.
As a senior student-athlete at Hamilton, Kuhns was named to the All-American First Team in the East Region by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) and was the second defender in NESCAC women's hockey history to be named the conference's Player of the Year. Kuhns was an All-Conference First Team honoree in 2022 and 2023, while finishing her 76-game career with 48 points on 13 goals and 35 assists.
As a senior captain, Kuhns helped lead the Continentals to a single-season record for victories and a team-record, eight-game winning streak. That season, Hamilton also earned its best finish in the NESCAC standings, first conference championship final appearance, first NCAA Tournament bid and a trip to the national semifinals. The unit ended 2022-23 ranked fourth in the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO.com) Division III Top 15 poll with a 22-6-2 record.
Kuhns capped her outstanding career with a Jack B. Riffle award, which goes to the top male and female athlete in Hamilton's senior class. She hails from Skaneateles, New York, and played preparatory school hockey at Skaneateles High School and Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut.
Kuhns joins a Williams' program, which enjoyed an immensely successful 2025-26 season. The group finished the season ranked No. 5 in the final edition of the USCHO rankings on March 30. The Ephs (18-5-5, 9-3-4 NESCAC) recorded the most single-season wins for the program since the 2018-19 season. Williams advanced to the Elite Eight of the national tournament for the fourth time in program history, while also securing its second-ever NCAA win and winning and hosting its first NESCAC playoff game since 2019.
The Ephs defeated then-No. 11-ranked Plattsburgh State in a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory during the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at Lansing Chapman Rink on March 14. Third-seeded Williams outlasted sixth-seeded and visiting Wesleyan, 5-3, in the NESCAC Quarterfinals on Feb. 28.
Williams defeated four ranked opponents, going 2-0 against eventual NESCAC runner-up Colby and Plattsburgh State, while embarking on a 16-game undefeated streak with a 13-0-3 record from Nov. 19 - Jan 31. Williams held 19 opponents to one or fewer goals. The balance on the Ephs' roster was tremendous with many scoring threats, as 10 student-athletes finished with between 10 and 19 points.
