Johns Hopkins University Athletics

Updated:  January 20, 2025
First Day at Johns Hopkins:  May 11, 2020

Jamison Koesterer, a 2007 Johns Hopkins graduate, was appointed the Blue Jay defensive coordinator on May 8, 2020 and was promoted to associate head coach on October 7, 2024.

Koesterer returned to Homewood in 2020 after serving four years in the same role at nearby UMBC.

In addition to running the Blue Jay defense, Koesterer also provides assistance with the Blue Jay faceoff specialists.

Koesterer’s defensive units have been at the heart of the success the Blue Jays have enjoyed since his return, specifically in the last two seasons.  

During the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Johns Hopkins posted a combined record of 23-11, including a 9-1 mark in Big Ten regular season play, advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals twice, claimed a share of the 2023 Big Ten regular season title and won the 2024 Big Ten regular season title outright. 

Johns Hopkins finished seventh in the nation – and first in the Big Ten - in scoring defense in 2024 (9.63) and a set a program record for caused turnovers per game (8.25) in 2024.  Two Johns Hopkins defensemen and one short stick defensive midfielder earned All-America honors in 2024, when the Blue Jays held 11 of 16 opponents to 10 goals or less and 15 of 16 were held under their season scoring average.  The 9.63 goals allowed per game in 2024 were the fewest by Johns Hopkins since 2014..  

Koesterer’s defense sparked the team’s run to a share of the Big Ten regular season title and the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2023 as JHU allowed just 11.06 goals per game.  Three of JHU’s five All-Americans - Alex Mazzone, Scott Smith & Brett Martin - anchored the unit and JHU set a school record with 135 caused turnovers on the year.

The top four single-season averages for caused turnovers per game in Blue Jay history have come in the four seasons under Koesterer’s guidance, while the top three single-season caused turnover totals have come in the last three seasons.

In his first season as the defensive coordinator in 2021, Koesterer helped guide the Blue Jays to their third consecutive appearance in the Big Ten Championship game, where they narrowly fell, 12-10, to top-ranked and eventual national runner-up Maryland.

Koesterer’s group was at its best during the team’s three games against third-seeded Penn State, second-seeded Rutgers and top-seeded Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament.  In six combined games against those teams during the regular season, the Blue Jays allowed an average of 13.5 goals per game; during the three-game run in the tournament, Hopkins cut that number down to 9.7 (29 goals in three games).

The Blue Jays leaned heavily on their defense again in 2022.  Hopkins advanced to the Big Ten Semifinals and bumped its win total to seven while playing the third most difficult schedule in the nation. 

Prior to returning to Homewood, Koesterer had joined the UMBC coaching staff in July 2016 and quickly made an impact on the Retriever defense. His unit finished in the top 20 in scoring defense in 2017 (19th/9.14), 2018 (1st/7.77) and 2020 (6th/8.40).

The Retrievers also finished eighth in the nation in man-down defense in 2018 and second in 2020.

Koesterer also helped guide the Retrievers to the 2019 America East Championship and a first-round victory in the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to his time at UMBC, Koesterer spent four seasons at Ohio State and helped the Buckeyes to a pair of trips to the NCAA Quarterfinals (2013, 2015) while working with the defense and faceoff specialists. In 2013, his first season at Ohio State, the Buckeyes knocked off defending national champion Loyola in the ECAC title game to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008.

While in Columbus, he coached the 2016 Big Ten Specialist of the Year in Jake Withers, while Withers (2014 – ECAC, 2016 Big Ten), Chris May (2015- Big Ten) and Trey Wilkes (2013 – ECAC) each earned all-league honors as faceoff specialists under Koesterer’s guidance.

Koesterer also assisted with Buckeye defenses that ranked among the nation’s best in 2013 (13th/8.83), 2015 (17th/9.16) and 2016 (19th/9.07).

Koesterer served as the volunteer assistant coach at Johns Hopkins in 2011 and 2012 and helped the Blue Jays to a two-year record of 25-7 with two trips to the NCAA Quarterfinals.  He mentored senior Matt Dolente to First Team USILA All-America honors in 2011, when he finished second in the nation in faceoff winning percentage (.667).

A year later, Koesterer’s faceoff unit finished seventh in the nation (.578) with junior Mike Poppleton leading the way by winning 167-of-271 (.616).

Koesterer played at Johns Hopkins from 2004-07 and was a member of the Blue Jays’ national championship teams in 2005 and 2007.  He scored seven goals and added 12 assists and 101 ground balls during his career.  He also won 176-of-318 (.553) career faceoffs and helped guide the Blue Jays to a 51-11 record.

After graduating, Koesterer continued his playing career in the National Lacrosse League as a member of the Portland Lumberjax (2009) and the Washington Stealth (2010).  He helped the Stealth to the 2010 NLL Championship – the first title in franchise history – by winning 265-of-446 (.594) faceoffs while collecting 101 loose balls (the equivalent of a ground ball in indoor lacrosse).