Scout Bio
Celeste Brown ‘15 enters her third season as the Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Coach at her alma mater in 2022-23.
Brown was a member of RIT’s 2012 NCAA Division III National Championship team before starring the next three seasons during the Tigers’ move to Division I. She went on to become the first player in program history to sign a professional contract before kicking off a coaching career, which included last three years as an assistant coach at Penn State University.
Brown returned to Rochester following a stint at Penn State where she worked primarily with the Nittany Lions’ forwards and power play unit. Under her tutelage, Penn State advanced to three-consecutive College Hockey America Tournament semifinals.
Brown played for the New York Riveters during the inaugural season of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) in 2015-16 while also kicking off her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Division III Manhattanville. She played the following season with the NWHL’s Connecticut Whale while also serving as an assistant coach at Division III Connecticut College.
Brown’s prolific career in a Tiger uniform started with 21 points on 12 goals and nine assists during her freshman campaign, culminating with the go-ahead goal and two assists in the third period of RIT’s 4-1 victory over Norwich (Vt.) to clinch the national title. She was also on the ice when the Tigers scored the overtime game-winner to defeat Plattsburgh, 2-1, in the national semifinals.
Brown continued her high-level play following the program’s move to Division I prior to the 2012-13 campaign. She scored a team-high 30 goals over the next three seasons while serving as team captain for both of the team’s CHA Championship runs in 2014 and 2015, finishing with 70 points on 42 goals and 28 assists.
In the classroom, Brown posted a 3.73 grade point average while garnering CHA All-Academic Team honors on three occasions. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology while also tacking on a minor in women and gender studies.
The Great Falls, Montana native served as a skills coach at the USA Hockey National Camp and has been part of the USA Hockey Western Multi-District Girls Player Development Camp for the last four years, currently serving as a head coach. Brown also worked as a head coach at the Summer Hockey School in Skedsmo, Norway.