It’s been an offseason of embracing the new for James Madison.
After longtime head coach Christy Morgan announced her retirement in February, JMU began searching for her successor. The right candidate wasn’t far away.
Nearly two months to the day after Morgan announced her retirement, the Dukes named Alyssa Parker Rosenblum their next head coach. Parker Rosenblum came to Harrisonburg after spending five seasons as an assistant coach at Virginia.
“It’s been lovely,” Parker Rosenblum said. “The culture here is just so welcoming and everyone is very friendly and kind to me. … Then hockey-wise, I’ve been really excited to get on the field with the team and just get started with them. So yeah, we’re only two weeks in, but it feels like I’ve been here for a while.”
Parker Rosenblum took over a program that already had most of its roster in place for the 2026 season. She not only needed to get to know the returning players, but also had to build relationships with the incoming recruiting class.
Parker Rosenblum described it as a “fun” challenge and trusted that everything would work out. The first-year head coach knew Morgan recruited talented athletes, giving her confidence in the freshman class preparing to begin its college journey.
“I wasn’t worried that their skill wouldn’t be at the level,” Parker Rosenblum said. “But we made an effort over the summer to get to know each other just over phone calls and FaceTimes so that we at least knew each other on a semi-personal level before getting out to the pitch. I think that helped with our connection.”
Parker Rosenblum also benefited from having associate head coach Morgan DeMann and assistant coach Ethan Larsen on staff. DeMann and Larsen have spent the past two seasons with the Dukes after being hired in the spring of 2024.
The two coaches understood not only the incoming recruiting class, but also the players returning for JMU in 2026. Parker Rosenblum credited them with playing an important role throughout the lead-up to the season.
“They were great,” Parker Rosenblum said. “I knew going into it that the JMU community really respected Ethan and Morgan, and I knew that the team really liked them and was learning from them in the past. So it was a no-brainer to keep them on the staff and get to know one another.”
As the Dukes prepare to open the season Friday against Temple, the returning players have embraced having a new perspective guiding the program.
JMU’s current players still have the utmost respect for Morgan and the legacy she built in Harrisonburg, but they’re also embracing the new ideas Parker Rosenblum has introduced.
“She has been, honestly, phenomenal,” JMU midfielder Brynna Hill said. “She has brought in a new energy and kind of just picked up where we left off with Coach Morgan in the past. Coach Morgan kind of set that foundation and Alyssa’s kind of just carrying it while adding her own special touch to it.”
James Madison’s Ava Drexler-Amey drives up the field.
Daniel Lin / DN-R
Hill said Parker Rosenblum has brought new defensive structures and drills to the Dukes. The midfielder added that the change has been refreshing and that she’s eager to attend practice and learn each day.
Midfielder Ava Drexler-Amey shares her teammate’s appreciation for how the Dukes are merging the old with the new.
Entering the season, Drexler-Amey said the team’s biggest strength has come from that combination of beliefs — the roster’s connection.
Culture was critical to the Dukes under Morgan. As Parker Rosenblum begins leaving her mark on the program, she’s built upon its established culture to help push the team forward.
“We have such a strong connection on and off the field, and I think teams see that,” Drexler-Amey said. “Before warm-ups, we’re all hyped and we’re ready to go, and then during games, they’re seeing our connection on the field and how we’re passing. So I think that that’s a huge strength that teams look at us and they get scared by that.”
The Dukes face a challenging schedule in 2026 while trying to replace three of their leading scorers from last season. Hill leads all returners after recording 11 points, which tied her for third on the team last year.
JMU, which finished third in the Mid-American Conference last season, is set to face several teams ranked in the preseason NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll.
The Dukes’ schedule includes No. 8 Liberty on Sept. 6, No. 6 Duke on Sept. 11, No. 5 Virginia on Sept. 13, No. 10 Miami Ohio on Sept. 25, No. 7 Wake Forest on Oct. 25 and No. 15 UMass on Oct. 30.
Before facing any nationally ranked opponents, JMU will host Temple on Friday and Drexel on Sunday to kick off the 2026 season.
“I think that’s really just when you really set the tone for the whole season,” Hill said. “Regardless of how the game goes, it’s just you’re out there, you’re laying it all out there for your teammates, and that’s the first real test, and I think it gives everyone that sense of realness, being like, ‘Oh, we’re in this, oh, we’re a part of JMU field hockey, like, we’re ready to compete.’”