Jordyn Merkel became the Blue Devils first lacrosse head coach in January 2022 with the programs inaugural season in the Spring of 2023.
 

UW-STOUT (2022-2024)

Since early 2022 Merkel has been building the Blue Devil Lacrosse program the ground up.
 
She coached six All-WIAC selections and four athletes of the week. In the classroom, Merkel has coached three CSC Academic All-District selections.

2024: The Blue Devils recorded the programs first win on March, 2 with an 18-2 win over Mount Mercy University. The Blue Devils scored a season-high 20 goals in a game against Augustana College on March 16.  The Blue Devils improved in all aspects in year two, seeing increases in shots, goals, and ground balls and caused turnovers. Emma Mathews led the team with 33 goals and six assists (39 points). Mai Nou Vang recorded 33 points (26g 7a), and Ally Crymble (23g 4 a). 

2023: The Blue Devils played their first ever game on March 1, 2023, and scored their first goal in program history on their first shot in the first minute of play. The Blue Devils scored a season-high 14 goals in a game against Edgewood. Mai Nou Vang led the team with 19 points (18g 1a), Ally Crymble (16g 1 a) and Halle Weinmann (8g 9a) each had 17 points.
 

BEFORE UW-STOUT

Thiel College (2020-22) Merkel served as head coach from August 2021 to January 2022 after serving as the programs first full-time assistant during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. She assisted the program in all aspects, including recruiting, scouting, scheduling, practice- and game-planning, travel accommodations, managing the team’s budget, overseeing volunteer and community service projects and managing social media content. In Merkel’s year as the assistant coach, the Tomcats finished best single season winning percentage in program history and earned a berth in the title game of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament. Five Tomcats earned All-PAC recognition in 2021, including a pair of First Team honorees. The team also excelled in the classroom and was named a 2021 Academic Honor Squad by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) for achieving a grade-point average of at least 3.2. The team featured four individuals who were named to the 2021 IWLCA Division III Academic Honor Roll, including a PAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award recipient, Alex Geraci.
 
Johnson & Wales Denver (2018-20) Merkel spent two seasons as an assistant coach, primarily working with the team's defense and goalies.
 
Merkel has also spent time as a game day operations intern for the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) and served as an assistant athletic director for South Suburban Parks and Recreation.
 

PLAYING CAREER

University of Northern Colorado (2016-18) played three years on the UNC women’s club lacrosse team.
Augustana College (2015) As a freshman, Merkel was part of an Augustana team that went 19-2 overall, won the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) title and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 

PERSONAL

A Littleton, Colo. native, Merkel earned a bachelor's degree in recreation, tourism and hospitality with a minor in business administration from the University of Northern Colorado