Katie O’Donnell Bam is an American field hockey player. She was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania and attended Wissahickon High School. Bam is a two-time Olympian and participated in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics. She is one of the most decorated field hockey players in the U.S. Bam began playing for the University of Maryland in 2007, she is the youngest member of the United States women’s national team and has become known for her excellent stick skills and ability to create. Her attributes were put on full display throughout her freshman campaign as she earned a starting spot for the preseason number-one team in the country at forward.
Bam established her presence early at Maryland putting together a freshman campaign worthy of national recognition. She finished the season with 18 goals and 17 assists leading the nation in points. She scored in 13 of 21 games including 5 multi-scoring games. Bam had 6 game-winning goals including one in overtime against then 12th ranked Michigan. Bam earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year honored, the only freshman to ever receive the award. Se also earned National rookie of the Year and First team All American Honors. Maryland won the NCAA Women’s Field Hockey Championship in 2008.
2009 Athletic Achievements
- 2009 National Player of the Year (womensfieldhockey.com),
- 2009 National Offensive MVP (womensfieldhockey.com),
- 2009 First Team NFHCA All-American,
- 2009 NCAA All-Tournament Team,
- 2009 All-Mid Atlantic Region Player of the Year (NFHCA),
- 2009 ACC Offensive Player of the Year,
- 2009 ACC Tournament MVP,
- 2009 national leader in points (87) and assists (31),
- 24th player in NCAA history with 200+ points,
- 18 points in four-game run as NCAA Runner-Up,
- Set NCAA Championship single-game record with nine points in NCAA Semifinal win,
- Broke Maryland's single-season points record with 87,
- Tied for 2nd single-season goals record with 28,
- Broke school record with 31 single-season assists,
Career Athletic Achievements
- 2010 National Sportswoman of the Year, Team Sport (Women's Sports Foundation)[2]
- Two-time National Offensive MVP (womensfieldhockey.com),
- Three-time ACC Offensive Player of the Year,
- Three-time First Team NFHCA All-American,
- Two-time NCAA All-Tournament team member,
- 2008 All-ACC Tournament team member,
- 2007 National Rookie of the Year (womensfieldhockey.com),
- 2007 Honda Award nominee,
- NCAA Tournament record holder with 13 career assists,
- ACC and Maryland career assist leader with 74 career assists,
- Maryland career points leader with 208 career points,
- Third on Maryland career goals list with 67[3]
Internationally, Bam was selected to the US U-16 and U-19 teams in 2003 and 2004 and competed in tournaments in the Netherlands and Australia. In 2005 she became the youngest member of the US Senior National team and earned her first of 23 total international caps at age 16. She scored her first international goal at the Rabobank Champions Challenge in 2005. Bam helped the USA Junior team to a best-ever 7th-place finish at the 2005 Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile. She also competed with the U-21 team in China in March 2007.
Olympic Experience
- Rio 2016 Olympic Games (5th, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- London 2012 Olympic Games (12th, London, England)
World Championship Experience
- Gold - 2015 Pan American Games (Toronto, Canada)
- Gold - 2014 Champions Challenge (Glasgow, Scotland)
- Gold - 2013 World League Round 2 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- Gold - 2011 Pan American Games (Guadalajara, Mexico), Named to Pan American Elite Team
- Silver - 2012 Champions Challenge I (Dublin, Ireland), Named Champions Challenge I Player of the Tournament
- Bronze - 2016 Champions Trophy (London, England)
- 4th - 2014 Rabobank Hockey World Cup (The Hague, The Netherlands)
- 5th - 2015 World League Round 3 (Valencia, Spain)
Bam most recently was an assistant coach at Harvard University but has accepted a position at the University of Maryland, her alma mater, as assistant coach-2017.
