Sports
Hope College hires Jordan Bartolazzi as track & field coach
Hope College has hired Jordan Bartolazzi, a four-time College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Track and Field Coach of the Year, as its next head coach. Bartolazzi will take over for Kevin Cole, who is stepping down as Hope’s men’s and women’s track and field coach following the 2025 outdoor season. “I am honored to […]
Hope College has hired Jordan Bartolazzi, a four-time College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Track and Field Coach of the Year, as its next head coach.
Bartolazzi will take over for Kevin Cole, who is stepping down as Hope’s men’s and women’s track and field coach following the 2025 outdoor season.
“I am honored to be joining the Hope College community and can’t wait to get started. Coaching provides an outstanding opportunity to impact the lives of student-athletes, something I feel very passionate about,” Bartolazzi said in a press release. “Hope’s mission to provide transformational experiences for students in a Christian context appeals deeply to me and will be a great fit for me and my family. I look forward to building on the success that Hope has seen under Coach Cole’s guidance. We intend to build a program with sustained success at the conference and national level, all while prioritizing the growth and personal development of our student-athletes.”
Bartolazzi has served at Elmhurst University (Illinois) as the director of track and field and cross country since 2017 and will finish the outdoor season with the Blue Jays just as Cole will finish this season at Hope
. He guided the Elmhurst women to their first CCIW indoor and outdoor titles in 2025, earning CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year accolades in both seasons.
Director of Athletics Tim Schoonveld said Bartolazzi fits the Hope Athletics mission of academic success, competitive excellence and transformational experiences.
“We are thrilled to have Jordan, his wife, Steph, and their family — Amelia, Mabel, Arlo, and Lester — joining our team. They are amazing people who will only make our team stronger and more impactful,” Schoonveld said. “Jordan has demonstrated competitive excellence as he has built his team from small numbers into league champions. His love for building transformational relationships and caring for his student athletes was evident throughout the search process. We cannot wait for him to join our team and to enhance all that we do at Hope College and in the athletic department.”
Bartolazzi oversaw tremendous growth in Elmhurst track and field during his tenure, with participation increasing from fewer than 15 student-athletes in 2017 to 90 this season. He coached 11 Elmhurst student-athletes to United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All America honors in 20 events, including 15 since 2023. He was chosen as CCIW Track and Field Coach of the Year during the 2025 indoor and outdoor seasons, and once in both 2023 and 2022.
In March, Bartolazzi guided the Elmhurst women’s track and field team to a Top 10 finish at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. He was chosen as the USTFCCCA Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year for the Midwest Region.
In 2021, Bartolazzi led Elmhurst women’s cross country to the program’s first CCIW crown in 18 years. He was named the CCIW Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year that season.
As a student-athlete, Bartolazzi competed on both the men’s cross country and men’s track and field teams at Elmhurst before graduating in 2015 with degrees in theological studies and Christian ministry, and organizational communication.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.