This summer, Cornell Athletics hired eight new head and assistant coaches across seven varsity sports ahead of the 2025-2026 regular season.
The Sun spoke with the new coaches to understand their goals and background experiences before their new start with the Red.
Nicolle Madonna: Equestrian, Head Coach
Nicolle Madonna is the equestrian team's new head coach — and the only newly hired head coach this summer. Madonna told The Sun that she has been “fully immersed in the horse world” since she was five years old.
“‘Obsessed’ is a word most family members have used,” Madonna said. “I would sit at the schooling ring and watch the professionals teach, I would ride anything I was asked to. [I] watched videos upon videos of horse shows.”
Madonna founded and coached the Central New York Equitation Interscholastic Equestrian Association team in 2008 and coached it through 2023, according to Cornell Athletics. She joins Cornell Athletics with professional experience as a groom and rider for John Madden Sales and has worked with Beezie Madden, an Olympic gold medalist.
Madonna also told The Sun that she feels Cornell stands for many of her personal beliefs — most importantly, the University’s commitment to excellence and its own community.
“Some of the most influential people in the world have strong ties to Cornell,” Madonna said. “It's an impressive and daunting resumé of humans that I am happy to have even a tiny part of.”
Chris Brown: Men’s Ice Hockey, Assistant Coach
Chris Brown became a part of the men’s hockey team staff following four seasons as an associate head coach at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. During Brown’s time with the team, UAF faced and tied or bested some difficult opponents, including No. 3 Minnesota this past season.
Prior to his time in Alaska, Brown was a head coach for roughly 15 years at Division III Augsburg University. The team appeared in the NCAA Division III men’s hockey tournament from 2016 to 2019. Brown has also developed 12 All-Americans in his time as a head coach.
Brown wrote in an email sent from Cornell Athletics to The Sun that he is “excited to pour” his heart into the program and work with head coach Casey Jones ’90, who has replaced former head coach Mike Schaefer ’86.
“I'm honored to work with Coach Jones as he takes over the reins from Coach Schafer, who is one of the titans in our sport,” Brown wrote. “I'm inspired by the high level of motivation and talent that their student athletes have and I look forward to working with them to reach their full potential."
Cam Clarke: Men’s Ice Hockey, Assistant Coach
Cam Clarke will join the men’s hockey coaching staff as an assistant coach after a two season stint at Norwich University. He is coming off of an impressive season with the Cadets as they took the No. 2 seed in the New England Hockey Conference.
Before coaching ice hockey, Clarke played Division I hockey at Ferris State University and was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He played three years of pro hockey before deciding to become a coach.
Now joining the Red, Clarke said the team goal is to win the ECAC and National Championships, as that is the team’s “standard.”
“My role within the program will be to help the student athletes work specifically on their skill development on the ice,” Clarke said. “I will also be an active recruiter helping bring future student athletes to our campus.”
Nathaniel Graham: Men’s Basketball, Assistant Coach
When asked what attracted him back to Cornell Athletics, Nathaniel Graham had one answer: head coach Jon Jaques ’10. In 2010, Jaques was the team’s senior captain while Graham was an assistant coach — now, the roles have slightly flipped, with Jaques leading the program and Graham returning to his staff. Graham returns to The Hill after spending ten seasons as head coach of men’s basketball at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania.
Graham recounted that when he was coaching Jaques in 2010, the team won an Ivy League Championship and advanced to the NCAA’s Sweet 16 Tournament. Graham says he and Jaques are now friends, and he is excited to bring his knowledge from 20 years of experience as a Division I head coach, both the “good and bad,” to the team this year.
“I am excited to work with [Jaques] and to learn more about the style of play, which is one of the fastest and most innovative styles in the country,” Graham said. “[Cornell] is the college version of the Indiana Pacers.”
Marisa Runyon: Softball, Assistant Coach
The Dryden, New York native and University of Alabama All-American, Marisa Runyon joins the Red’s softball coaching staff this year following three stints of coaching.
Last spring, the softball team underwent a midseason coaching change when former head coach Julie Farlow ’97 stepped down from her position and former assistant coach Tara Tembey was promoted to interim head coach. Tembey will now take the reins as head coach, with Runyon supporting her.
“Coach Tembey is very familiar with the program, and I whole-heartedly support her vision for this team,” Runyon said. “While the goal will always be to win an Ivy League Championship, I hope to have just a small part in preparing these girls for life after softball.”
Runyon told The Sun that the goal for the team this year is to “get one percent better” everyday and work with the players to reach their full potential “on and off the field.”
“Preparation breeds confidence, and I will do my due diligence to ensure I can help put these girls in a position to succeed and win games,” Runyon said. “If we can be consistent every single day with our effort and energy, the best is yet to come for this team.”
Carissa Tambroni: Field Hockey, Assistant Coach
Carissa Tambroni is no stranger to Cornell or Schoellkopf Field as she joins the women’s field hockey team as an assistant coach this fall. Her mother, Michelle Tambroni, was head coach of the field hockey team for six years and her father, Jeff Tambroni, was the head coach for men’s lacrosse for 12 years, helping lead the team to three NCAA Final Four appearances and a national runner-up finish in 2009.
“Cornell has always been a special place for me… I’ve been surrounded by Cornell athletics for as long as I can remember,” Tambroni said. “I’ve seen firsthand the pride, tradition and high standards that come with being part of this community, and I’ve always admired the culture of excellence both on and off the field. Being able to now contribute to that legacy feels incredibly meaningful.”
Tambroni spent her collegiate career at James Madison University where she played various positions on the women’s field hockey team — which she explains gives her "versatility" and a deep understanding of field hockey from numerous perspectives.
Courtnay Pilypaitis: Women’s Basketball, Assistant Coach
Courtnay Pilypaitis will serve as the assistant coach for the women’s basketball team this fall. She brings roughly 20 years of collegiate basketball experience to the Red. Pilypaitis was a three-year captain at the University of Vermont, where she played shooting guard. She later competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics. After graduation, she served as the assistant coach for the Catamounts for four years.
In an email sent from Cornell Athletics to The Sun, Pilypaitis said she is “honored and excited” to join the program.
“It's a privilege to work alongside such a talented group of student-athletes and coaches at one of the nation's premier academic institutions,” Pilypaitis wrote. “I'm looking forward to contributing to a culture of excellence, growth, and competitiveness both on and off the court."
Kyle Canavally: Men’s Baseball, Assistant Coach
Kyle Canavally is joining the men’s baseball staff following his four-year tenure as assistant coach at State University of New York, Brockport, where he also worked as an athletic trainer. Canavally graduated from SUNY Brockport in 2021 and played in 20 games over three years on the varsity baseball team.
Canavally told Cornell Athletics that he is “honored” to join the program and will work with the pitching team most closely.
“I can't thank Coach Pepicelli enough for this opportunity to work alongside such a great group of student-athletes, coaches, and staff,” Canavally told The Sun. “I am eager to get started and bring my passion for pitching development, along with my commitment to building a winning culture, to this prestigious program.”
Zeinab Faraj is a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is the features editor on the 143rd Editorial Board and was the assistant sports editor of the 143rd Editorial Board. You can reach her at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
