After the announcement of former coach Sinead Evan’s decision to step down in June 2023, a coach who headed the track and field team for 10 straight seasons which included great successes in the NCAA Division III championships and other track and field events, the University began their search for a new coach to fill her shoes. 

Prior to joining Brandeis, Miles Ketchum spent the past 12 years as a member of Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s track and field coaching staff. He started his career there as an assistant coach, and was later promoted to head coach in 2021. There, he coached 11 All-Americans, had teams with three New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference titles, helped multiple athletes achieve the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-region honors, and even coached an Elite 90 winner, an award given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA in the finals competition, Katherine Pawlak in 2022. 

In 2022, Ketchum helped the WPI women’s track team to a ninth place title at the outdoor championships where they were 5 points away from a top five standing. In 2021, the WPI women’s track team won their first NEWMAC conference title since 1994 and the men’s won their first ever NEWMAC title. During Ketchum’s tenure at WPI, the Engineers’ track and field team set 17 school records and earned five New England region titles. 

Due to his success as a coach, Ketchum has been named the USTFCCCA “Assistant Coach of the Year” four times — first receiving the honor in 2016. Ketchum’s success has the Brandeis track and field team optimistic about how the team will compete in the winter.

Ketchum graduated from Wheaton College in 2012 with a B.A. in sociology. There, he was a student-athlete himself, earning All-American honors in the 4x400 meter relay and NEWMAC titles in the 4x100 and 4x400 relay. He is also certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the USTFCCCA as a strength and conditioning specialist in the sprints, hurdles, and jumping events.

Given Ketchum’s expertise in several different events and vast history as both a coach and a player, the Brandeis track and field team has a bright future ahead of them.


— Editor’s Note: Justice editor Smiley Huynh ’24 is a member of the track and field team and did not contribute to nor edit this story.