Hanna Gardner is an assistant coach for Duke women’s soccer in Durham, North Carolina, and entered her second season on the Blue Devil staff after joining the program in January 2025. A native of Chapel Hill, Gardner arrived after two seasons as an assistant coach at Alabama and made an immediate impact in her first year at Duke. In her debut season with the Blue Devils, Gardner helped guide Duke to a 17-5-1 record, an NCAA College Cup appearance, and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Duke scored 55 goals, posted 12 shutouts, and recorded six wins over ranked opponents. Four Blue Devils earned All-ACC honors: Kat Rader, Mia Minestrella, Carina Lageyre, and Cameron Roller. Rader and Minestrella also received All-America recognition, and Rader went on to become a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist.
After the season, three Duke graduates signed professional contracts in the NWSL, with Rader joining Houston, Lageyre signing with Angel City FC, and Devin Lynch signing with Denver Summit FC. Before arriving in Durham, Gardner helped Alabama post 22 wins and reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Her coaching background also includes work as a High Performance Coach with the Charleston Battery and Kansas City Current in consecutive seasons, along with time at North Carolina FC as a youth head coach for the North Carolina Olympic Development Program. Earlier, she spent three years with Carolina Leadership Academy. Gardner also brings a strong playing pedigree from North Carolina, where she was a four-year starter and captain. She scored the winning goal in the 2012 NCAA championship match and later helped lead the Tar Heels back to the College Cup in 2016. Across five seasons, she started 74 of 91 matches, totaled three goals, helped UNC win 81 games and record 56 shutouts, and was a member of the U.S. U-20 National Team from 2013 to 2015.
