"It is truly a dream come to true to be back at the University of Cincinnati as an assistant lacrosse coach. I am grateful and excited to work under Coach Thomas, she has grown this program so well over the past 9 years and I am thrilled to be part of UC Lacrosse's next chapter. Being a Bearcat student-athlete changed my life and shaped my future, I am thrilled to be back home."

Hardy will monitor the defense and goalkeepers in her new role. She returns by way of a highly-successful head coaching stint at Radford, where she was announced as the program's first-ever head coach in October 2014. Hardy coached 14 Big South All-Conference selections as well as six All-Academic honorees including the 2020 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and 2021 Freshman of the Year (the program's first). The Highlanders have had 11 student-athletes recognized by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association and named an IWLCA Academic Squad in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

The 2021 Highlanders ended the year winning six of their last nine games and were runners-up in the Big South Conference Tournament. Radford finished the regular season standings in third place, the highest of Hardy's tenure, and went to earn the program's first win in postseason play with a 15-14 victory over No. 2 Campbell. It was the program's first win over Campbell.

As a student-athlete, Hardy was a standout goalkeeper and team captain before earning her degree in sports management from UC in 2011.

A native of Alpharetta, Ga., Hardy's coaching experience also includes several elite camps, including the Nike Cup Syracuse Camp and high-profile on-campus camps at Notre Dame, Duke, and Georgia Tech. She also coached at the club level in the Cincinnati metropolitan area for Natilax helping grow the sport in middle and high schools.