Upon finishing high school, Knull wanted to continue to play the sport she loved at the collegiate level. After a trip to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with her father, Knull decided to pursue this goal in the United States.

She sent letters to various college admissions offices in Ohio, where her mother was from. After receiving several visits and offers, Knull chose Kent State University.

"My recruiting story is weird compared to what you would see today," Knull said. "It was very much of finding an option and opportunity, and I took it."

Knull's transition from Scotland to the United States turned many heads in her family, with many questioning the decision. Knull never second-guessed herself. 

"I just didn’t think about it," Knull said. "I didn’t overthink things. I just jumped in with two feet and got on with it. I knew this was what I wanted to do. I was excited about it."

The seemingly far-off opportunity panned out well for Knull, as she went on to be a four-year starter for the Kent State field hockey team, earning All-American honors twice and winning the 2002 MAC Player of the Year Award.

During her playing career, Knull found interest in the coaching side of the sport.

"In college, my coach, Kerry DeVries, was a huge influence on me," Knull said. "As a freshman, I got to see what Kerry did, and I was like, 'Oh, this is pretty cool. This is what I want to do.'"

Knull switched her college major from education to sports management with a minor in coaching, eventually joining DeVries' staff as a graduate assistant. Knull credits the former Golden Flashes' coach as one of the biggest influences in her career not only as a player, but in her transition to coaching as well. 

"Kerry was a huge influence for me during [college]," Knull said. "She helped mold and guide me to where I am today."

While under DeVries at Kent State, Knull attended camps with other Midwest schools like Ohio State and Michigan State. One of the coaches she met along the way was Rolf Van de Kerkhof, a former MSU field hockey assistant turned head coach. In 2006, Knull joined Van de Kerkhof’s staff as an assistant, eventually becoming head coach in 2010.

Since taking over the program, Knull has experienced a great deal of success at MSU, serving in her 14th season at the helm in 2024. The longest-tenured coach in program history, Knull has set numerous records in East Lansing, most recently earning her 100th win as head coach.

"I was oblivious to any type of marker," Knull said. "When they told me, I was like, 'Oh, this is pretty cool,' but I wasn’t counting goals. It just wasn’t how I was wired."

Reaching 100 wins at one place is a large step for someone so far from what was originally home, but now, East Lansing has taken that title for Knull.

"This place and the people here are what's kept me here," Knull said. "It’s a great place to work, it's a great environment to be in, and it’s a great school to recruit to. It’s a win-win across the board."

In field hockey, collegiate athletes don’t have much opportunity to sign professional contracts and play the sport after the university level, so Knull sees coaching as a way to grow her players into better people. 

"A huge reason why I coach is the impact you have on people during this really transformative part of their life," Knull said. "I look at it and say, 'I get to do this because of field hockey, and because of sport, but it’s so much bigger than the sport.'"