NCAA gymnastics completed its season two months ago, but that doesn’t mean nothing is going on in that world. June 15th marked the opening of recruiting contact for the class of 2027. There was other good news for the Arizona GymCats, both on the coaching and recruiting trails.

On Kylie Kratchwell’s promotion

A season of firsts warrants another first. Arizona gymnastics now has two associate head coaches after the promotion of assistant coach Kylie Kratchwell. GymCats head coach John Court announced that the third-year assistant would join Taylor Spears with the title on Tuesday.

“She is a person of high character, has increased our program’s national competitiveness, and has a positive approach in developing our student-athletes,” Court stated about Kratchwell in the program’s press release.

The trio of Kratchwell, Spears, and first-year assistant Shelby Martinez earned WCGA Regional Staff of the Year honors after a huge showing for the GymCats in their first year in the Big 12.

The GymCats finished second in the Big 12 during the regular season and at the conference championship meet, helping Court earn Big 12 Coach of the Year honors. They defeated every other team twice except Utah, which won both the regular season and conference championship titles. They then went on to defeat Arizona State a third time in the NCAA postseason.

Once they got to regionals, the team had another first. They advanced to regional finals for the first time since the NCAA postseason format changed in 2019. They finished second in their session, defeating Georgia and ASU, to earn the honor as one of the final 16 teams standing.

Kratchwell is primarily responsible for training the uneven bars. She also helps choreograph floor exercise. In her three years with the program, Arizona has finished in the top 25 on bars every season. It finished 23rd in 2025. The GymCats have also tied their top score (49.475 in 2024) and their third-best score (49.425 in 2025) in program history under Kratchwell’s watch.

Kratchwell and Spears combined forces to help fifth-year gymnast Elena Deets earn Big 12 co-Specialist of the Year honors. Deets performed bars and beam for the GymCats.

Kratchwell arrived at the University of New Hampshire in the fall of 2017 rehabbing from tears to her ACL, MCL, and meniscus that kept her from competing in her final year of Level 10. She went on to become a bars specialist, performing during the 2020, 2021, and 2022 college seasons. She was a two-time WCGA Scholastic All-American with a career high of 9.925 on bars. She joined the coaching ranks at Arizona immediately after completing her college career.

On Abygail Mackinney’s improvements

Kratchwell isn’t the only GymCat to get good news this week. College Gym News did its periodic re-evaluation of college recruits on Wednesday. Class of 2026 commit Abygail Mackinney was one of eleven athletes who saw their scores and ratings dramatically improve after their latest Level 10 season.

Mackinney was a three-star recruit with a score of 48 when she committed to Arizona last August. The outlet now has her as a four-star recruit with a score of 66.

“After missing the 2023 season due to injury, Mackinney returned to competition in 2024 but didn’t compete floor until midseason,” Tara Graeve of CGN writes. “Her biggest improvements came on vault and floor, as she consistently competed a Yurchenko full for the entire season for the first time and returned to her pre-injury self on floor.”

Graeve noted that beam is Mackinney’s weakest event and she could still add difficulty in floor and vault. For Arizona, the addition of difficulty on vault and floor are probably the more important matters; beam workers have been a strong suit for the program in recent years under Spears.

Mackinney’s new evaluation gives Arizona its first four-star recruit in the class that will sign in November. She joins Avery Tarico and Avery McKay, two three-star athletes with scores of 55, in the class of 2026.

Lead photo by Rebecca Sasnett / Arizona Athletics

DENVER – University of Denver hockey has four student-athletes named to the 2025 College Sports Communicators’ Academic All-District Men’s At-Large Teams, with seniors Matt Davis and Jack Devine, junior Kent Anderson and sophomore Boston Buckberger earning honors for their performance on the ice and in the classroom.
 
CSC Academic All-District Teams recognize the top student-athletes in the nation based on their combined athletic and academic performances. Anderson and Davis were also named to the All-District list last season, with Anderson earning Academic All-America Second Team honors.
 
To be eligible for CSC Academic All-District honors, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. Nominated student-athletes must have participated in at least 90 percent of their team’s games this season or started 66 percent of the games.
 
Each school was limited to six nominees for the Men’s At-Large Academic All-District Team, which includes athletes from the NCAA sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.
 
The Pioneers’ trio were among 23 players from the National Collegiate Hockey Conference to earn nods, and DU was one of three programs in the league with at least four players on the list along with Omaha (four) and Western Michigan (six).
 
Davis led the NCAA with 29 wins, the second-most in a single season in school history (George Kirkwood, 30, 1960-61), while also starting in 40 games—tied for the most by a Denver goalie in a single campaign. The Calgary, Alberta, native finished his senior campaign by registering a 29-10-1 overall record, .924 save percentage, 2.07 goals-against average and one shutout, helping the Pioneers return to the NCAA Frozen Four for the second straight season. The senior won each of his first 11 starts in 2024-25 (Oct. 5-Nov. 16), tying for the longest in-season win streak in the last 10 years by a Denver netminder. A member of the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete, Davis was also recognized with the conference’s Senior Scholar-Athlete Award for 2024-25.
 
Devine posted career highs and led the NCAA with 57 points and 44 assists. A top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award for the second-straight season, the forward was just the third Pioneer to finish first in the country in scoring, joining Bobby Brink in 2021-22 (57) and Ed Beers in 1981-82 (84) He was also first DU player to record back-to-back 50-point seasons since Daryn McBride in 1987-88 (58) and 1988-89 (51). Devine finished his career as the highest-scoring player in the modern era of Denver hockey with 163 points (57g/106a) and is one of 10 players all-time at the school to record at least 50 goals, 100 assists and 150 points in their career. The Glencoe, Illinois, native was also named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete.
 
Anderson matched his career high of eight points (1g/7a) and recorded a personal-best seven assists while playing in all 44 contests. The junior defenseman from Calgary, Alberta, finished with a plus-13 rating and 14 penalty minutes. The 2024 NCAA Elite 90 winner in men’s hockey also recorded a career high of 32 shots on goal and placed second on the team with 55 blocked shots, including stopping a personal-best four shots twice. Anderson was also named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete.
 
Buckberger was the 2025 NCAA Elite 90 winner at the men’s hockey Frozen Four and recorded career bests with nine goals and 30 points while also adding 21 assists. The defenseman had played in each of the first 85 games of his career before suffering a season-ending injury in in the postseason and missed the final three games of the year. He finished fifth in the nation with a plus-30 rating and was ranked second in the country at the time of his injury. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native also produced 71 shots on goal, 36 blocked shots 22 penalty minutes in his sophomore campaign, and he was also named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete.
 
In addition, Davis and Devine were also selected as finalists for the CSC Academic All-America awards and will now advance to the national ballot this month. This year’s At-Large First, Second and Third Teams are set to be announced on July 9.
 

By: Justin Lafleur

HANOVER, N.H. – A pair of Dartmouth men’s rowing head coaches have been named finalists for their respective IRCA National Coach of the Year awards. Wyatt Allen, the Betsy and Mark Gates 1959 Head Coach of Men’s Heavyweight Rowing, is one of four heavyweight finalists while men’s lightweight head coach Trevor Michelson is one of two finalists on the lightweight side. Dartmouth is the only school to have finalists for both men’s heavyweight and lightweight rowing.
 
Allen joins the head coaches of Washington (Michael Callahan), Cal (Scott Frandsen) and Syracuse (Dave Reischman) as finalists. He led the Big Green to a historic season, highlighted by the varsity eight finishing third at the IRA National Championship. It was the boat’s best finish since 1992. The crew also earned silver at the Eastern Sprints. The Big Green earned three total medals at sprints, which also included bronze from the second and fourth varsity eights, while advancing all its boats to the grand finals at nationals.
 
Michelson and MIT head coach Will Oliver are the two coach of the year finalists on the lightweight side. Under Michelson’s guidance, the Big Green finished second in the varsity eight and in total team points at IRAs, marking the program’s top team points standing in program history. It was also Dartmouth’s first medal at nationals since 2012. The varsity eight finished with a time of 5:32.250 in the grand final, less than three seconds behind first-place Harvard and ahead of MIT, Penn, Princeton and Navy.
 

By Alexis Demopoulos

Boston Jr. Rangers forward Kade Smigaj is thrilled to announce his NCAA Division III commitment to the Milwaukee School of Engineering for the 2025-26 season after a great year in the NCDC.

Smigaj, a native of Stevens Point, Wis., joined the Boston Jr. Rangers in November and had nothing but positive things to say about his experience. He played in 42 regular season games and tallied 21 points (six goals, 15 assists).

“I think coach Rich DeCaprio is really good at communicating with his players on what they need to do to get better, and be successful on and off the ice,” said Smigaj. “I joined the Boston Jr. Rangers in November and it was a really good fit for me in this organization.”

Early in 2025, Smigaj began communicating with MSOE head coach Brandon Richards and things took off from there.

“Coach Richards liked my speed and skating and said that it would fit into his style of play,” said Smigaj.

Being from Wisconsin, Smigaj was intrigued by MSOE as it is close to home. He also knew he could get a top notch education and play hockey.

“What first interested me most with MSOE was not only the hockey program but how good of an education you get,” said Smigaj. “It is a spot close to home where my family will be able to watch a lot of the games.”

The campus itself sparked a lot of joy for Smigaj and he loved everything the school had to offer.

“When I visited the campus, I really liked the layout and the location of everything,” said Smigaj. “The campus is all within walking distance, very easy to get from class to class. I also really liked the method of teaching MSOE applied, with more project-based learning, which is a really good fit for me. The rink is on campus with awesome amenities that come with it. After my visit there, I was really impressed and excited with everything they have to offer as a student-athlete.”

Knowing that the college level will be more challenging, Smigaj is spending his summer getting stronger.

“I’m really working on getting bigger and stronger to help create more scoring opportunities by moving into the college level,” said Smigaj.

The NCDC congratulates Kade Smigaj, his family, the Boston Jr. Rangers and the Milwaukee School of Engineering for his commitment.

Former National Hockey League and U.S. National Team Head Coach Scott Gordon has been named the new head coach of the Waterloo Black Hawks, the team announced on Wednesday.

Gordon reached the NHL as a goaltender for the Quebec Nordiques and has been a hockey coach since 1994.  In that time, he led the New York Islanders (2008 to 2010) and the Philadelphia Flyers (2018 to 2019), as well as three stints guiding Team USA during the IIHF Men’s World Championships.  Gordon joins the Black Hawks following Matt Smaby’s departure for the University of North Dakota after the Clark Cup Playoffs.

“Waterloo has a track record of bringing players to higher levels, and I look forward to building on the success the team had last season,” said Gordon.  “Players at this age are capable of tremendous things but still absorbing a lot of ideas, so it is an exciting and rewarding prospect to coach them.  I would like to thank Black Hawks Managing Partner Eric Petersen and the entire organization for this opportunity.”

 

“This is a very exciting day for the Black Hawks, our players, and our fans; I look forward to welcoming Scott to the Cedar Valley and watching as he shares the insights earned at hockey’s highest levels,” said Black Hawks President and COO Joe Greene.  “The Black Hawks strive to bring world-class hockey talent to Waterloo – on and off the ice – and today’s announcement reinforces that commitment.”

Gordon acclimated to the United States Hockey League in 2024/25, working with the Youngstown Phantoms.  Youngstown Head Coach Ryan Ward had served as Gordon’s video coach with the Islanders.  As they reconnected, Gordon enjoyed a first-hand, ice-level view of player development in the USHL.  Now he and Black Hawks General Manager Kevin Gibson will collaborate to build Waterloo’s team for 2025/26.

“Scott has a proven track record of developing players, and I look forward to working with him,” said Gibson.  “He has helped players get the most out of themselves, whether they were on NHL ice or aspired to get there.  Scott’s understanding of coaching and development philosophies will help the Black Hawks continue to be a place where NHL prospects want to grow toward the next level.”

During his time with Philadelphia and New York, Gordon earned an NHL record of 89-116-27.  He was named the Flyers’ head coach midway through the 2018/19 season, bringing home a 25-22-4 mark after the team had started the year 12-15-4.  The year included a late-season connection with Waterloo: former Black Hawks defenseman Mark Friedman made his NHL debut when Gordon filled out his lineup card on April 6, 2019.

Gordon’s first NHL coaching opportunity began in July of 2008, when he was named head coach of the Islanders.  It was a role he earned after leading the Providence Bruins to the best record in the American Hockey League the prior season and claiming the AHL’s Lou Pieri Award as the league’s coach of the year.  Gordon directed the Islanders for parts of three seasons; the most notable campaign was in 2009/10, when New York was 34-37-11, including a 23-14-4 mark on home ice.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks have both benefited from Gordon’s insights during his stints as an assistant coach.  For three seasons beginning in 2011, Gordon was part of Toronto’s coaching staff and helped the Leafs end a long playoff drought in the spring of 2013.  His most recent NHL-level experience was with a young San Jose Sharks team during the 2023/24 campaign.  In total, Gordon has spent all or part of eight seasons on the bench as an NHL head coach or assistant.

Gordon also repeatedly worked with NHL players on the international stage.  He was an assistant for the 2009 United States entry at the Men’s IIHF World Championships.  Less than a year later, he held the same role during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, helping Team USA to a silver medal.  Gordon was promoted to the U.S. head coaching role for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 World Championships.  He also worked as an assistant on the squad which represented the United States during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Back in 2001, Gordon joined an AHL staff for the first time, spending much of the next decade with Providence.  The Bruins reached the Calder Cup playoffs during all eight of his seasons as either an assistant or head coach.  Adding six later campaigns with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Gordon became the sixth coach in AHL history to claim 400 victories.  He reached the milestone in March of 2021.  His career record in the AHL stands at 407-262-87.  Gordon also worked in the International Hockey League for the Atlanta Knights and Quebec Rafales, as well as in the ECHL for the Roanoke Express.

As a player, Gordon made his NHL debut for the Nordiques on January 30, 1990, stopping 32 of 37 shots against the Buffalo Sabres.  Less than a week later, he turned in a career-best 49-save effort during a 3-2 loss against the Boston Bruins.  Gordon posted a 2-16-0 record across 23 NHL appearances in two seasons.  He spent much of the 1991/92 season touring with the U.S. National Team in preparation for the Olympics and appeared during the Winter Games in Albertville, France.  During Gordon’s final season as a professional player, the Atlanta Knights won the IHL’s Turner Cup championship.

The Massachusetts native played NCAA hockey for Boston College, helping the Eagles reach three NCAA Tournaments.  Gordon was named a Hockey East First Team All-Star in 1986.  He graduated that spring from the college’s School of Management.

Gordon will make his USHL head coaching debut in September.  Season tickets are on sale now for the Black Hawks’ 2025/26 campaign.  For more information, visit tickets.waterlooblackhawks.com or call the Black Hawks’ front office at (319) 232-3444.