College Sports
Gavin McKenna gives Penn State 1 of the most hyped recruits ever, not just in hockey
Two days after 17-year-old hockey star Gavin McKenna announced his intentions to play for Penn State in the fall, the school confirmed the news via press release. “His arrival to Hockey Valley is extremely significant not only to our hockey program, but to Penn State athletics and to college hockey as a whole,” coach Guy […]

Two days after 17-year-old hockey star Gavin McKenna announced his intentions to play for Penn State in the fall, the school confirmed the news via press release.
“His arrival to Hockey Valley is extremely significant not only to our hockey program, but to Penn State athletics and to college hockey as a whole,” coach Guy Gadowsky said in the release.
Gadowsky is not exaggerating.
McKenna’s commitment gives Penn State not only one of the most hyped recruits in college hockey history, but maybe also the most ballyhooed recruit in the history of the school’s athletic programs.
Part of that is because of McKenna’s abilities, of course. He’s a 6-foot, 170-pound scoring machine who took his aura to another level when he recorded at least one point in the last 40 games of the regular season and first 14 points of the playoffs for Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League last year.
He ended up with 129 points in 56 regular-season games and 38 more in 16 playoff games.
Please enjoy four and a half minutes of Gavin McKenna highlights after he officially announced his commitment to @PennStateMHKY. ????
The projected 2026 first overall pick is already a star.
(????: @tigershockey & @TheWHL) pic.twitter.com/m3iQaMAXZu
— NHL (@NHL) July 8, 2025
It is also because of a major rule change in 2024. The NCAA ruled that playing Canadian major junior hockey no longer made a player ineligible to play college hockey. McKenna is the first major star to take advantage of the rule change.
Five college players have gone No. 1 overall in the NHL Draft in the past, like McKenna surely will next June, but none was nearly as acclaimed. They are Macklin Celebrini (2024), Owen Power (2021), Erik Johnson (2006), Rick DiPietro (2000) and Joe Murphy (1986).
Penguins…
1984 Mario Lemieux 1st overall.
21 years later…
2005 Sidney Crosby 1st overall.
21 years later…
2026 Gavin McKenna 1st overall??
Could happen. Penguins look like they will be a lottery team.— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) July 8, 2025
It’s also easy to include McKenna on a short list of the most hyped recruits in any sport in Penn State history.
In football, the Nittany Lions have had two players go No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft — Ki-Jana Carter (1995) and Courtney Brown (2000) — but neither was considered a top player in the country coming out of high school.
The highest ranked football recruits in Penn State history — at least since prospect rankings became popular three or four decades ago — are wide receiver Derrick Williams and linebacker Micah Parsons. Williams was the No. 4 recruit in the country in 2005 and Parsons was No. 5 in 2018.
17-year-old hockey phenom Gavin McKenna is heading to Penn State to continue his career ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/qrxxfILu9P
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 8, 2025
The closest thing to McKenna in terms of prospect hype in Penn State sports history might be a classmate of his. Wrestler P.J. Duke will be a freshman with the Nittany Lions next season, and last month, he defeated four-time NCAA champion Yanni Diakomihalis to win a spot on the U.S. national team for the world championships before wrestling his first college match.
Under Cael Sanderson, Penn State has snagged the No. 1 recruit in the country four other times — Morgan McIntosh (2011), Mark Hall (2016), Shayne Van Ness (2021) and Marcus Blaze (2024) — but that’s wrestling. It’s impossible to suggest any of those outstanding grapplers have the name value McKenna does.
Blue-and-white McKenna hockey jerseys are sure to be Happy Valley’s hottest fashion accessory any day now.
“He’s one of the most exciting young talents in the game and reflects the level of student-athletes we’re bringing to Penn State across all sports,” athletic director Pat Kraft said in Thursday’s press release, marking the rare occasion an AD comments on the addition of a single recruit.
“His commitment is a testament to the national reputation Guy Gadowsky and his staff have built, and we know he’ll thrive in the culture of excellence that surrounds our program. We can’t wait to see him compete alongside this incredible group and help push our program to even greater heights.”
With yesterday’s commitment of 5 ⭐️ recruit and the consensus #1 pick for the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna, we’ve truly entered a new era in Penn State hockey.
The Nittany Lions recruiting classes are loaded with 5 and 4 star recruits. pic.twitter.com/ghIPu7bzB2
— Puck Preps (@PuckPreps) July 9, 2025
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
College Sports
NFL legend Tom Brady torches college football motives for hurting its athletes
College football looks drastically different now than it did even 10 years ago with the constant evolution of NIL and transfer portal drama, and one of the NFL’s biggest superstars and legends has had enough of it. RELATED: College football guru Paul Finebaum threatens to leave America if SEC fails in 2025 Tom Brady played […]

College football looks drastically different now than it did even 10 years ago with the constant evolution of NIL and transfer portal drama, and one of the NFL’s biggest superstars and legends has had enough of it.
RELATED: College football guru Paul Finebaum threatens to leave America if SEC fails in 2025
Tom Brady played at Michigan in a very different era of college football, but the former New England Patriots star had a lot to say about how the NCAA’s “money”-focused approach isn’t helping players.
“We’re just talking about ‘money, money, money, money,’ like – that’s the only value in college?”@TomBrady believes the priorities in CFB are messed up and hurting the athletes in the long run. pic.twitter.com/2Zh9fCug1h
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) August 11, 2025
While recently speaking with fellow Fox Sports broadcaster Joel Klatt, Brady questioned the motives of college football; “We’re just talking about ‘money, money, money, money,’ like – that’s the only value in college?”
This comes at a time where the Texas Longhorns and star quarterback Arch Manning have devoted tens of millions of resources into their program, while college football as a whole has used the transfer portal to allow players to move schools and essentially accept the highest bid if they choose to move programs.
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College Sports
Holy Cross announces 2025-2026 women’s ice hockey schedule
Story Links WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross head women’s ice hockey coach Katie Lachapelle has announced her team’s 2025-2026 schedule, which is slated to begin on Sept. 26. The Crusaders are set to play 33 regular season games this year, including 24 contests against Hockey East foes. The season begins […]

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross head women’s ice hockey coach Katie Lachapelle has announced her team’s 2025-2026 schedule, which is slated to begin on Sept. 26. The Crusaders are set to play 33 regular season games this year, including 24 contests against Hockey East foes.
The season begins with two home games against RPI (Sept. 26-27), followed by a two-game set at Delaware (Oct. 4-5) and a road contest at Boston College (Oct. 10). Holy Cross will return to Worcester for two games with Dartmouth (Oct. 17-18), before playing home-and-home series with Post (Oct. 24-26), Connecticut (Nov. 1-2) and Merrimack (Nov. 7-8). The Crusaders then play two home games with Maine (Nov. 14-15), a home-and-home series with New Hampshire (Nov. 21-22) and a pair of home contests with Assumption (Nov. 29) and Boston University (Dec. 2). Holy Cross will close out the first semester with a two-game set at Vermont (Dec. 5-6).
The Crusaders return to action at Maine (Jan. 3), followed by a home date with Boston College (Jan. 9). After a road game at Boston University (Jan. 17), Holy Cross will play home-and-home series with Providence (Jan. 23-24) and Northeastern (Jan. 30-31). The Crusaders will next face Boston College (Feb. 6) and New Hampshire (Feb. 7) at home, before traveling to Merrimack (Feb. 13) and Providence (Feb. 14). The regular season concludes at home against Vermont (Feb. 20).
The 2026 Hockey East Tournament begins with the first round on Feb. 25, followed by the quarterfinals on Feb. 28, the semifinal round on March 3 and the championship game on March 7.
FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross women’s ice hockey team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
X – @HCrossWHockey | @goholycross
Instagram – @hcrosswhockey | @goholycross
Facebook – Holy Cross Women’s Ice Hockey | Holy Cross Athletics
YouTube – GoHolyCross
College Sports
Men’s Hockey Individual Game Tickets on Sale Now
DURHAM, N.H. – Individual game tickets for the 2025-26 University of New Hampshire men’s hockey season are on sale now for all 17 home games by visiting UNHWildcats.com/BuyTickets or by calling (603) 862-4000. The ‘Cats begin the home season in the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex versus LIU (Oct. 24) and […]

The ‘Cats begin the home season in the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex versus LIU (Oct. 24) and Quinnipiac (Oct. 25). The home Hockey East schedule is highlighted by a matchup with Boston College (Jan. 24) on Military Appreciation Night presented by Milton CAT and Blue Out BU presented by Service Credit Union against Boston University (Feb. 13).
The annual postgame Skate with the ‘Cats will take place on Sunday, Dec. 14 after the 4 p.m. contest with Granite State rival Dartmouth. And Dollar Dogs return versus Northeastern (Jan. 16) on Youth Sports Night presented by Bangor Savings Bank.
A full promotional calendar will be announced at a later date.
BUY TICKETS NOW
College Sports
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College Sports
Would Tom Brady have left Michigan in NIL transfer era?
The post Would Tom Brady have left Michigan in NIL transfer era? appeared first on ClutchPoints. Before he was an analyst for Fox Sports. Before he purchased a minority share of the Las Vegas Raiders. Before he won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And before he even took the New England Patriots […]

The post Would Tom Brady have left Michigan in NIL transfer era? appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Before he was an analyst for Fox Sports. Before he purchased a minority share of the Las Vegas Raiders. Before he won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And before he even took the New England Patriots on an absolute run after taking the starting spot away from Drew Bledsoe, Tom Brady was a Day 3 prospect competing for playing time with Drew Henson at the University of Michigan.
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Now, in hindsight, the idea of Brady having to split playing time in college is crazy, as he’s now firmly in the “GOAT” conversation at the NFL level but at the time, head coach Lloyd Carr didn’t exceptionally comfortable with either player as his unquestioned top star and thus, would alternate the two future sixth round picks as he saw fit.
In 1999, there wasn’t much Brady could do about his situation, but in 2025, when the transfer portal has changed the business of college football forever, would he have considered making a move away from Michigan to greener pastures and an unquestioned starting job? Well, Brady was asked that question on The Joel Klatt Show and had a very interesting answer indeed.
“It’s such a hypothetical situation to a question to think about. The only thing I can answer is to say that based on what my experience was I wouldn’t want it any other way than what I the way that I did it,” Tom Brady noted.
“My college experience was very challenging. It was very competitive. The lessons I learned in college that I referred to earlier, and certainly about competition, those traits transformed my life as a professional. I was ready to compete against anybody because the competition in college toughened me up so much that I had a self-belief and self-confidence in myself that whatever I was faced I could overcome that.”
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Did Brady’s time in college set him up for the challenges of the NFL, where he was promised nothing and had to compete for everything? In his opinion, that certainly contributed to it, but one thing is for sure: If Brady had been highlighted more on another team, he might not have fallen to the Patriots at pick 199, effectively changing NFL history forever.
Related: 3 teams that are overrated in preseason AP Top 25 poll
Related: Michigan football rumors: Bryce Underwood ‘continues to trend’ toward winning Wolverines’ QB job
College Sports
LSU gymnastics commit Hezly Rivera wins all-around national title
LSU gymnastics commit Hezly Rivera won the U.S. Gymnastics all-around title during Sunday’s competition in New Orleans, LA. The 17-year-old took home the national championship with 112.000 total points between both days of the meet and became the title’s youngest winner since 2017. She won gold outright in beam and floor and then tied for […]

LSU gymnastics commit Hezly Rivera won the U.S. Gymnastics all-around title during Sunday’s competition in New Orleans, LA.
The 17-year-old took home the national championship with 112.000 total points between both days of the meet and became the title’s youngest winner since 2017. She won gold outright in beam and floor and then tied for the top spot on bars.
Rivera earned a selection on the 2024 Olympics team alongside the sport’s biggest names, such as Simone Biles and Suni Lee. She was the youngest Olympian from the United States during the games in Paris.
After returning from Paris, 16-year-old Rivera committed to LSU in a post on her social media account in September. She chose the then-reigning national champions as her collegiate team. Her first competitive season for the Tigers is slated for 2027.
“I am so blessed and excited to announce that I have verbally committed to Louisiana State University on a full athletic scholarship. Thank you to my family, coaches, and teammates for helping me throughout this process. I also want to thank all the girls, coaches, and staff at LSU for everything,” Rivera said.
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