Penn State is headed into the 2025-26 season with seven new additions to its roster. 

Last fall, the blue and white battled through postseason play, making it to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. While the Nittany Lions fell 2-1 in overtime against UNC, they had an entertaining showing, beating Stony Brook, TCU and Vanderbilt in the first three rounds of the tournament. 

While the team went 15-7-3,  earning their spot in the Elite Eight for the second year in a row, they lost several players for several reasons such as moves to the National Women’s Soccer League, graduating members and transfers. 

With players leaving, also comes the arrival of new athletes and in Penn State’s situation, seven of them. Here’s seven new players to keep an eye on as the Nittany Lions look to grab an NCAA title.

Nicole Crane, forward

The Glen Rock, New Jersey, native played for World Class FC prior to signing with the blue and white. Throughout her career so far, Nicole Crane has proved to be a significant dominating factor.

The freshman forward was named to the 2022 and 2024 All-Conference New England Team. Along with that selection, she was on the U17 National Team Roster and 2024 ECNL All-American team. 

The 5-foot-6 freshman was named All-State and Conference Player of the Year en route to a 2024 High School All-American selection while playing at Depaul Catholic High School.

Kennedy Ring, forward

Kennedy Ring has roots in East Greenbush, New York, where she played for Columbia High School. Like Crane, she played for World Class FC throughout her time in club soccer. 

Ring was named a two-time ECNL All-American and ECNL Player of the Year. Receiving many decorations, and proving to be a wrecking force on the offensive for her teams, she was named to the U17 and U19 National teams, while she currently is a member of the U19-U20 player pool.

Riley Cross, midfield

Riley Cross is one of three new midfielders coming to Happy Valley and slots in as the highest-ranked recruit in the class. 

Like Ring and Crane, the Chatham, New Jersey, native also has national team experience — the 5-foot-8 midfielder has attended U15 and U17 training camps with U.S. Soccer and was named an alternate to the 2024 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.

She played for Oak Knoll High School for her first three years, earning first team All-Conference honors twice and contributing a total of 55 goals in her first two seasons. 

Senior year she joined Chatham High School, where she was named Conference Most Valuable Player and led her team to a state championship. 

Hannah Jordan, midfield

Hannah Jordan comes all the way from Southlake, Texas, where she attended Southlake Carroll High School. The 5-foot-4 midfielder contributed to a 2022 UIL 6A State Championship and was named a first team All-District selection four times. 

Club-wise, Jordan represented Solar SC, leading her team to two ECNL National Championships. She was named ECNL Conference Player of the Year and an ECNL All-American while also earning a spot on the U.S. Youth National Team.

Lily Ann Phillips, midfield

Lily Ann Phillips, a Hockessin, Delaware, native has always been a Penn State fan and dreamed of representing the blue and white from a very early age, she told The Sentinel. 

She played for Saint Marks High School, serving as the team’s senior captain. She was named a Regional All-American last year and has had her share of appearances at USYNT camps and ID events. 

Phillips played for Penn Fusion SA, where she led her team to the ECNL Final Four. 

Emma Fassora, defense

Emma Fassora calls Louisville, Colorado,  home and is one of two new defenders picked up by Erica Dambach.

 The 5-foot-7 freshman played for Real Colorado and led her team to a North American Cup title back in 2023. Additionally, Fassora contributed to her squad’s Northwest Conference Championship win in 2022.

Fassora has seen the USYNT Talent ID Center a notable three times. In the ECNL, Fassora was named to multiple ECNL Girl’s Northwest All-Conference teams. 

Marlee Raymond, defense

Marlee Raymond stems from Cumming, Georgia, where she played at West Forsyth High School as a two-sport athlete partaking in both basketball and soccer.

Raymond was a key contributor to her school’s 2024 undefeated season and across her career was named All-Region, All-State and two time Defender of the Year.

Raymond represented United Futbol Academy in her club endeavors, receiving ECNL All-Conference honors, and participated on the USYNT U15, U16, U17 and U20 teams. One of her most notable accomplishments lies in her gold medal at the UEFA Tournament just last year. 

College soccer fans have a lot to look forward to as these new forces embark on their collegiate journey and get the chance to contribute to a potential Penn State 2025 national championship run.

MORE SPORTS COVERAGE

This article is part of a series of stories stemming from a lengthy interview with Colorado College coach Kris Mayotte in mid-June. 

Colorado College hockey coach Kris Mayotte mirrors the shifting college hockey landscape around him. 

There will be no shortage of changes coming to college hockey in the 2025-2026 season. As collegiate athletics as a whole adjust to schools now being able to pay athletes directly. Thanks to the approval of the House v. NCAA settlement, college hockey specifically will change with the inclusion of Canadian Hockey League players this coming season.

But the evolution of the sport isn’t just external. Mayotte is evolving as a coach. He reflected on a 2024-2025 season in which CC underachieved and acknowledged he could have handled his team’s undefeated start differently.  

“I think I’m my best when it’s about building belief and optimism and the work that it takes to earn that. But I think when I reflect on last year, and we start 8-0 and I didn’t think we were playing very good hockey, even though we were 8-0. I probably was a little too critical,” Mayotte said. “And not that you can’t be critical, but I don’t think I blended keeping a team grounded with building belief at the same time. I think I was too much about keeping them grounded because I didn’t think we were playing up to our potential.” 

Mayotte kept his reflections and his commitment to maintaining a winning culture in downtown Colorado Springs in mind when hiring Paul Pooley, the former associate head coach at Notre Dame, for the same position at CC. Pooley replaces Peter Mannino, who parted ways with the Tigers in the offseason. Mayotte also hired former Michigan Tech assistant Jordy Murray to the same position at CC following the departure of Andrew Oglevie to Notre Dame.

According to Mayotte, Pooley’s decades of experience around a winning culture for the Fighting Irish were a key factor in his hiring.  

“Bring in a guy like Paul who’s just been around it so much and has such a good feel on what the goals are and what the priorities are, and the experience of keeping it going forward,” Mayotte said. “His experience obviously speaks for itself: seven Frozen Fours, two national championships, and a ton of All-Americans, obviously. So it’s that  background of he’s developed a lot of players, but he’s been around a lot of winning, and this is what it looks like, and this is how you act, and this is what it should feel like.” 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Stanley Cup is a little banged up, thanks to the Florida Panthers’ celebration of back-to-back titles.

The bowl of the famous trophy is cracked and the bottom is dented. Not for the first time and likely not the last.

WATCH BELOW: Fans celebrate Stanley Cup win with players

Panther fans celebrate ‘electric’ Stanley Cup victory

The Panthers won their second consecutive championship on home ice Tuesday night, beating Edmonton in six games. The team, following decades of tradition, partied with the Cup into the wee hours and kept the revelry going in Fort Lauderdale well into Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesperson for the Hockey Hall of Fame said the keepers of the Cup are taking the appropriate steps and plan to have it repaired by the celebration parade on Sunday. Made of silver and a nickel alloy, the 37-pound Cup is relatively malleable.

Damage is nothing new for the 131-year-old chalice that has been submerged in pools and the Atlantic Ocean and mishandled by players, coaches and staff for more than a century. Just this decade alone, the Tampa Bay Lightning dropped the Cup during their boat parade in 2021 and the Colorado Avalanche dented it on the ice the night they won the following year.

Read more of WPTV’s coverage of the Florida Panthers’ second straight title win:

SUGARLOAF — Luzerne County Community College President John Yudichak on Thursday said he has never been more optimistic, more energized about the future of Greater Hazleton and of Northeastern Pennsylvania than he is right now.

Yudichak addressed a full house of regional leaders, elected officials, educators and business professionals at the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce Red Carpet Breakfast, hosted at Valley Country Club and sponsored by Vytal Plant Research.

With optimism and energy, Yudichak shared his vision for how higher education, business and government partnerships are powering transformative change in Greater Hazleton and across Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Yudichak highlighted LCCC’s leadership in workforce development through groundbreaking regional collaborations — including the newly launched Teach in NEPA Project.

The initiative — a joint effort with the Hazleton Area School District and Commonwealth University — offers a debt-free pathway to a four-year teaching degree delivered entirely at LCCC’s Hazleton Center.

“The Teach in NEPA Project breaks down all the barriers to higher education,” said Yudichak. “It empowers students to chart a pathway to a college degree and a rewarding professional career without going into debt — and without ever having to leave the city of Hazleton.”

He also unveiled the LCCC Career & Technology Academy — created in partnership with the Hazleton Area Career Center, Wilkes-Barre CTC, and West Side CTC — with more than 2,000 high school students in Luzerne County now eligible to earn tuition-free college credits.

The project is supported by a $1 million Dual Credit Innovation Grant from the PA Department of Education and a $100,000 scholarship gift from businessman William Rinaldi.

Yudichak emphasized that these education pipelines are perfectly timed to meet the workforce demands brought on by large-scale investments — most notably, Amazon’s recent announcement of a $20 billion project to construct hyper-scale data centers in NEPA.

“Get ready Greater Hazleton — big tech and the AI revolution are coming,” Yudichak said. “These projects will create more than 10,000 skilled trade jobs and 1,200 technology jobs. At LCCC, we are responding with strategic, collaborative partnerships.”

Yudichak also previewed the creation of a new Technology and Trade Workforce Consortium, uniting four regional community colleges — Luzerne, Lehigh, Northampton, and Bucks — to launch Career & Technology Academies, MicroCredential Academies and Construction & Trade Pre-Apprenticeship Academies.

“LCCC has become the region’s most collaborative partner,” Yudichak said. “At LCCC, community is in our name, community is our mission—and we love being part of the Greater Hazleton community.”

The event began with remarks from Hazleton Area School District Superintendent Dr. Brian Uplinger and included recognition of elected officials, including State Sen. David Argall. Sponsor Vytal Plant Research was represented by Dr. Shobha Rudrabhatla, who also shared her organization’s commitment to STEM education in the region.

For information about the Teach in NEPA Project, LCCC Hazleton Center, or the Career & Technology Academy, visit www.luzerne.edu.