The best coaches are those who can lead teams to consistent winning, but with so many great coaches in college hockey, how do they separate from one another? Winning, building a culture, and setting your student-athletes up for success make you more than just a coach, and when it's time for awards
The AHCA Coach of the Year awards honor the top men's and women's college hockey coaches across NCAA Divisions I, II, and III. Voted on by the American Hockey Coaches Association, these awards recognize outstanding leadership, regular-season success, and postseason achievement.
The premier men's Division I trophy is the Spencer Penrose Award, while Division III men receive the Edward Jeremiah Award. These honors celebrate coaches who maximize their team's potential, exhibit excellent sportsmanship, and make significant contributions to the sport. Winning represents the highest level of peer recognition in collegiate coaching.
All last year’s winners are back with their programs. Dartmouth’s Reid Cashman will be back with the program after just coaching the U.S. at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup; Penn State Nittany Lions women’s coach Jeff Kampersal is back; Hobart College men’s coach Mark Taylor is returning; and UW-River Falls women's coach Joe Cranston is back with the program.
With them being back, who are some other names who could be in the race for any of these awards?
Spencer Penrose Award: Brett Larson, University of Minnesota
Larson was the head coach over at St.Cloud State for the past eight seasons, where they improved throughout his time there, but they never saw the national success the program has seen in the past.
With Larson joining the Golden Gophers next season, who finished second-to-last in the Big Ten with just seven wins, he has a chance to give them a large boost with a ton of incoming talented by Nashville Predators first-round pick Wyatt Cullen. If Minnesota competes for the conference title and appears in the Frozen Four, he should be considered for the award.
CCM/AHCA Women’s Coach of the Year: Mark Johnson, University of Wisconsin
Mark Johnson just won the national championship, so if the Badgers fail to reach that again, how could he possibly be in the running to win the Coach of the Year? He lost his three top scorers to the PWHL draft and multiple other key pieces: Caroline Harvey (1), Laile Edwards (4), Lacey Eden (5), Kristen Simms (8), and Vivian Jungles (11).
That’s an insane amount of talent lost and roster spots turned over, and if Johnson can dominate the scene and win the conference, he should be in the running no matter how good his team was in the 2025-26 season.
Edward Jeremiah Award: Matt Bruneteau, Stevenson University
Bruneteau’s first season back with the Mustangs didn’t miss a beat; the team finished second in the MAC for the second season in a row, and he now has a chance to build off of it with some new pieces to hopefully make a run in the national tournament.
Bruneteau has Division I experience from his three seasons with the University of Alaska-Anchorage, and now that he’s back with Stevenson after being on their staff almost 10 years ago, a strong season can put his name on the map as the top Division III coach in the country.
CCM/AHCA DIII Women’s Coach of the Year: Justin Simpson, Norwich University
Last season was the first for women’s hockey in the Little East Conference, and it couldn’t have gone better for Norwich; they finished with a perfect undefeated season until the national tournament, where they lost in the semi-finals to Nazareth.
If Simpson and his squad go through back-to-back undefeated seasons, it’ll be hard to deny him this award.
