There will be 37 NCAA players competing in the women's hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympics in Milano Cortina. They'll be leaving their teams in the final weeks of the NCAA season.
Across the NCAA, the top players from many programs ended their regular season this past weekend as they prepare to depart for the 2026 Olympics in Italy.
The top ranked Wisconsin Badgers will watch Laila Edwards (USA), Caroline Harvey (USA), Kirsten Simms (USA), Ava McNaughton (USA), and Adela Sapovalivova (Czechia) head to Milano Cortina.
"We knew it was coming, and we've talked about it since September, time went by quickly, and now here we are," said Badgers head coach and former Olympic gold medalist Mark Johnson. "Overall, we put ourselves in a good position. Now we're going to get challenged, but it's no different than some early games that we had in the season with injuries."
Several teams from the WCHA will watch their top talents board planes this week for pre-tournament games prior to the start of the Olympic women's hockey tournament on February 5.
The University of Minnesota, with Nelli Laitinen (Finland), Josefin Bouveng (Sweden), Abbey Murphy (USA), and Teresa Plosova (Czechia), lead the way with players from the most nations.
Ohio State will see a trio of Swedes in Mira Jungaker, Hilda Svensson, Jenna Raunio, as well as Joy Dunne (USA) and Sanni Vanhanen (Finland) travel overseas.
The list goes on as 37 total NCAA women's hockey players will compete this winter at the Olympics. It includes seven of the current top 10 scorers in the nation.
The remainder of the cohort includes USA's Tessa Janecke (Penn State); Finland's Julia Schalin (Mercyhurst), Emilia Kyrkkö (St. Cloud State) and Siiri Yrjölä (St. Cloud State); Sweden's Thea Johansson (Minnesota-Duluth), Ida Karlsson (Minnesota-Duluth), and Nicole Hall (Penn State); Czechia's Michaela Hesova (Dartmouth), Andrea Trnkova (Clarkson); France's Manon le Scodan (Clarkson), Jade Barbirati (Quinnipiac), Julia Mesplede (Vermont), Lucie Quartro (Lindenwood), Elina Zilliox (Lindenwood); Switzerland's Naemi Herzig (Holy Cross), Laura Zimmermann (St. Cloud State), Monja Wagner (Union), and Alessia Baechler (Northeastern); Germany's Lilli Welcke (Boston University), Luisa Welcke (Boston University), Nina Christof (RPI), and Svenja Voigt (St. Cloud State); and Italy's Matilde Fantin (Penn State).
The majority of NCAA players will miss the remainder of the NCAA season with women's hockey playoffs beginning only days following the conclusion of the Olympic Games.