Through two seasons of PWHL play, trends are beginning to emerge when looking at the leading NCAA programs promoting players to the top league in the world. Including players selected in the 2025 PWHL Draft, eight schools have moved to the front of that line as the only programs to send ten or more players to the PWHL.
Looking at where players were competing in their draft year, or final season of collegiate eligibility, here's a look at the trends coming from college hockey to the pros.
WCHA Schools Leading The Way
The four most successful programs in sending players to the PWHL are all from the WCHA. Leading the way is Ohio State with 24 players who have been drafted to the PWHL, or played as free agent signings. Among that group are players like Natalie Spooner, Sophie Jaques, Cayla Barnes, Emma Maltais, Jennifer Gardiner, and 2025 first round pick Jenna Buglioni.
The only other program with 20 players to be drafted or play is Minnesota-Duluth who sits at 20 exactly. Minnesota-Duluth's list includes players like Katerina Mrazova, Maddie Rooney, Jocelyne Larocque, Michela Cava and 2025 pick Nina Jobst-Smith.
Wisconsin, who sits at 19 players could leap frog into the lead soon with a huge incoming class of standouts in the 2026 PWHL Draft class including Caroline Harvey, Lacey Eden, Laila Edwards, Kirsten Simms and others. Their current PWHL cohort includes Hilary Knight, Ann-Renee Desbiens, Emily Clark, Daryl Watts, Blayre Turnbull, Sarah Nurse, and 2025 third overall pick Casey O'Brien. In terms of impact players, Wisconsin might be the leader for the league.
The fourth WCHA program sending numbers to the PWHL is Minnesota, who has produced 16 picks and players. Their group includes Lee Stecklein, Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle, and Natalie Mlynkova.
Top Programs In The East
Rounding out the schools with ten or more players in the PWHL pool are Clarkson, Colgate, Quinnipiac, and Northeastern.
Clarkson (14 players) has been a PWHL factory for defenders, an elite group that includes Renata Fast, Erin Ambrose, Savannah Harmon, Ella Shelton, Nicole Gosling, and Haley Winn.
Colgate (12 players), who has is the only school to have a first overall and second overall pick in their alumni list in Kristyna Kaltounkova and Danielle Serdachny.
Northeastern's (13 players) notable alumni include Kendall Coyne Schofield, Gwyneth Philips, Aerin Frankel, and Alina Muller.
The school in the east with the largest group is Quinnipiac, who has 17 alumni drafted or signed including Kati Tabin, Corinne Schroeder, Shiann Darkangelo and 2025 6th overall pick Kendall Cooper.
Canadian Universities
Eight Canadian schools have advanced players to the PWHL level at the draft or as free agents. The University of Montreal, McGill, British Columbia, Alberta, and Concordia have all produced multiples, while Waterloo, Saskatchewan, and St. FX are the others.
Chanreet Bassi from the University of British Columbia was the lone U Sports player selected in the 2025 draft, following former teammate Rylind MacKinnon who cracked the league as a free agent the year before, and Emmy Fecteau from Concordia who was drafted and signed a three-year contract with the New York Sirens.
University Programs Ranked By Number Of Alumni
- Ohio State - 24
- Minnesota-Duluth - 20
- Wisconsin - 19
- Quinnipiac - 17
- Minnesota - 16
- Clarkson - 14
- Northeastern - 13
- Colgate - 12
- Cornell - 9
- St. Lawrence and Boston University - 8
- St. Cloud, Boston College, Connecticut, Harvard, Minnesota State - 5
- Mercyhurst, Providence, Princeton, Montreal - 4
- Yale, Penn State, Merrimack - 3
- Syracuse, British Columbia, McGill, New Hampshire, Maine, Alberta, Concordia - 2
- RPI, St. FX, RIT, Dartmouth, Waterloo, Robert Morris, Vermont, Lindenwood - 1