No NCAA Division III Alumni Has Cracked A PWHL Roster To Date, Could That Soon Change?

NCAA Division III is a marked step below the NCAA Division I programs that are regularly producing PWHL talent. But that doesn't mean there are players who become the exception. 

While the PWHL has yet to see an NCAA Division III alumnae crack a lineup, netminder Natalie Stott will be in training camp this season with the Boston Fleet, and other notable players from the level could soon be making their way to the league, challenging to become the first to make the climb.

In the PWHL's inaugural season, the league nearly had an NCAA Division III alum. That season, Nikki Nightengale was signed as a reserve by the Minnesota Frost. Nightengale, who played four seasons for Augsburg University however, never signed a PWHL standard contract, nor did she appear in a game. It was close, but it did not happen.

This season, 5-foot-10 netminder Natalie Stott who completed her senior season at Amherst College last season. She was a four time All-American who posted a career 0.88 GAA and .960 save percentage. It's not impossible to imagine Stott being Boston's third goaltender, but with Aerin Frankel and Amanda Thiele ahead of her, getting into a game would be the real challenge. Still, should Stott even dress for a game, it would put her closer than any other Division III player to the PWHL.

If Stott doesn't crack the league, there are a pair of players currently starring in Europe who will be eyeing the PWHL next season, both of whom will likely make rosters, and break this barrier for Division III players permanently if Stott doesn't get there first.

Hungarian national team member Madie Leidt is one of those players. After graduating from Middlebury College in 2022, Leidt went to Europe playing the next three seasons with HK Budapest in Hungary to gain national team eligibility, as she originally hails from Des Moines, Iowa. Leidt represented Hungary in 2025 and 2026 at the World Championships, serving as an assistant captain in 2026. Last season she moved from the EWHL with Budapest to the SDHL with Linkoping, and had a solid first season in the world's second best professional women's hockey league. This season Leidt is playing for powerhouse Frolunda, and it's believed she intends to enter the 2027 PWHL Draft where she'll be a promising candidate for selection.

She could be joined by forward Ann-Frederique Guay. Guay captained Norwich University in 2022-23 scoring 46 points in 29 games while being named an All-American. The following season, she spent a graduate campaign at the University of Maine, recording 28 points in 34 games in her only NCAA Division I season. From there Guay signed in the SDHL with Linkoping, and spent last season with HC Fribourg-Gottéron in Switzerland's PostFinance Women's League where she recorded 40 points in 27 games, finishing sixth in league scoring. This season Guay sits at the top of the Swiss league passing the 20 point mark in her first eight games. Should she declare for the PWHL Draft, Guay could be another veteran option for teams.

They aren't alone either. Other Division III alumni such as Zsofia Pazmandi (SUNY-Plattsburgh), Antonia Matzka (Holy Cross), and Janka Hlinka (Middlebury College) could all look at the league and earn consideration.

Eventually, an NCAA Division III alumnae will make their way into the PWHL whether it's this season with Natalie Stott, or next with another player. Once they do, another wave of women's hockey players will see the possibility in their pathway to turn pro in the best league in the world.