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Gavin McKenna’s selection in the 2026 NHL draft gives Penn State its first-ever No. 1 pick, making it just the fifth NCAA hockey program with a first-overall pick. McKenna is just the sixth NCAA hockey player ever drafted No. 1 and the third in the last five years (2021, 2024, 2026).
As a freshman in 2025-26, McKenna became the first Penn State player to win the Big Ten scoring title with 38 points (11G, 27A) in 24 Big Ten games. He set the Penn State single-season record for assists with 36 and became just the third Nittany Lion to reach the 50-point mark in a season. His 36 assists and 51 points were both Penn State freshman records, and his eight points in a game against Ohio State on Feb. 20 were the most in an NCAA DI game in 39 years — his seven assists were the most in a single game since 1983.
McKenna joins the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have held the first overall pick twice in their 108-year history. They selected Auston Matthews in 2016 and Wendel Clark in 1985.
Every college hockey player drafted first overall
Draft year
Player
position
NHLÂ Team
School
2026
Gavin McKenna
LW
Toronto Maple Leafs
Penn State
2024
Macklin Celebrini
C
San Jose Sharks
Boston University
2021
Owen Power
D
Buffalo Sabres
Michigan
2006
Erik Johnson
D
St. Louis Blues
Minnesota
2000
Rick DiPietro
G
New York Islanders
Boston University
1986
Joe Muprhy
RW
Detroit Red Wings
Michigan State
Joe Murphy was the first college hockey player ever picked No. 1Â in 1986. The standout winger put up 61 points in 35 games for Michigan State en route to the Spartans’ second national championship. Murphy assisted on Mike Donnelly’s game-winning goal in a 6-5 win over Harvard in the 1986 national championship. He is the only player to ever win an NCAA DI hockey championship and be drafted first overall in the same season.
Boston University is the only school with multiple first overall picks, beginning with Rick DiPietro in 2000, who was just the second goaltender taken No. 1 overall in the NHL Draft. In 2024, Macklin Celebrini went No. 1 to the San Jose Sharks after winning the Hobey Baker Award as the youngest player in college hockey that season. His 64 points were good for third in the country behind a pair of Boston College forwards, Cutter Gauthier (65) and Celebrini’s future Sharks teammate, Will Smith (71).
In 2021, Michigan’s Owen Power was the first college player in 15 years to be selected first overall, kicking off a trend of NCAA players going No. 1 (Celebrini 2024, McKenna 2026). Power returned to Michigan after the draft, becoming just the second No. 1 overall pick to play college hockey after being drafted — Erik Johnson played for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program and later enrolled at Minnesota following his selection in the 2006 draft.
Torin Smith joined NCAA.com in January 2025 as a Digital Editorial Intern. He is a fall 2024 graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Throughout college, he held multiple internships with a focus on digital journalism and sports media. Smith is also a NATAS Southeast Emmy Award winner as the executive producer of a student documentary on the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
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