Brett Larson had a 153-116-23 record as St. Cloud State’s head coach. Dave Schwarz / Imagn Images
March 24, 2026Updated 9:55 am EDT
MINNEAPOLIS — Brett Larson, who won an NCAA championship as a University of Minnesota-Duluth assistant coach and two World Juniors gold medals as an assistant coach with USA Hockey, will be the new men’s hockey coach at the University of Minnesota, multiple sources tell The Athletic. An announcement is expected Tuesday.
The 53-year-old former defenseman at Minnesota-Duluth replaces Bob Motzko, who mutually parted ways with the Gophers on Wednesday after eight years. Like Motzko, Larson comes to the Gophers from St. Cloud State, where he coached the Huskies to a 153-116-23 record from 2018 to 2026. Larson replaced Motzko there, too.
Larson was recently a finalist for the Wisconsin job that went to Mike Hastings. He was chosen by the Gophers over finalists Grant Potulny (University of Minnesota alum and current Hartford Wolf Pack coach) and Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik. There was speculation that Minnesota would pursue Garrett Raboin, but he agreed to an extension with Augustana on Friday.
A Duluth native, Larson won an NCAA championship as a Duluth assistant in 2018 and World Juniors gold as an assistant in 2024 and 2025. At St. Cloud, he coached the Huskies to the NCAA championship game in 2021, losing to UMass. He won a National Collegiate Hockey Conference title in 2023 and was NCHC Coach of the Year in 2018-19 after a regular-season NCHC title.
Larson had long been rumored to be the heir apparent at his alma mater, UMD, whenever Scott Sandelin retires, but it’s hard to pass up such a prestigious job like coaching the Gophers.
The news comes two days after the Gophers named Greg “Boom” May the replacement for longtime women’s coach Brad Frost. Frost led the team to national championships in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016, but the Gophers haven’t made the title game since 2019. May was previously associate head coach of the team.
Mar 24, 2026
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