Penn State men’s hockey officially became a Division I sport just 13 years ago. Since then, it’s had four NCAA Tournament appearances, and recently made its first Frozen Four.
Although they lost to Boston University, the Nittany Lions’ trip to St. Louis has skyrocketed them to the top of the hockey mountain. It’s given them the momentum to land high-end recruits from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), with the icing on the cake coming in the form of Gavin McKenna — the consensus projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
While hockey has seen a solid amount of success in its short history, Penn State football has
amassed a wealth of it with over 100 years of competing under its belt. It holds two national championships, 33 bowl victories and is arguably a blue blood in college football.
Despite the discrepancies in success and history, both programs find themselves in very similar spots in 2025.
National championship expectations are surrounding two of the most veteran coaches in Happy Valley — James Franklin and Guy Gadowsky — with Franklin’s squad having all the veteran talent imaginable, and Gadowksy’s being the complete opposite with an influx of young NHL draft selections.
But which team has the better chance of hoisting a national championship trophy this year?
Head coach James Franklin points at the trophy as confetti falls after the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the Fiesta Bowl between Penn State and Boise State on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The Nittany Lions beat the Broncos 31-14.
Sienna Pinney
Lexie Linderman: Football
In 2022, Michigan reached the College Football Playoff semifinal where it fell at the hands of national title runner-up TCU by six points. That offseason, most of the Wolverines’ veteran playmakers, most notably quarterback JJ McCarthy, returned for one final chase at a national championship, and they succeeded, lifting the trophy in 2023.
Penn State seems to be following a similar script. It lost in the semifinals of the 2024 playoff by three points to Notre Dame, and nearly all of its veteran stars, including quarterback Drew Allar, are back for one last ride.
Also returning are Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who are the consensus best running back duo in college football. Plus, Walter Camp preseason All-American Zane Durant, defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton and safety Zakee Wheatley are all back for Year 4.
It’s Penn State’s offseason acquisitions, however, that truly make it worthy of a national championship. Franklin and his staff utilized the transfer portal more than they ever have in the winter and spring, bringing in three new wide receivers to help fix a room that had zero receptions in the Orange Bowl loss.
Devonte Ross, Kyron Hudson and Trebor Peña give the Nittany Lions the ability to have a balanced offense and a respectable wideout group for the first time in years. With their additions, every position on the roster has quality starters, even if the depth at some might be thinner than others.
Although the new wide receivers were necessary for success, the Nittany Lions’ most important offseason addition is someone who’ll be sitting in the booth this fall: Jim Knowles. Penn State poached him away from 2024 national champion Ohio State to fill its open defensive coordinator position after Tom Allen departed for the same role at Clemson.
Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles talks to reporters in the Lasch Football Building on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in University Park, Pa.
Alexandra Antoniono
Penn State’s new defensive coordinator led the Buckeyes to the nation’s top mark in yards allowed per game last season, but Knowles couldn’t agree on a deal to return for a fourth season in Columbus, Ohio. Franklin was left with leverage to make him the highest paid coordinator in the country.
Knowles’ presence gives Penn State one of, if not the best coordinator duos in the country, a pivotal piece of any national title contender. Even better, Knowles and Andy Kotelnicki are just two of the plethora of experienced assistants at Penn State.
Gadowsky, meanwhile, has proved himself as one of the better coaches in college hockey, but a lot of his staff is young, and his right-hand man Keith Fisher left this offseason to become Lindenwood’s head coach.
The Nittany Lions are undoubtedly in the perfect position to win a national championship, and they have something most of Gadowsky’s squad doesn’t: experience under the bright lights of NCAA postseasons.
All that being said, it’s clear Franklin’s squad has the higher chance of winning the coveted national championship he’s been chasing in Happy Valley since 2014.
Chase Fisher: Men’s hockey
On April 10, senior forward Carson Dyck fired a shot from his own zone’s trapezoid 200-feet down the ice. The horn blared and Boston University players swarmed their netminder, while the Nittany Lions sat with their hands over their heads in defeat. Penn State may have fallen to the Terriers in the semifinals of the Frozen Four — but that was just the spark it needed.
Instead of wallowing around in pity, Gadowsky immediately went on the offensive. He added goaltender Kevin Reidler, an Ottawa Senators fifth-round selection, and Mac Gadowsky, a top-10 Hobey Baker award finalist through the transfer portal. Both additions seemingly replaced two cornerstones on the 2024-25 roster in netminder Arsenii Sergeev and captain defenseman Simon Mack.
Gadowsky didn’t stop there, striking again in early May by adding Calgary Flames prospect Luke Misa from the CHL. Misa added surefire strength down the middle for the Nittany Lions, but it also thrusted them into a whirlwind of rumors regarding some of the most premier NHL prospects.
Introducing: McKenna and Jackson Smith.
Penn State earned commitments from a pair of the most sought-after recruits in this year’s recruiting cycle, locking up two future college hockey stars in just the span of a month. Smith adds a strong two-way, 200-foot game to Nittany Lions’ blue line, while McKenna is a generational NHL prospect, offering pure dominance on the offensive side of the puck.
These additions don’t even mention the WHL’s leading goalscorer in the 2024-25 season, Shea Van Olm, a stout big-bodied CHL defenseman, Nolan Collins and a small, agile forward that dominated the U18 World Juniors for Team Canada, Lev Katzin.
Penn State men’s hockey head coach Guy Gadowsky celebrates following the win at the NCAA Regional Finals against Uconn on Sunday, March 30, 2025 in the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa. The Nittany Lions beat the Huskies 3-2.
Megan Miller
All in all, Penn State’s roster for next year is stacked — it’s easily the best in program history, and arguably the most talented in the entire NCAA. As of right now, the Nittany Lions are the overwhelming favorite to win the national title and they may not even be done yet. Gadowsky and his staff have been linked to premier prospects such as Porter Martone and Michael Misa, which would make the club a tough out in any circumstance.
Regardless, Gadowsky and the vice president for intercollegiate athletics, Pat Kraft, have shoved their eggs all into one basket: the 2025-26 season. With Penn State returning a majority of its core, including last year’s Big Ten leading scorer, Aiden Fink, it’s undeniable that the time is now for the blue and white.
McKenna is a one-and-done player after this year, Smith likely begins his tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets following next season and Fink’s future status is uncertain with his entry-level contract still unsigned with the Nashville Predators.
With all these scenarios looming, Gadowsky has his eyes set not only on a date in Las Vegas for the Frozen Four, but to hoist the national championship trophy along with it.
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