In what has been one of the biggest recruiting chases in the history of college hockey, Gavin McKenna has made his decision.

The projected No. 1 pick for the 2026 NHL Draft is heading to Penn State University for the 2025-26 season according to multiple reports and independently confirmed by FloSports. McKenna announced the decision live on ESPN's SportsCenter Tuesday evening.

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McKenna narrowed a list down to Michigan State and Penn State, choosing to go to the Nittany Lions after weeks of deliberations and recent visits to both schools.

Breaking: Projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft Gavin McKenna has officially announced his commitment to Penn State for the 2025-26 season. pic.twitter.com/JFtxHG2VrW

— ESPN (@espn) July 8, 2025

It is believed that Penn State was able to offer the most lucrative NIL package to help entice the top prospect. With NHL earnings surely on the way, money likely wasn't the primary deciding factor, but the best player going to the highest bidder certainly does not hurt. Sources indicated that McKenna wanted to take on the opportunity to be a game-changing player at a program like Penn State which has yet to produce a single NHL regular since entering the NCAA in 2011.

There is momentum in State College, however.

The Nittany Lions are fresh off their first ever Frozen Four appearance last season and went on a tremendous second-half run that positioned the program well for attracting new recruits, especially as things opened up for CHL players.

McKenna is by far the highest-profile recruit in Penn State history and will likely go down as likely the highest-profile recruit to enter men's college hockey ever. Even though others like Macklin Celebrini, Adam Fantilli and Jack Eichel played in the college ranks, they made their commitments well before they were the household names they would become in prospect and scouting circles. Their recruitment was not nearly as closely viewed as McKenna’s has been and their decision certainly was not a big topic of conversation on SportsCenter.

McKenna has been viewed as the No. 1 pick for 2026 for the better part of two years, but the college option wasn’t even open to him until a landmark decision made last fall.

The NCAA made a ruling that allowed, for the first time, players from the Canadian Hockey League to be eligible to play college hockey. Many players have already made commitments to the NCAA including several high-profile recent draft picks, but none matches the pedigree and potential of McKenna, who is coming off of an incredible WHL season with the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Here is our brief report on McKenna where he was ranked No. 1 in our way-too-early 2026 NHL Draft Top 10 Rankings:

Between the regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup, McKenna put up 173 points in 76 games. His 129 in the regular season ranks third among U18 players in the WHL in the last 35 years. He had points in 54 consecutive games. We can keep going on and on with the points.

What will make Gavin McKenna the No. 1 pick however is his impressive pace, ability to process the game at remarkable speeds and hand skills that will make more than a few defenders look silly even at the NHL level. He is a play-driving winger who craves the puck and makes plays in any way you can imagine. He is a legitimate shot-pass threat, though I think he’s a better playmaker than a goal scorer. 

He's a winner, too. McKenna led Canada to the U18 World Championship in 2024 while setting the Candian scoring record in the tournament, then took Medicine Hat to the WHL championship and the Memorial Cup final. He’s a special, special talent.

In terms of pedigree, college hockey has not yet seen a player with this impressive a resume come into the college ranks in recent years. This is a massive coup for Penn State, putting the program even more firmly on the map as a destination for top prospects. That, is of course, if everything goes to plan and McKenna is the runaway No. 1 pick as everyone expects him to be next June.

Penn State has been extremely aggressive in recruiting top prospects from the CHL, but now have the centerpiece of their 2025-26 roster with McKenna.

In addition to McKenna’s arrival, the Nittany Lions also picked up a commitment from Jackson Smith, who was selected 14th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2025 NHL Draft. He is the highest-drafted player ever to commit to the Nittany Lions, or at least will be until McKenna goes next season.

Additionally, the Nittany Lions still have Hobey Baker Top 10 finalist Aidan Fink and recent second-round draft pick Charlie Cerrato returning from last year’s team. Goalie transfer Kevin Reidler, an Ottawa Senators draft pick, will be joining the team this year, as will Hobey Top 10 finalist and strong NCAA free agent defenseman Mac Gadowsky who starred at West Point. Calgary Flames draft pick Luke Misa and point-per-game forward Lev Katzin also were added as recruits this year out of the CHL, among others.

This is a potential transformational period for Penn State in landing the highest-profile recruits. They have not yet had this kind of splash in their program’s history. Now they have by far their most talented recruiting class. Though McKenna is almost certainly a one-and-done player, the rest could be sticking around for longer.

So how did Penn State land such a high-profile piece despite the intense competition for his services that included every major program in the country?

I’m told that McKenna was enticed by the opportunity to help build something at Penn State. If he’s going to be an NHL cornerstone piece, why not get a head start at a program that has been searching to gain a foothold among college hockey’s blue bloods since arriving at the Division I level in 2011? 

Additionally, Penn State has world class facilities, access to elite level off-ice training and a competitive-enough team to give McKenna a chance at chasing another trophy after winning the WHL last season. 

Plus, the opportunity McKenna had to earn the highest NIL figure ever given to a hockey player is important, too. Though an official figure has not been confirmed, reports indicate his earnings will be as high as $750,000 USD. Additionally, McKenna is sponsored by a number of brands including Bauer, increasing his earning potential.

In the NIL era, where sports that are not football or basketball have a harder time getting athletes paid big dollars, McKenna's arrival and whatever impact he's able to make could make an impact on the pool of money afforded to hockey players by their athletics departments and NIL collectives in the future. The one caveat is that so few players will enter the collegiate ranks with the pedigree McKenna currently can boast.

Penn State has punched above its weight at times, but still hadn’t become the destination for bluechip recruits. McKenna’s value was not going to be any higher for another Big Ten program than it is for Penn State’s. To be completely honest, they couldn't pay him enough to match the value a player of his caliber saying yes to the program will bring for their future recruiting opportunities. McKenna is an especially influential player given his status as one of the CHL's very best talents and what he does will not go unnoticed. That's why this feels like such a big deal, especially for the Nittany Lions.

This is a monumental moment not just for Penn State, but for college hockey.

The arrival of McKenna is a flashpoint moment for the new era with CHL players being eligible and could be the most important test balloon for players weighing decisions about where to play in their 18-year-old and 19-year-old seasons. Several players with high-profile aspirations including McKenna’s former Medicine Hat Teammate Cayden Lindstrom at Michigan State, and Victoria Royals duo Keaton Verhoeff and Cole Reschny heading to North Dakota, have already made the decision, which made an impact but not in the same way McKenna’s will.

Now the big question is going to be how much more competitive this makes Penn State. That may take a bit longer to determine. Younger teams in college hockey tend to have a more difficult time because some programs are going to be much longer on experience. Penn State has a high number of returnees from its national championship team, but also sustained key losses including in star goalie Arsenii Sergeev turning pro with the Calgary Flames.

Though programs like Michigan, Boston University and Boston College, among others, have loaded up on top prospects and first-round picks, that has not been a recipe for success. Denver won a national championship in 2024 with future first-rounder Zeev Buium on the team, but before that, Riley Tufte was the last first-round pick to win a national championship with Minnesota Duluth in 2019. Teams like Quinnipiac and UMass won national titles without top prospects dotting their rosters.

The NCAA field is going to be awfully crowded and one of the more veteran teams in the country is going to be Michigan State, the school McKenna passed up. They have the best returning goalie in the country in Trey Augustine, the reigning Hobey Baker winner in Isaac Howard and one of the best recruiting classes they've pulled in, in many years. And don't count out defending champion Western Michigan. They had some losses, but loaded up on transfers and will return starting goalie Hampton Slukynsky. Winning in the NCAA does not come easy, especially not in the power conferences.

Because of the wide range in ages of players in college hockey -- 17 to 24 -- having the most skilled team doesn't always lead to success. But it certainly doesn't hurt.

Regardless of if the Nittany Lions win a national title this year, though, this is a massive moment to celebrate for a program that has had seemingly all the tools to land players like this, but for whatever reason hadn't yet. The talent influx in college hockey heading into the 2025-26 season is unlike anything we've ever seen and Penn State just added the very best player of that bunch. It is certainly a new era in Hockey Valley.

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