Hastings named finalist for Spencer Penrose Award
March 31, 2026 | Men's Hockey
Men’s hockey head coach up for CCM/AHCA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin men's hockey head coach Mike Hastings is a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award, given to the top coach in Division I college hockey, by the American College Hockey Association and CCM. The finalists were announced on Tuesday, March 31.Â
The 10 nominees represent this year's conference Coach of the Year honorees, as well as coaches whose teams have advanced to the 2026 NCAA Frozen Four.
Hastings, who earned Coach of the Year honors during his time at Minnesota State in 2015, 2021 and 2022, is one of only three coaches who have won this award three times. In the 75 years that the award has been presented, Hastings is the only coach to win the award in consecutive years.
During the 2025-26 season with UW, Hastings led the Badgers to their first Frozen Four since 2010, and their second NCAA Tournament appearance in his third year behind the bench. He also engineered a 10-win improvement for UW, advancing from 13 wins in 2024-25 to 23 in 2025-26 so far.Â
Hastings helped UW earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid on the strength of its impressive record against the top teams in the nation. Wisconsin owns four wins over top-2 teams for the first time since the USCHO.com Poll began in 1997. During the regular season, the Badgers also went 5-1-0 on the road against top-6 teams with two wins over then-No. 1 Michigan State, two wins at then-No. 6 Penn State and one win over then-No. 2 Michigan.
In its NCAA Tournament regional games, Hastings directed Wisconsin to a 5-1 win over Dartmouth in the semifinals before beating No. 1-seeded Michigan State in the final, with captain Ben Dexheimer striking 24 seconds into overtime after UW scored two goals in 30 seconds in the final five minutes of the contest to tie the game at three and send it to the extra time.
This season marks Hastings' 10th NCAA tournament appearance as a coach after directing the Mavericks to eight NCAA tournament appearances and the Badgers to two. He also owns three Frozen Four appearances, leading MSU to a pair in 2021 and 2022, including an NCAA title game in 2022, and another with UW in 2026.
Hastings has an all-time record of 361-154-32, including 62-45-7 at the helm of the Badgers' coaching staff. He ranks sixth all-time in win percentage with .689, and is second among active coaches – Denver's David Carle leads with .695.
David Carle (Denver), Reid Cashman (Dartmouth), Dane Jackson (North Dakota), Andy Jones (Bentley), Erik Largen (Alaska), Nate Leaman (Providence), Brandon Naurato (Michigan), Adam Nightingale (Michigan State) and Luke Strand (Minnesota State) round out the list of finalists.Â
Selected by the nation's 63 NCAA Division I head coaches, the winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 8.Â
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