Penn State women’s hockey reached new heights in the 2025-26 season. Now, some of its most valuable contributors are off to the pros.
Fresh off their first Frozen Four appearance, the Nittany Lions had seven players selected in Wednesday’s Professional Women’s Hockey League Draft, the most among any NCAA team.
Olympic gold medalist Tessa Janecke leads seven Penn State PWHL Draft Selections
It didn’t take long for the first member of the blue and white to come off the board.
Forward Tessa Janecke became Penn State’s highest draftee in program history when PWHL Las Vegas selected her with the third overall pick. The expansion franchise made Janecke its first ever PWHL Draft selection.
Janecke is having quite a 2026 so far. In February, she recorded five assists in seven games at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, helping the United States women’s team to a gold medal.
She had 48 points in her senior season and capped off her Penn State career with a third consecutive Atlantic Hockey America Player of the Year award. The Nittany Lions’ all-time leader in goals, assists, and points, Janecke also became the program’s first top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmeier Award, given to the top women’s college hockey player in the U.S.
Penn State saw two players selected in the third round. Defenseman and alternate captain Leah Stecker went 27th overall to the Boston Fleet. She was followed six picks later by two-time All-AHA forward Maddy Christian, who ended up with the Minnesota Frost.
With a 27-4 record and .936 save percentage, goaltender Katie DeSa was one of the biggest reasons for the Nittany Lions’ success in 2025-26. The program record-holder with 25 shutouts earned her second consecutive AHA Goaltender of the Year nod this past season. DeSa was the 37th overall pick to the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
The New York Sirens took forward Katelyn Roberts in the fourth round with the 43rd overall pick. Roberts set a Penn State single-season record with seven game-winning goals in 2025-26. She is a two-time All-AHA selection, earning First Team honors as a junior in 2024-25.
In the fifth round, defenseman Kendall Butze became the second Nittany Lion blueliner to be selected. Penn State’s all-time leader for points and assists by a defenseman joined Janecke in Las Vegas with pick No. 49.
The blue and white’s 2026 draftees were capped off by forward Mya Vaslet, who headed to one of the league’s other new franchises in Hamilton, Ontario with the 66th overall pick.
After finally breaking through to the national semifinals, Penn State’s 2026 draft class is a reflection of the program’s ascent to the elite. The Nittany Lions’ nation-leading seven selections beat out powerhouses Wisconsin, Ohio State, Cornell, and Minnesota, who had five picks each.
Add us as a preferred source on Google