Jeff Kampersal Tabbed USCHO Coach of the YearJeff Kampersal Tabbed USCHO Coach of the Year

Jeff Kampersal Tabbed USCHO Coach of the Year

Kampersal earns his second national coach of the year award this season after being named the CCM/AHCA Women’s University Division Coach of the Year on March 19

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women’s ice hockey head coach Jeff Kampersal was named the USCHO Coach of the Year on Friday morning. It is the second national coach of the year honor this season for Kampersal, who was named the CCM/AHCA Women’s University Division Coach of the Year ahead of the Frozen Four. 

The 2025-26 campaign was a historic season for the Nittany Lions. Under Kampersal’s guidance, the program reached its first Frozen Four and finished No. 3 in both the USA Hockey and USCHO polls, the highest mark in program history. In the National Semifinal against eventual national champion Wisconsin, Penn State set a program and Women’s Frozen Four attendance record with 5,176 fans packed inside Pegula Ice Arena.

USCHO Coach of the Year

To reach the Frozen Four, the team earned the program’s first-ever win at the NC Women's Ice Hockey Championship with a 3-0 victory against No. 6 UConn in the Regional Final at Pegula Ice Arena. Penn State hosted a regional in the NC Women's Ice Hockey Championship for the first time in program history.  

With 33 wins during the 2025-26 campaign, the Blue & White set a single-season program record for the second season in a row. Over the past four seasons, PSU has amassed 113 victories, tying for the third-most in the country in that time frame. 

Kampersal earned his fifth overall, fourth in a row, AHA/CHA Coach of the Year honor on March 5. It was his 11th time receiving a conference coach of the year honor after earning six in his time at Princeton. 

The Nittany Lions won their fourth consecutive AHA/CHA Championship on March 7. The team won its fourth straight regular season title with a sweep of Delaware on January 23 and 24.

Kampersal reached the 500-win mark for his career against Delaware on January 23, becoming the fifth coach in history to reach the milestone. He owns an 183-91-41 record at Penn State and a 510-352-99 mark for his career.   

This season, the program set an AHA record with seven postseason awards won, earned by six individuals. The team tied program records with nine All-AHA selections and four All-AHA First team honorees. 

Kampersal has coached 45 All-CHA/AHA honorees, five CHA/AHA Players of the Year, four CHA/AHA Rookies of the Year, three CHA/AHA Best Defenseman and three CHA/AHA Goaltenders of the Year.   

Kampersal has coached nine Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award nominees, including Tessa Janecke, who became the program’s first Top-Three Finalist in program history this season. Janecke became the program’s first CCM/AHCA First Team All American on March 21. 

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