News that Penn State fans have been waiting for for weeks and became inevitable Monday finally became officially official Tuesday: Gavin McKenna is coming to Penn State.
McKenna, described by many as a generational talent and the favorite to go No. 1 overall in the 2026 Draft, announced his decision to commit to PSU on ESPN Tuesday evening.
Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects reported Monday afternoon that McKenna would be committing to Penn State, and McKenna confirmed that and multiple other reports Tuesday evening.
Hockey fans never got to see Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid or Wayne Gretzky play at the college level. Time will tell if McKenna’s career comes anywhere close to any of those four, who are some of the best to ever play. But it’s fair to say that McKenna playing in the NCAA is the closest thing people will have to watching one of those guys compete at that level.
McKenna, a native of Whitehorse, Yukon in Canada, scored 129 points for the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers, and won’t turn 18 until close to the end of the year.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.His performance earned him the David Branch Player of the Year, presented annually to Canada’s top amateur player. Previous winners of that award include Lemieux, Crosby and McDavid.
But McKenna will be expected to dominate the Big Ten, and it would be huge for Penn State if he meets that expectation. The program is coming off its best season ever, ending with its first trip to the Frozen Four. Now, Penn State will be expected to be right in the mix to win the whole thing.
Along with McKenna and Jackson Smith, a defenseman who went No. 14 overall to the Blue Jackets in last month’s Draft, Penn State has commitments from Pierce Mbuyi and Luke Misa and got a transfer from Mac Gadowsky, Guy’s son, who was a Hobey Baker Award finalist at Army last season.
