UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State freshman Gavin McKenna was named a top-10 finalist for the 2026 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as announced on NHL Network on Wednesday.

The award is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey and McKenna becomes the second Nittany Lion in consecutive seasons to be recognized as a finalist following Aiden Fink last season.

McKenna is one of four Big Ten finalists for the award and is one of two freshman up for the honor.

McKenna is also the first-ever Nittany Lion to earn Big Ten scoring champion honors as he paced the league with 38 points on 11 goals and 27 assists in 24 conference games. His 38 points are the second-most ever by a league scoring champion, only trailing Michigan’s Kyle Connor (2015-16) and Wisconsin’s Cole Caufield (2020-21) who each tallied 43 points in league games.

McKenna also received more good news when he was named the Big Freshman of the Year to highlight six Nittany Lions named to Big Ten All-Conference teams.

McKenna is Penn State’s first-ever Freshman of the Year winner.

McKenna led the Big Ten, and ranks second in the nation, with his 51 points while his 1.50 points per game average, which is also currently a Nittany Lion single-season standard, is also tops in the conference.

McKenna, along with fellow freshman Jackson Smith, were each named to the All-B1G Second Team and the B1G All-Freshman Team with McKenna being the lone unanimous rookie selection.