Caroline Harvey Wins Patty Kazmaier Award | Wisconsin Hockey

UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn. – Wisconsin women’s hockey senior Caroline Harvey received the 2026 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award on Saturday, recognizing her as the top player in NCAA women’s college hockey. The announcement from USA Hockey comes just a month after Harvey secured a gold medal with Team USA at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Harvey, a 23-year-old defender, is the seventh player from the University of Wisconsin to win the prestigious award, joining Sara Bauer (2006), Jessie Vetter (2009), Meghan Duggan (2011), Brianna Decker (2012), Ann-Renee Desbiens (2017), and Casey O’Brien (2025). Wisconsin now holds the national lead with seven Kazmaier Award winners.

At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Harvey tied with fellow American defender Megan Keller for the most points on the U.S. Team, recording nine points (two goals, seven assists) throughout the tournament. She was named the MVP of the Olympic tournament.

This season, Harvey ranked fourth nationally with 63 points, matching her career-high total from the previous year. She reached a milestone on Friday, becoming the first Badger defender to accumulate 200 career points, achieved with an assist on Wisconsin’s game-winning goal against Penn State. Her 146 career assists are the second-most in program history, trailing only Casey O’Brien’s 177.

Harvey was named the WCHA Player and Defender of the Year this season. She boasts a career plus/minus rating of +213, one of only four Badgers to surpass a +200 rating.

The defender beat out Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy and Penn State’s Tessa Janecke for the honor; both players also represented the United States at the Milan Cortina Games.

Harvey is widely projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) draft in June, entering a draft pool considered exceptionally deep with talent.

Harvey and the Wisconsin Badgers are set to face Ohio State in the Frozen Four final on Sunday.