Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Evan Peacock
Basgall, Augustine, Nightingale Highlight Big Ten Hockey Postseason Awards
3/18/2026 12:30:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 3-ranked Michigan State hockey received three postseason awards from the Big Ten Conference on Wednesday afternoon, with senior defenseman Matt Basgall being named Defensive Player of the Year, junior goaltender Trey Augustine earning Goaltender of the Year, and Head Coach Adam Nightingale garnering Coach of the Year honors. In total, the Spartans placed five student-athletes on the All-Big Ten teams.
MSU was well represented on the All-Big Ten First Team, making up four of the six spots. Basgall and Augustine were joined on the first team by senior forward Charlie Stramel and freshman forward Porter Martone. Martone was the only freshman in the conference selected to the first team. Senior forward Daniel Russell earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention designation.
It's the first Defensive Player of the Year honor for Basgall, who was previously a finalist for the award in 2025. Basgall is the second Spartan to win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year joining Artyom Levshunov in 2024. It's the second consecutive season that Basgall has earned First Team All-Big Ten honors. A team captain as a senior, Basgall tied for seventh on the team in points (18) and tied for the most points by a defenseman alongside junior Maxim Strbak. He only took two minor penalties all season and was second on the team in blocked shots (39).
Augustine is the second back-to-back Big Ten Goaltender of the Year in conference history and the first since 2016-17 (Eric Schierhorn, Minnesota). The only other multi-time Goaltender of the Year in MSU history is Ryan Miller, who earned CCHA Best Goaltender in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Augustine is now a two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection after earning second team honors in 2024 and first team honors in 2025. Augustine led all Big Ten goaltenders in wins (23), goals against average (2.08) and save percentage (.929) this season, ranking No. 6 nationally in save percentage and No. 11 in goals against average.
Nightingale earns the second Big Ten Coach of the Year honor of his career after leading Michigan State to its third consecutive Big Ten regular season championship. The Spartans finished the regular season 25-7-2 and 16-6-2 in Big Ten action to tally 51 points towards the conference leaderboard. In Big Ten action the Spartans produced the top power play unit (.309), the top penalty kill unit (.802), the best goals against average (2.23) and the best scoring margin (+1.4). Nightingale had previously been a finalist for the award in each of his previous three seasons at the helm. MSU sits at No. 3 in the NPI and awaits its region as a top seed in the NCAA tournament this weekend.
Martone was the only freshman named to the All-Big Ten first team after leading the league in goals (20 in Big Ten play, 24 overall, both led the league). He's only the fourth player in Big Ten history to score 20 goals in Big Ten play and the second freshman to do so joining Cole Caufield (24, 2020-21), Kyle Connor (22, 2015-16, freshman) and Tyler Motte (20, 2015-16). The Peterborough, Ontario native also finished as the conference leader in +/- at +20. Martone enters the NCAA tournament ranking No. 4 in points per game (1.42), No. 2 in goals per game (0.73) and No. 21 in assists per game (0.70).
Stramel turned in a career-best season as a senior ranking No. 1 nationally in game-winning goals (7), No. 2 in faceoffs won (461), No. 11 in points per game (1.26), No. 19 in goals per game (0.54) and No. 21 in assists per game (0.71). He nearly doubled his career point total this season with 44 points through 35 games on 19 goals and 25 assists. An alternate captain, Stramel leads Michigan State with a +30 +/-. His breakout performance came outdoors at Beaver Stadium where he tallied three goals (including the overtime game-winner) and an assist against then No. 5-ranked Penn State in front of 70,000+ fans.
Russell was the unsung hero of Michigan State's top line forwards this season, leading the Spartans in assists (28) and ranking No. 14 nationally in assists per game (0.80). His 39 points rank third amongst his teammates and his 1.11 points per game rank No. 23 in the country. This is the first All-Big Ten accolade of Russell's career after setting new career-bests in both points and assists in his final campaign.
MSU was well represented on the All-Big Ten First Team, making up four of the six spots. Basgall and Augustine were joined on the first team by senior forward Charlie Stramel and freshman forward Porter Martone. Martone was the only freshman in the conference selected to the first team. Senior forward Daniel Russell earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention designation.
It's the first Defensive Player of the Year honor for Basgall, who was previously a finalist for the award in 2025. Basgall is the second Spartan to win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year joining Artyom Levshunov in 2024. It's the second consecutive season that Basgall has earned First Team All-Big Ten honors. A team captain as a senior, Basgall tied for seventh on the team in points (18) and tied for the most points by a defenseman alongside junior Maxim Strbak. He only took two minor penalties all season and was second on the team in blocked shots (39).
Our captain Matt Basgall is your Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year!
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 18, 2026
After being a finalist for the award in 2025, Basgall becomes the second Spartan to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors alongside Artyom Levshunov (2024).
Basgall was also our recipient of the… pic.twitter.com/RUxVAQ74Ba
Augustine is the second back-to-back Big Ten Goaltender of the Year in conference history and the first since 2016-17 (Eric Schierhorn, Minnesota). The only other multi-time Goaltender of the Year in MSU history is Ryan Miller, who earned CCHA Best Goaltender in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Augustine is now a two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection after earning second team honors in 2024 and first team honors in 2025. Augustine led all Big Ten goaltenders in wins (23), goals against average (2.08) and save percentage (.929) this season, ranking No. 6 nationally in save percentage and No. 11 in goals against average.
Trey Augustine has earned back-to-back Big Ten Goaltender of the Year of the honors!
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 18, 2026
He's only the second goaltender in Big Ten history to earn consecutive Goaltender of the Year honors.
Augustine led the Big Ten in wins (23), goals against average (2.08) and save percentage… pic.twitter.com/030rd4IkDQ
Nightingale earns the second Big Ten Coach of the Year honor of his career after leading Michigan State to its third consecutive Big Ten regular season championship. The Spartans finished the regular season 25-7-2 and 16-6-2 in Big Ten action to tally 51 points towards the conference leaderboard. In Big Ten action the Spartans produced the top power play unit (.309), the top penalty kill unit (.802), the best goals against average (2.23) and the best scoring margin (+1.4). Nightingale had previously been a finalist for the award in each of his previous three seasons at the helm. MSU sits at No. 3 in the NPI and awaits its region as a top seed in the NCAA tournament this weekend.
Adam Nightingale has been selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second time in his career!
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 18, 2026
Previously selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2024, Nightingale has been a finalist for the award in each of his seasons at the helm. pic.twitter.com/p9X2fOCK6w
Martone was the only freshman named to the All-Big Ten first team after leading the league in goals (20 in Big Ten play, 24 overall, both led the league). He's only the fourth player in Big Ten history to score 20 goals in Big Ten play and the second freshman to do so joining Cole Caufield (24, 2020-21), Kyle Connor (22, 2015-16, freshman) and Tyler Motte (20, 2015-16). The Peterborough, Ontario native also finished as the conference leader in +/- at +20. Martone enters the NCAA tournament ranking No. 4 in points per game (1.42), No. 2 in goals per game (0.73) and No. 21 in assists per game (0.70).
Stramel turned in a career-best season as a senior ranking No. 1 nationally in game-winning goals (7), No. 2 in faceoffs won (461), No. 11 in points per game (1.26), No. 19 in goals per game (0.54) and No. 21 in assists per game (0.71). He nearly doubled his career point total this season with 44 points through 35 games on 19 goals and 25 assists. An alternate captain, Stramel leads Michigan State with a +30 +/-. His breakout performance came outdoors at Beaver Stadium where he tallied three goals (including the overtime game-winner) and an assist against then No. 5-ranked Penn State in front of 70,000+ fans.
Russell was the unsung hero of Michigan State's top line forwards this season, leading the Spartans in assists (28) and ranking No. 14 nationally in assists per game (0.80). His 39 points rank third amongst his teammates and his 1.11 points per game rank No. 23 in the country. This is the first All-Big Ten accolade of Russell's career after setting new career-bests in both points and assists in his final campaign.
The Spartans lead the Big Ten with four First Team All-Big Ten selections!
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 18, 2026
Augustine and Basgall repeat as first-teamers while Charlie Stramel and Porter Martone earn their first career All-Big Ten selections.
Martone is the ONLY freshman to be named to the first team and… pic.twitter.com/Fmufymr6he
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