The 2025 NCAA men’s hockey tournament is set, with the 16-team bracket in place and all roads leading to the Frozen Four in St. Louis.
Regional play begins Thursday, with regional finals Saturday and Sunday, and the Frozen Four will be in St. Louis on April 10 and 12. All games will air on the ESPN networks and stream on ESPN+.
The winners of the six conference tournaments win automatic NCAA berths, while the top 10 at-large teams (based on the PairWise rankings) round out the field.
Boston College, the overall No. 1 seed, will play in the Manchester, New Hampshire, regional — with Big Ten champion Michigan State (Toledo, Ohio), Hockey East champ Maine (Allentown, Pennsylvania) and NCHC champion Western Michigan (Fargo, North Dakota) earning the other three top seeds.
Denver, last year’s national champion, will defend its title as the No. 3 seed in Manchester, while UConn (No. 2 in Allentown) and Bentley (No. 4 in Manchester) are in the NCAA tournament for the first time.
Below is the schedule for entire tournament, which will be updated with results as games are played, plus a look at each of the 16 teams.
Semifinals, March 27 Boston University vs. Ohio State, 2 p.m., ESPNU Michigan State vs. Cornell, 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
Final, March 29 Semifinal winners, 4 or 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Fargo (N.D.) Regional
Semifinals, March 27 Western Michigan vs. Minnesota State, 5 p.m., ESPNU Minnesota vs. UMass, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
Final, March 29 Semifinal winners, 4 or 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Manchester (N.H.) Regional
Semifinals, March 28 Boston College vs. Bentley, 2 p.m., ESPNU Providence vs. Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
Final, March 30 Semifinal winners, 4:30 or 7 p.m., ESPN2
Allentown (Penn.) Regional
Semifinals, March 28 UConn vs. Quinnipiac, 5 p.m., ESPNU Maine vs. Penn State, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
Final, March 30 Semifinal winners, 4:30 or 7 p.m., ESPN2
FROZEN FOUR at Enterprise Center, St. Louis
National semifinals, April 10 Manchester winner vs. Fargo winner, Time TBD, ESPN2 Toledo winner vs. Allentown winner, Time TBD, ESPN2
National championship game, April 12 Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2
Teams at a glance
Toledo Regional
No. 1 Michigan State
Record: 26-6-4
PairWise rating: No. 2
How the Spartans got here: Big Ten champion
Last 10 games: 6-3-1
History lesson: This is Michigan State’s 29th NCAA appearance. The Spartans have been to the Frozen Four 11 times and have won three national titles, the last in 2007. Michigan State lost to Michigan in the regional finals last season, which was its first time in the tournament since 2012.
No. 2 Boston University
Record: 21-13-2
PairWise rating: 7
How the Terriers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost Hockey East semifinal to Maine)
History lesson: This is BU’s 40th NCAA appearance, including three of the past four years. The Terriers have been to the Frozen Four 24 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2009. The Terriers lost in overtime to Denver in the national semifinals last season, the second straight year they lost in the national semis.
No. 3 Ohio State
Record: 24-13-2
PairWise rating: 10
How the Buckeyes got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-5 (lost Big Ten final to Michigan State)
History lesson: This is Ohio State’s 12th NCAA appearance and its second in three years. The Buckeyes have been to the Frozen Four twice, most recently in 2018, and have never won the national title.
No. 4 Cornell
Record: 18-10-6
PairWise rating: 17
How the Big Red got here: ECAC champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: This is Cornell’s 27th NCAA appearance, including the past three years in a row. The Big Red have been to the Frozen Four eight times and have won the national championship twice, most recently in 1970. Cornell lost to Denver in the regional finals last season.
Fargo Regional
No. 1 Western Michigan
Record: 30-7-1
PairWise rating: 4
How the Broncos got here: NCHC champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: This is Western Michigan’s 10th NCAA appearance, including the past four years. The Broncos lost in overtime to Michigan State in the first round last season, falling to 1-10 all time in NCAA tournament play.
No. 2 Minnesota
Record: 25-10-4
PairWise rating: 5
How the Golden Gophers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost Big Ten quarterfinal series to Notre Dame)
History lesson: This is Minnesota’s 42nd NCAA appearance, including the past five years. The Gophers have been to the Frozen Four 23 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2003. Minnesota lost to Boston University in the regional finals last season.
No. 3 UMass
Record: 20-13-5
PairWise rating: 11
How the Minutemen got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-2-3 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to BU in overtime)
History lesson: This is UMass’ seventh NCAA appearance, including five of the past six tournaments. The Minutemen have been to the Frozen Four twice and won one national title, in 2021. UMass lost to Denver in double overtime in the first round of last year’s tournament.
No. 4 Minnesota State
Record: 27-8-3
PairWise rating: 14
How the Mavericks got here: CCHA champion
Last 10 games: 9-0-1
History lesson: This is Minnesota State’s 12th NCAA appearance, including six of the last seven tournaments. The Mavericks have been to the Frozen Four twice and are still looking for their first national championship. Minnesota State didn’t make the tournament last year and lost to St. Cloud State in the first round in 2023.
Manchester Regional
No. 1 Boston College
Record: 26-7-2
PairWise rating: 1
How the Eagles got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to Northeastern)
History lesson: This is BC’s 39th NCAA appearance. The Eagles have been to the Frozen Four 26 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2012. BC lost to Denver 2-0 in last year’s championship game after not making the tournament the previous two years.
No. 2 Providence
Record: 21-10-5
PairWise rating: 8
How the Friars got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to UConn)
History lesson: This is Providence’s 16th NCAA appearance, its first since 2019. The Friars have been to the Frozen Four five times and won the national title once, in 2015.
No. 3 Denver
Record: 29-11-1
PairWise rating: 9
How the Pioneers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-3 (lost NCHC final to Western Michigan in double overtime)
History lesson: This is Denver’s 34th NCAA appearance, including 15 of the past 16 tournaments. The Pios have been to the Frozen Four 18 times and won 10 national titles, the most ever. Denver beat BC for the national championship last season, its second title in three years.
No. 4 Bentley
Record: 23-14-2
PairWise rating: 22
How the Falcons got here: Atlantic champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: This is Bentley’s first NCAA appearance in the program’s 26th season in Division I and the second year with Andy Jones as coach. The Falcons have set a school record for victories and are enjoying their first winning season since 2020.
Allentown Regional
No. 1 Maine
Record: 24-7-6
PairWise rating: 3
How the Black Bears got here: Hockey East champion
Last 10 games: 6-2-2
History lesson: This is Maine’s 21st NCAA appearance. The Black Bears have been to the Frozen Four 11 times and have won two national titles, the last in 1999. Maine lost to Cornell in the first round last season, its first tournament appearance since 2012.
No. 2 UConn
Record: 22-11-4
PairWise rating: 6
How the Huskies got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 8-1-1
History lesson: This is UConn’s first NCAA appearance in the program’s 27 years in Division I. The Huskies set a school record for wins as a Div. 1 team in Mike Cavanaugh’s 11th season at the helm.
No. 3 Quinnipiac
Record: 24-11-2
PairWise ranking: 12
How the Bobcats got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-3 (lost ECAC semifinal to Cornell in overtime)
History lesson: This is Quinnipiac’s 11th NCAA appearance, including each of the last six tournaments. The Bobcats have been to the Frozen Four three times and won one national title, in 2023. Quinnipiac lost to Boston College in overtime in the regional finals last season.
No. 4 Penn State
Record: 20-13-4
PairWise rating: 13
How the Nittany Lions got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-2-1 (lost Big Ten semifinal to Ohio State in overtime)
History lesson: This is Penn State’s fifth NCAA appearance. In 2023, the Nittany Lions lost in the regional finals to Michigan in overtime. Penn State has never been to the Frozen Four.
A day after Nico Iamaleava finalized his move from Tennessee to UCLA, Joey Aguilar is doing the same from UCLA to Tennessee in what’s essentially a quarterback trade, sources told ESPN on Monday.
Aguilar transferred from Appalachian State to UCLA during the winter portal and was the front-runner to be the Bruins’ starting quarterback this fall. But UCLA announced the signing of Iamaleava on Sunday, and Aguilar entered the spring portal Monday.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said on April 12 when announcing the program was moving forward without Iamaleava that the Vols would add another quarterback in the spring portal. When Aguilar became available, Tennessee immediately showed interest. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior has one year of eligibility remaining after passing for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns the past two seasons at Appalachian State. Aguilar, originally from Antioch, California, started his career at Diablo Valley Community College.
The deal that Aguilar is finalizing to go to Tennessee is similar financially to the deal that he previously had at UCLA, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. He had $1.2 million left at UCLA on his deal, and his new deal at Tennessee is close to that. Factoring in taxes, it will be similar pay for Aguilar. He’d also already made more than $200,000 in his first few months at UCLA.
Iamaleava, Tennessee’s starter last season as a redshirt freshman, entered the portal last Wednesday, the day it opened. He skipped practice the previous Friday and didn’t alert coaches or teammates. After several people around the program tried to contact him that day, Iamaleava called offensive coordinator Joey Halzle that night to inform him that he was entering the portal and didn’t attend the Vols’ spring game the next day. That morning, Heupel — who said he never heard from Iamaleava — told the team that Iamaleava would no longer be part of the program.
Heupel thanked Iamaleava for his contributions to the program but added, “There’s no one that’s bigger than the Power T, and that includes me.”
Iamaleava’s representatives were pushing to have his NIL deal increased, sources told ESPN, and On3 reported the Thursday before Iamaleava missed practice Friday that the two sides were in negotiations. Iamaleava was set to earn in the $2.4 million range this year from Tennessee. He signed his initial contract with the Spyre Sports Group, a Tennessee-based collective, while still in high school. His full deal was reportedly $8 million but would have been closer to $10 million had he stayed the entire time at Tennessee. Sources told ESPN that Iamaleava’s representatives wanted a deal in the $4 million range for him to stay at Tennessee for a third season.
Iamaleava redshirted his first season on campus and took over the starting duties last year in helping to lead Tennessee to the College Football Playoff. He finished with 2,616 passing yards and 19 touchdowns but passed for more than 200 yards only twice in nine games against SEC opponents and Ohio State in the playoff game.
Aguilar was the Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2023 and started 24 games during his two years at Appalachian State. He set a school record with 4,002 yards of total offense his first season for the Mountaineers and another school record for the regular season with 33 touchdown passes. His numbers dipped some in 2024 with 3,003 passing yards and 23 touchdowns. He had a career high of 424 yards on 32 completions in a win over East Carolina. Aguilar was intercepted 14 times last season and threw 24 interceptions during his two-year career at Appalachian State.
As news broke last week that UCLA was a likely destination for Iamaleava, Aguilar’s representatives began reaching out to different schools to gauge interest.
UCLA coach DeShaun Foster said two weeks ago that he had “full belief” in what offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri could do with Aguilar because of Sunseri’s “record with one-year quarterbacks.”
Foster said each day in the spring that Aguilar was settling down and “getting more comfortable running the offense.” Aguilar had been on campus for part of only three months. He’ll have about that same amount of time to get ready for the start of preseason practice at Tennessee. He will join redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre as the three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. Neither has played a meaningful college snap.
Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
Madden Iamaleava, the younger brother of Nico Iamaleava, is expected to join his brother at UCLA, a source told ESPN’s Chris Low on Monday.
The younger Iamaleava, an Arkansas freshman quarterback, will make the move after deciding to enter the NCAA transfer portal, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN earlier in the evening.
Madden Iamaleava was ESPN’s No. 145 overall recruit in the 2025 class and previously spent nearly eight months committed to UCLA before he flipped his pledge to the Razorbacks during the early signing period in December. To date, Iamaleava is the highest-ranked member of the 2025 ESPN 300 to enter the transfer portal during the spring window.
Iamaleava’s exit from Arkansas comes one day after his older brother committed to UCLA out of the transfer portal. Nico Iamaleava landed with the Bruins on Sunday just over one week after Tennessee coach Josh Heupel announced that the Volunteers were moving forward without the former four-star prospect, who left the program after missing multiple team events earlier this month.
Madden Iamaleava was ESPN’s No. 12 pocket passer in the 2025 recruiting cycle. The 6-foot-3 quarterback from Long Beach, California, initially committed to UCLA in May 2024. He remained a member of coach DeShaun Foster’s inaugural signing class up to the start of the early signing period on Dec. 4 before he flipped and signed with Arkansas alongside fellow Bruins pledge and Long Beach Polytechnic High School teammate Jace Brown.
At the time, Madden Iamaleava’s commitment to the Razorbacks marked a major recruiting win for Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, and the freshman passer remained with the program through the end of spring camp earlier this morning. He will enter the portal as one of the most intriguing quarterbacks transfer prospects with four years of eligibility remaining.
Madden Iamaleava did not play during his senior season after he was declared ineligible following his transfer from California’s Warren High School to Long Beach Polytechnic. He led Warren to an 11-3 record in his first season as a starting quarterback as a junior in 2023.
CBS Sports/247 Sports was the first to report the news of Madden Iamaleava deciding to enter the portal.
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors on Monday proposed deleting 153 longstanding rules from its handbook, a move that will allow schools to share financial benefits directly with players — an expected step towards a new era of amateurism in college athletics, but one that remains contingent upon the approval of the House settlement.
NCAA board members met for about four hours on Monday and emerged with nine major proposed legislative changes, including permission for schools to provide direct financial payments to players, including for use of their NIL. NCAA leaders are aiming to reshape the organization’s role and are poised to effectuate sweeping changes by July 1 if the settlement is approved. Schools have until June 15 to decide whether to opt to provide benefits that would be permissible under the settlement for the coming academic year.
Proposed legislation also includes sport-specific roster limits and allowing full scholarships to all student-athletes on a declared roster — a move the NCAA said will double the scholarships available in women’s sports.
The proposed changes would also align with the expected House settlement in that it would allow Power 4 schools and others who choose to offer settlement-related benefits to provide up to $20.5 million in direct financial benefits to players. (Not all Division I schools will choose to operate in the new system enabled by the settlement, as the Ivy League has chosen to opt out and continue to operate under the current structure.)
The new NIL clearinghouse and enforcement arm that aims to coexist with expected settlement terms was also included, along with rules “intended to bring clarity and stability to the NIL environment for all Division I schools.” To prevent schools from trying to circumvent the $20.5 million cap, the NCAA has proposed rules to help add stability and accountability. All players will be required to disclose their NIL agreements if they are greater or equal to $600. Agreements between the player and a third party outside of their school will be reviewed.
The board also approved new rules that would create technology platforms for the schools to monitor their payments to players and for the athletes to report their third-party NIL agreements. There are also steps the players can take if an NIL agreement is considered “outside of the range of compensation” developed by the external, independent clearinghouse.
An enforcement group that will be created and operated by the defendant conferences will aim to “provide oversight for rules relating to the terms of the settlement, including third-party NIL and the annual benefits cap,” according to the NCAA.
Players will still be allowed to hire agents for NIL purposes, but the NCAA will still use certain eligibility rules that have been used to “distinguish Division I athletics from professional sports,” according to a document that summarizes the legislative changes. For the athletes to receive these benefits, the NCAA will require them to be enrolled full-time, meet Division I progress-toward-degree requirements and earn the benefits during their five-year eligibility period.