Caroline Harvey concluded her historic college hockey career with one of the greatest month-long stretches a player has ever had.
Within a span of 31 days from Feb. 19 to March 22, 2026, Harvey won an Olympic gold medal and Olympic MVP with Team USA, her third national championship with the Wisconsin Badgers and the Patty Kazmaier Award as the nation’s top player in women’s college hockey.
🏆 RECAP: Wisconsin defeats Ohio State to win back-to-back titles
Best of the best 🫡
Captain Caroline Harvey is your 2025-26 WCHA Player of the Year! pic.twitter.com/CU9RQSBDQg
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 5, 2026
In a long line of legends and all-time greats to come from Wisconsin, Harvey boasts one of the greatest college careers of the bunch.
Here are the top moments and accomplishments from Caroline Harvey’s four years as a Badger.
Three NCAA national championships
Harvey advanced to the Women’s Frozen Four Championship all four years of her career, winning three national championships, including back-to-back titles in 2025 and 2026.
2023 National Championship
Harvey debuted for Wisconsin in 2022-23 after deferring her commitment to play for Team USA in the 2022 Beijing Olympics at age 19. She finished her rookie year with 38 points (12G, 26A) in 39 games, including the overtime game-winner against Minnesota in the Frozen Four semifinals. The Badgers defeated Ohio State, 1-0, in the 2023 title game, and Harvey was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team.
2024 National Championship
Harvey returned for her sophomore season in 2023-24, tallying five goals and 30 assists in 32 games, earning WCHA Defender of the Year honors and leading Wisconsin to another national championship game against Ohio State. Though the Badgers fell to the Buckeyes, 1-0, Harvey was again named to the NCAA All-Tournament team.
2025 National Championship
After a stellar sophomore season, Harvey was named co-captain in 2024-25 along with Casey O’Brien. She set a program record for points by a defenseman with 63 (18G, 45A) in 41 games, leading Wisconsin to its eighth championship in 2025. Her four-point performance in the Frozen Four semifinal against Minnesota and her goal in the NCAA championship game once again saw her named to the NCAA All-Tournament team in 2025.
2026 National Championship
After being named team captain for her senior year in 2025-26, Harvey led all NCAA defensemen with 64 points ( 18G, 46A) in 33 games, tying for third among all skaters. She recorded an assist in each of the Badgers’ three NCAA tournament games on their way to back-to-back national titles.
Harvey finished her career as a three-time national champion and four-time NCAA All-Tournament team defenseman.
Individual awards and records
Along with her four NCAA All-Tournament team selections and three national titles, Harvey racked up a full trophy case of individual awards in her college years. Here are some of the highlights from her decorated career:
2026 Patty Kazmaier Award
Most notably, Harvey was named the 2026 Patty Kazmaier Award winner as the top player in NC women’s hockey. She is just the third defenseman to ever win the Patty Kazmaier Award, joining Harvard’s Angela Ruggiero (2004) and Ohio State’s Sophie Jaques (2023).
She led all NCAA defensemen in 2026 with 64 points (18G, 46A) in 33 games, tying for third among all skaters. Her 64 points beat her previous career best of 63 from 2025, despite her playing in eight fewer games due to the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“To my teammates, your constant drive and commitment is incredible,” Harvey remarked in her Patty Kazmaier Award acceptance speech. “This award is a reflection of our team’s success, as nothing is ever an individual award.”
All-American and WCHA honors
Harvey was a four-time all-American, named to the second team as a freshman and selected to the first team three straight years as a sophomore, junior and senior. She is also the first player to ever earn WCHA Defender of the Year honors three times in her career, and she was named the WCHA Player of the Year in 2026.
Notable college awards and honors:
| Honor | year |
|---|---|
| All-WCHA Rookie Team | 2023 |
| All-WCHA Second Team | 2023 |
| WCHA Rookie of the Year | 2023 |
| CCM/AHCA Hockey Second Team All-American | 2023 |
| CCM/AHCA Hockey First Team All-American | 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| NCAA All-Tournament Team | 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| All-WCHA First Team | 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| WCHA Defender of the Year | 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| WCHA Player of the Year | 2026 |
| Patty Kazmaier Award | 2026 |
Olympics and international accomplishments
By the end of her college career, Harvey competed for Team USA on nine occasions, winning four gold medals and five silver medals across U18 World Championships, senior World Championships and two Olympic Games.
Harvey made her international debut for Team USA in the 2019 World U18 Championship, where she won a silver medal in Japan. The following year, she won gold in Slovakia. In 2021, she was the youngest player named to the U.S. roster for the IIHF Women’s World Championship at age 18, winning a silver medal. She later won silver at the 2022 World Championships and 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, all before beginning her college career at Wisconsin.
During college, Harvey played for Team USA four more times, winning gold medals at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games and the 2023 and 2025 World Championships and winning silver at the 2024 World Championship.
Caroline Harvey’s 1st olympic goal and third point of the game. STILL cooking. 🇺🇸#WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/oQGsPtECOA
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 9, 2026
Individual Olympic and international honors
While in her senior year of college, Harvey tied for the tournament lead in scoring at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, earning tournament MVP, best defenseman and all-star team honors, along with the gold medal. Below are her other notable individual honors from international play during her college career.
| Honor | year |
|---|---|
| IIHF Women’s World Championship Best Defenseman | 2023, 2025 |
| IIHF Women’s World Championship Media All-Star Team | 2023, 2024 |
| Winter Olympics Best Defenseman | 2026 |
| Winter Olympics Media All-Star Team | 2026 |
| Winter Olympics Tournament Most Valuable Player | 2026 |
Caroline Harvey’s college stats
Harvey finished her college career well over a point-per-game, sitting at a 1.34 average in 150 games played. Her senior season was her most productive, scoring 18G and 46A for 64 points in 33 games. She finished her college career with 12 game-winning goals, including the OT winner against Minnesota to advance Wisconsin to the 2023 Frozen Four championship.
Below are Harvey’s complete stats from her four-year career at Wisconsin.
| Year | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | SHG | GWG | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 44 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 41 |
| 2023-24 | 32 | 5 | 30 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 54 |
| 2024-25 | 41 | 18 | 45 | 63 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 75 |
| 2025-26 | 33 | 18 | 46 | 64 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 44 |
| TOTAL | 150 | 54 | 147 | 201 | 15 | 1 | 12 | 214 |
Caroline Harvey’s Wisconsin legacy
Harvey will go down in Wisconsin history as one of the most decorated athletes in any sport. Her name is etched in the Badgers’ record books as the highest-scoring defenseman of all time (54G, 247A, 201P in 145GP), and the tenth-highest-scoring Badger ever. She is the seventh Badger and first Wisconsin defenseman to win the Patty Kazmaier Award, capping off a historic four-year college career.
