MINNEAPOLIS — Wisconsin fifth-year forward Casey O’Brien was announced as the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner on Saturday, March 22.
“It’s a surreal feeling. It’s one of those things that you dream of as a little kid, but you’re not sure it’s ever going to quite happen. This year, with the amazing team that we had, it could have been any of us. It’s just it’s so special,” said O’Brien.
The ceremony took place at the McNamara Alumni Center as part of the women’s Frozen Four weekend hosted by the University of Minnesota. O’Brien is the 28th winner of the award and the sixth winner from the University of Wisconsin, joining Ann-Renée Desbiens (2017), Brianna Decker (2012), Meghan Duggan (2011), Jessie Vetter (2009) and Sara Bauer (2006).
An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually presented to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement.
The award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League honoree for the Princeton University women’s ice hockey team from 1981-82 through 1985-86. An accomplished athlete who excelled in ice hockey, field hockey and lacrosse, Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died on Feb. 15, 1990 at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.
O’Brien was selected from a group of three finalists that included junior defender Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin) and junior forward Laila Edwards (Wisconsin). It was just the second time in history that the finalists were all from the same team.
Despite the competition among teammates, O’Brien said she, Harvey and Edwards had all talked about it ahead of time and there would have been no animosity no matter who won.
“I think every one of us wanted the other two to win. It was this cool thing where everyone was just gonna be happy no matter who it was. When we were sitting up there, we were whispering, laughing, joking, and the vibes are just so light. We really didn’t care who it was, we were all just happy that it was coming back to Wisconsin,” said O’Brien.
A two-time National Champion and a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award last year, O’Brien was named WCHA Forward of the Year and Player of the Year this season. She was a first-team All-American selection in 2024 and repeated that accomplishment this season. She leads the country with 88 points and 62 assists.
Those numbers are among the best this sport has ever seen. Her 88 points tie her with Jenny Potter (2003) and Alex Carpenter (2016) for seventh most in NCAA history. Her 62 assists are the third-most ever, trailing only Natalie Darwitz (2005) and Jennifer Botterill (2003).
“Congratulations to Casey, who definitely earned it. She has been one of our leaders all season, not only on the ice as people watched her throughout the winter and early spring here, but being one of our captains in the leadership and connecting the team and doing things necessary to get them in position to go for the national championship. It was a well earned honor for her, so I’m happy for her and her family and certainly for teammates that helped along the way,” said Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson.
In her acceptance speech, O’Brien thanked Johnson and Wisconsin assistants Jackie Crum, Dan Koch and Mark Greenhalgh, saying, “Thank you for assembling this ridiculous roster and for including me on it.”
It has been a record-breaking season for the Milton, Massachusetts, native and team co-captain. She set a new Wisconsin record for points in a season with her goal in the national semifinal on Friday, surpassing Meghan Duggan’s 87 points.
In the past few weeks, O’Brien has also set her program’s record for both career points (274) and career assists (177). She set a school record for assists in a season with 62, breaking her previous school record of 50 set last season. She also passed Mike Eaves to become the highest point scorer in Badger hockey history – men or women.
The Wisconsin forward also has four game-winning goals, two shorthanded goals and a faceoff winning percentage north of 60 — all while taking just one penalty. Her 527 faceoff wins lead the WCHA and rank second best in the country.
“I went into this year with the mindset of this is the last time I’m going be in a Badger jersey, so I can’t take a single game for granted. The numbers came about just being consistent. I wasn’t really focused on the records or anything individual. I was just doing what I can help the team win. I’ve tried not to focus too much on any of that individual stuff,” O’Brien said.
With O’Brien as co-captain, this season Wisconsin has been ranked atop our poll since the second poll of the season on September 30. They are also statistically the best team, ranking first in team offense, team defense, power play and penalty kill. She has led them to their third straight national championship and O’Brien will be playing for her third national title.
In her acceptance speech she said, “My time at Wisconsin has exceeded my highest expectations….To stand here as a representative of our team and our season is humbling and the ultimate honor.”
In the offseason, she had wrist surgery to take care of a nagging injury and she wasn’t sure how that would affect her play. That she recovered to be even better this season makes the accomplishment even more impressive.
“It’s always a question mark coming out of surgery or off of injury, you know how you’re going to feel. Once I got that the first games under my belt, I knew it was gonna be a good season. I’m playing with some of the best players in the country, so it can’t be a bad season with when you’re playing with them,” O’Brien said.
Even winning the biggest individual honor in NCAA women’s hockey couldn’t distract O’Brien from her ultimate goal – winning the national championship on Sunday. \
“The focus is definitely on tomorrow’s big game.”
