WCHA Goalie of the Year finalist Hailey MacLeod transfers to Ohio State

Hailey MacLeod, a finalist for the 2023-24 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Goaltender of the Year, is headed to Columbus.

MacLeod’s transfer to Ohio State from Minnesota Duluth was announced by the Buckeye women’s ice hockey team Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter. She will start at Ohio State as a junior and has two years of NCAA eligibility remaining.

MacLeod is leaving Minnesota Duluth after an impressive sophomore campaign, where she recorded a 1.42 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage in 19 appearances. The Bulldogs were 11-5-2 with MacLeod starting, helping her earn a spot on the WCHA All-Conference second team, compared to Ohio State starting goaltender Raygan Kirk, who made the third team.

MacLeod split time in Minnesota Duluth’s net with freshman goaltender Ève Gascon, who made 21 starts and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie team. MacLeod made two postseason starts — a WCHA quarterfinal win against St. Cloud State and a 5-0 conference semifinal loss to Ohio State — before sitting on the bench for the Bulldogs’ 9-0 NCAA tournament loss to the Buckeyes.

With the transfer to Ohio State, MacLeod will likely have to compete for a starting job once again, as senior goaltender Amanda Thiele — who made 15 appearances in 2023-24 — has one year of eligibility remaining. She will also compete with sophomore goaltender Lexington Secreto, who earned her first game action in February, recording seven saves and allowing one goal in 13 minutes of play.

Kirk, who earned a shutout win in the national championship, has no eligibility remaining, and graduate goaltender Quinn Kuntz entered the transfer portal with one year left. 

MacLeod is the third player to transfer to Ohio State in three days, as former Clarkson defenseman Sara Swiderski joined the program on Monday and former Boston University defenseman Brooke Disher joined on Tuesday.