Kate Kasica, captain of Harvard Women’s Ice Hockey, has been named one of the 12 nominees for the 2026 Mandi Schwartz Scholar-Athlete of the Year award by ECAC Hockey. Each school in the league nominated one student-athlete for this annual distinction, which honors a women’s player who exemplifies excellence and leadership on and off the ice.
Kasica is a senior from Minneapolis, Minnesota, majoring in neurobiology. She has received recognition as an AHCA Scholar All-America Award recipient and was part of the ECAC All-Academic team for the 2024-25 season. As captain, she has played a significant role in shaping team culture around values such as belief, trust, and prioritizing team success. This season, Kasica switched from defense to forward and became one of Harvard’s top penalty killers.
She reached her 100th career game milestone this season and scored her first career goal against No. 5 Minnesota Duluth during the semifinal round of the 2026 Friendship Series in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The short-handed goal contributed to Harvard’s upset victory.
The Mandi Schwartz Scholar-Athlete of the Year award commemorates Mandi Schwartz, a former Yale women’s ice hockey player who died in April 2011 after battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia. The award is given to a student-athlete who demonstrates outstanding achievement academically (with at least a cumulative GPA of 3.5), athletic participation (in at least half their team’s games), and community involvement. School administration and coaching staff select nominees based on these criteria.
“The finalists for the award will be announced on Thursday, Feb. 12 with the winner being named the following week.”
