Three Spartans Earn All-America Honors

East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State junior Isaac Howard (Hudson, Wisconsin) and sophomore netminder Trey Augustine (South Lyon, Michigan) have been named First Team All-Americans, and they are joined by Matt Basgall (Lake Forest, Ilinois) who earned second-team honors, as announced on Thursday by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA).

Michigan State has multiple First Team selections in the same season for the just the seventh time in school history, and the first time since 1999 when goalie Joe Blackburn and forward Mike York earned the honors. MSU has three honorees for the first time since 1999 as well, when Mike Weaver earned Second Team kudos.

The trio have been a part of a monumental turnaround for the Spartan hockey program. Michigan State became the first team in conference history to win the regular-season and tournament titles in the same year in back-to-back seasons.   The duo has been a part of more than 50 victories (51-17-7, .740) as the Spartans earned two straight No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament; in 2023-24, MSU returned to NCAAs for the first time since 2012 and picked up its first NCAA win since 2008. During the regular season, MSU also won the Great Lakes Invitational as well as the Duel In the D, the annual trophy game between MSU and Michigan held at Little Caesars Arena.

Augustine, who was also a Richter finalist and is a finalist for the AAU Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States, Augustine leads the Big Ten in wins (19, eighth NCAA), save percentage (.924, 14th NCAA), goals against average (2.08, 15th NCAA), ranks second in minutes played (1850:27, 17^th NCAA), and third in both games played (30), and saves (778). He improved his GAA by nearly a goal from his freshman season (2.97 GAA) and improved his season save percentage from .915 to .924.

Augustine routinely faced off against some of the most lethal team and individual scorers in the country, and at the same time posted some of the best for an MSU goaltender in the last decade. Augustine's .924 save percentage is the best since Jake Hildebrand's .930 in 2014-15, the year he was the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year. His 2.08 is the lowest goals against average since Jeff Lerg posted a 1.94 in his freshman season, (2005-06).

In addition to his MSU workload, Augustine backstopped Team USA to a second consecutive gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championships in Ottawa, and along the way became USA's winningest goalie at this event with 12 victories. He was the starting goalie for both gold-medal squads and helped capture bronze in 2023.

Howard is in the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Hat Trick (three finalists). The junior delivered career bests of 26 goals and 52 points in MSU's 37 games. He ranks first nationally in points per game (1.42), third in goals per game (0.70) and 23^rd in assists per game (0.70). He ranks third in goals (26) and is fifth in points (52) among all Division I players. Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. He not only scored the game-winning goal in double overtime against No. 9 Ohio State but had two goals and two primary assists in MSU's 4-3 victory, settled in the 96^th minute of play. Howard had three goals and five points in the Big Ten tournament for MSU, with a hand in every goal the Spartans scored, including the game-winners in both the semifinals and finals.   He compiled a 3-3-6 scoring line in MSU's postseason games.

Howard was voted the Big Ten Player of the Year and earned First Team All-Big Ten honors. He finished the Big Ten Conference season as the scoring champion, leading all players with 33 points, 17 assists, and 1.38 points per game. Howard's 26 goals match Adam Hall's 26 in 1999-2000, which is the most goals for an MSU player since Sean Berens scored 36 in 1997-98; his 52 points (in 37 games) is the first 50-point season for a Spartan since Taro Hirose's in 2018-19 (50) and the most points for an MSU player since Shawn Horcoff had 65 (14g, 51a) in 1999-2000.

Basgall helped anchor a defense that averaged 2.08 goals against per game, which led the Big Ten and ranked sixth nationally. The junior alternate captain had his best offensive season, with six goals and 20 assists for 26 points, which ranked fourth overall on the team in scoring and first among rearguards. He was assessed just four minor penalties on the year, while blocking a 45 shots and was a +9. Basgall was not only a First Team All-Big Ten pick but was also a finalist for Big Ten Defenseman of the Year honors. MSU's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, Basgall also earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team as the Spartans captured their second straight postseason crown.

All three players are slated to return to Michigan State for the 2025-26 season.

Players Mentioned

Trey Augustine

Matt Basgall

Isaac Howard

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