Six Buckeyes Declare for PWHL Draft
5/12/2026 5:19:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Six alumnae of the Ohio State women's hockey program have declared for the 2026 Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Draft, the league announced Tuesday.
Five members of the 2025-26 roster – Brooke Disher, Hailey MacLeod, Sloane Matthews, Emma Peschel and Sara Swiderski – and 2022 graduate Andrea Braendli will look to hear their names called on
Wednesday, June 17 at the draft, which will be held at the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan.
Andrea Braendli | Goaltender | Zurich, Switzerland
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Five members of the 2025-26 roster – Brooke Disher, Hailey MacLeod, Sloane Matthews, Emma Peschel and Sara Swiderski – and 2022 graduate Andrea Braendli will look to hear their names called on
Wednesday, June 17 at the draft, which will be held at the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan.
Andrea Braendli | Goaltender | Zurich, Switzerland
- Braendli graduated from Ohio State in 2022 and was a four-year letterwinner for the Buckeyes. She currently holds the program record for career save percentage with a .929. At the time of her graduation, she was the program's winningest goaltender with 57 career wins.
- A three-time All-WCHA honoree, Braendli helped the team to the program's first WCHA Final Faceoff and national championships in program history.
- Braendli spent the last three seasons playing in the SDHL. She played last season for Frölunda HC after two years with MoDo Hockey.
- Braendli is a three-time Olympian for Switzerland and was the starting goalie for the last two Olympic games. She was named the tournament's best goaltender for the 2026 Winter Olympics after helping her team to a bronze medal finish.
- Disher is a two-year letterwinner and skated in 81 career games as a Buckeye, finishing her career with five goals, 21 assists and 26 points with 30 blocked shots and a +50.
- She graduated from Ohio State in the spring with a degree in political science and was a WCHA All-Academic Team and Scholar-Athlete the last two years.
- Disher skated in every game for the Buckeyes on the blue line in her two years at Ohio State.
- MacLeod lettered two seasons at Ohio State and earned the starting spot in goal for the Buckeyes in 2025-26. She graduated with a degree in exercise science in May.
- She finished her Ohio State career with a 34-5-1 record and set a program record with 26 wins in the 2025-26 season.
- MacLeod was named to the WCHA Final Faceoff All-Tournament Team in 2026 after shutting out Minnesota in the semifinals and making 28 saves against Wisconsin in the championship game.
- The Third Team All-WCHA honoree was second in the conference with a 1.61 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in regular season conference games.
- Matthews is a four-year Ohio State letterwinner and helped the team to two WCHA regular season championships, a national championship and a WCHA Final Faceoff title.
- She skated in every game of her collegiate career, totaling 161 games played. She finished her career with 104 points on 48 goals and 56 assists.
- An alternate captain for the Buckeyes in 2026-27, Matthews was a key contributor in the team's postseason success with a goal in seven of the 12 NCAA Tournament games she played in for her career and points in five of eight Frozen Four games.
- She was also a member of USA Hockey's Collegiate Team during her Buckeye career.
- Matthews graduated in May with a degree in biomedical engineering and is a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and WCHA Scholar-Athlete and All-Academic Team honoree.
- Peschel played in 151 games as a defender in her four years as a Buckeye and captained the Buckeyes in 2025-26. She finished her career with 108 points on 31 goals and 77 assists and was +118 on ice and blocked 137 shots.
- She is one of three Buckeye blue liners all-time to earn multiple All-America awards, picking up the first team nod in 2026 and a second team honor in 2025.
- Peschel is a two-time First Team All-WCHA, WCHA All-Tournament Team and Frozen Four All-Tournament Team honoree.
- Peschel skated with Team USA at the 2025 Rivalry Series and was a member of the USA Hockey Collegiate Team.
- Peschel, and Big Ten Medal of Honor finalist, earned her degree in health sciences in May. She was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, WCHA Scholar-Athlete and WCHA All-Academic Team honoree in her Ohio State career.
- Swiderski joined the Buckeyes ahead of the 2024-25 season and in two years skated in 70 games and recorded 39 points, 67 blocked shots and a +48 on ice.
- She bested her previous season's goal, assists, points and plus/minus mark in each of her seasons at Ohio State.
- Swiderski is a WCHA Scholar-Athlete and All-Academic Team honoree earning a degree in psychology.
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