Michigan State’s Nightingale to be named 2027 USA World Juniors head coach

One of the top coaches in college is going to lead his country into one of international hockey’s biggest events.

USA Hockey has officially named Michigan State’s Adam Nightingale as head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team for the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Nightingale has become one of the best and most respected coaches in NCAA Hockey over the past few seasons. Since moving to East Lansing in 2022, he has turned a struggling program into one of the top teams in the country.

Michigan State has qualified for the national tournament in each of the past two years and has won the previous Big Ten Tournament titles, while winning at least a share of the conference’s regular-season championships. With the team, Nightingale has coached the likes of Edmonton Oilers forward Isaac Howard and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Karsen Dorwart. A couple of other top prospects – led by Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) and Porter Martone (Flyers) – have recently signed NHL contracts after working under Nightingale’s tutelage.

Nightingale has extensive experience coaching on the international stage. Prior to becoming the head of the hockey program at Michigan State, the Cheyboygan, Mich. native was the head coach of the U.S. National Team Development Program for two seasons, guiding the team to a silver medal at the 2022 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship. He was also an assistant coach on Ryan Warsofsky’s staff that guided the United States to the gold medal at last year’s IIHF Men’s World Championship, the country’s first title since 1933.

Nightingale will lead Team USA as it looks to bounce back after a shocking quarterfinal exit at the World Juniors on home ice this past January. With Augustine and Howard stepping up, the Americans won gold at the WJC in 2024 and 2025, marking the first time they won gold in consecutive seasons.