Braxton Whitehead and Arizona State University make NCAA Hockey history
</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Times are changing. <br><br>Braxton Whitehead from the WHL has received a verbal commitment from ASU for 2025-26. <a href="https://t.co/RabcG2XL5z">pic.twitter.com/RabcG2XL5z</a></p>— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) <a href="https://twitter.com/spittinchiclets/status/1834648535113007134?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
Read: WHL's Braxton Whitehead commits to Arizona State, challenging NCAA rules (ESPN.com, Greg Wyshynski)
Read: Whitehead becomes 1st CHL player to verbally commit to playing NCAA hockey (APNews.com, John Wawrow and Stephen Whyno)
MAJOR JUNIOR:
Played for the WHL's Regina Pats for five seasons surmounting over 250 games in major juniors since the 2020-21 season. He wore the 'A' for Regina for three-straight seasons (2022-25), including a playoff run for the Pats in 2022-23. In 2023-24, he tallied 17 goals and 35 assists for 52 total points. He made collegiate hockey history in September 2024 when he became the first Canadian Hockey League (CHL) player to announce his commitment to an NCAA institution in Arizona State University. The announcement was made in anticipation of legislature changes that allowed CHL players to play the sport at the Division I U.S. college level following the filing of a lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s longstanding ban on players it deems to be professionals. After commiting to ASU, Whitehead competed in his last WHL season, playing in 59 games and totaling 22 points (8G, 14A).