2023 Detroit Red Wings second rounder Trey Augustine's sophomore season at Michigan State didn't end the way he wanted it to. Augustine and the Spartans entered the NCAA Tournament as a one seed, having already won the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. However, MSU suffered a first round upset exit at the hands of the Cornell, with Big Red forward Sullivan Mack beating Augustine for the game-winning goal with just 10 seconds left, shocking the Spartans 4–3. Now, per multiple reports, Augustine has decided he has unfinished business in East Lansing and will return for his junior year, contrary to expectation.
Michigan State goaltender Trey Augustine (1) skates during players introduction at Duel in the D between Michigan and Michigan State at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Mike McMahon (of College Hockey News and his College Hockey Insider newsletter) first reported the news Tuesday morning, with a variety of reporters subsequently confirming that news, including the Detroit News' Connor Earegood.
Augustine finished his sophomore season (30 games played) with 2.08 goals against average, .924 save percentage, 3 shutouts, and a 19-7-4 record. In addition to his two Big Ten titles with State, Augustine won gold for Team USA at the World Juniors for the second year in a row (along with a bronze medal at the event from his finals season with the National Team Development Program).
An informal consensus throughout the season was that Augustine would sign with the Red Wings (and presumably report to Grand Rapids) whenever his sophomore season came to an end at MSU. However, whether because of the premature tournament exit or simply a desire for further seasoning in East Lansing, Augustine has (reportedly) elected to spend another season with Michigan State.
From the Red Wings perspective, Augustine's decision probably doesn't change much as far as his timeline to the NHL. He was never likely to make the jump straight from the NCAA to an NHL net (at least not after his sophomore season). I wrote earlier in the week about how Detroit appears to plan on going into the '25-26 season with a goaltending tandem of Petr Mrazek and Cam Talbot, leaving Sebastian Cossa in Grand Rapids.
With Cossa playing for the Griffins, Augustine may benefit from more time in net by staying with MSU. He was arguably the best goaltender in college hockey as a sophomore, and in all likelihood, he will only strengthen that claim as a junior.
