Multiple Players On Major College Hockey Team Request Coaching Staff Be Placed On Leave After Teammate’s Collapse

From @TheAthletic: Seven Arizona State men’s hockey players asked the university’s president to place the coaching staff on administrative leave pending further investigation into the workout that left sophomore transfer Matthew Mayich on life support. https://t.co/15b3P5WgLG

— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 29, 2026

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In the letter titled “The Truth About the August 20 Workout,” the players and their attorney allege that Matthew Mayich, who is not expected to recover after collapsing, did not receive any water during the workout, which was more grueling than reported, and that the athletic staff were not prepared to deal with heat stroke.

The athletes, who said they submitted the report anonymously because of fear of retaliation, asked ASU to place all staff responsible for the workout on administrative leave and for the school to refer the investigation to an outside agency.

“That fear is not directed at one person,” the players wrote. They noted that head coach Greg Powers and his assistant coaches, who were all on the field when Mayich collapsed, remain in their positions and collectively decide playing time, scholarship levels and roster status.

ASU issued preliminary findings from its internal review last week that found the coaching staff did not vet the training plan for the workout led by a former Green Beret, Tim Ziesel, who also did not have a contract with the school.

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From @TheAthletic: An Arizona State hockey player collapsed during a punishing military-style workout on Aug. 20 and remains hospitalized in critical condition. People briefed on the workout said it was considered atypical and extreme.https://t.co/UTxp67NZOV

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 28, 2026

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Newly obtained video shows the Aug. 20 outdoor workout that left 21-year-old ASU hockey player Matthew Mayich hospitalized and unresponsive. The footage surfaces just as the university releases its internal review into his collapse.

Details in our bio pic.twitter.com/MpE3E0ok1s

— Arizona’s Family Sports (@AZFamilySports) September 23, 2026

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While an Arizona State report said players were given a water break around 20 minutes into the workout, the players who wrote the letter Monday said otherwise. A water break was given around 40 minutes into the 75-minute workout, but it lasted just seconds, according to the players. Only about eight players actually received water, they said, as they were the first who had just finished a bear crawl drill moments before.

“The first of us to finish had a few seconds at the bottles before being ordered back while others, including Matthew, were still crawling,” players wrote. “This was the only water break.”

At one point, they said, the Green Beret admitted to forgetting that players needed water and said that he didn’t drink water during combat.

Mayich, they said, showed obvious signs of distress early in the workout. They said he became disoriented during the bear crawl, and could not carry a teammate during a buddy carry exercise. At one point, they said, he leaned on another teammate in order to stand up while a drill was being explained to them.

“No one at ASU properly monitored him during the workout and no one intervened,” they wrote.

Once Mayich collapsed, they said, he remained in direct sunlight for several minutes. Unlike what Arizona State said in its report, which stated that Mayich remained on the ground, players said that he twice sat upright, once on the field and later when he was carried into the shade by teammates. The only cooling mechanisms there, they said, were small towels from a cooler, water from squirt bottles and water sprayed from a garden hose.

They also said the team did not properly acclimate players, including those from colder locations — Mayich is from Ontario — to the Arizona heat. The only outdoor workouts they did before Aug. 20, the players said, were roughly 15 minutes long.

“Matthew spent most of his ‘off’ time in his air-conditioned apartment because the heat was too oppressive for him,” the players wrote.

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