Greg Powers

Introduction

Greg Powers is the longtime head coach of the Arizona State University men’s hockey team, entering his 17th season behind the Sun Devils’ bench after overseeing the program’s rise into Division I. On September 30, 2026, ASU placed Powers on paid administrative leave after an August team workout left 21-year-old defenseman Matthew Mayich hospitalized on life support with exertional heat stroke that his family’s attorney says cut off oxygen to his brain.

Background Information

Powers worked as an Arizona State assistant for two seasons before being promoted to head coach, where he oversaw the team’s transition into a Division I program and compiled a 153-162-26 record in NCAA play over the past dozen years. Mayich, a sixth-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2023, had transferred to ASU that offseason after his freshman year at Clarkson University in New York. He collapsed on August 20, 2026 — the first day NCAA rules allowed hockey teams to practice because classes were underway, according to the Mayich family’s lawyers.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations. The claims in this section are allegations from the Mayich family’s attorneys, from seven Arizona State players who wrote to university leadership, and from news investigations of the August 20 workout. They were never admitted by Powers, never criminally charged, and never adjudicated in court, and the university review and ASU Police investigation are ongoing. Powers has not publicly denied the accounts; he says he supports the review and wants a process “that Matthew, our players, their families and the broader ASU community can have confidence in,” and told reporters he believes he is still the right person to lead the program.

The workout that felled Mayich was an outdoor session in 89-degree heat led by Tim Ziesel, a former Green Beret who did not have a contract with the university. Per multiple accounts, the session was military-style and pushed lagging players through extra work in the extreme heat, and family attorney Rob Carey said Mayich had shown signs of distress before collapsing and that no cold-water tub — a standard treatment for overheating — was available. Mayich suffered exertional heat stroke that caused a lack of oxygen to the brain, Carey told ESPN, and he is not expected to recover.

A representative for the family told KTAR News that athletes who did not finish a drill within a set time were denied water at the next opportunity, and that Mayich was deprived of one. The Post reported that team personnel asked permission for Ziesel to speak to the team but allegedly never submitted his training plan for review with the strength and conditioning coach. The incident drew weeks of escalating demands: Powers first addressed it publicly at a September 23 conference media day, reading a statement and deflecting most questions, and said he still believed he was the right man for the job. On September 28, seven players sent an anonymous letter to university president Michael Crow asking that Powers and his staff be removed while the investigation continued.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Two days after the players’ letter, ASU athletic director Graham Rossini announced Powers’ paid leave. “Our focus continues to be on Matthew and his family, and on our student-athletes to make sure they have the support they need during this time and as the season begins,” Rossini said, adding that “after thorough and careful deliberation, I believe this is the best move to provide stability for the hockey program.” Assistant coach Mike Corbett — who was present when Mayich collapsed — took over head coaching duties for the season-opening games at Lindenwood, with a separate interim head coach to be named. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference said it supported the decision, and Mayich’s parents, John and Christina, who had publicly demanded the staff’s removal, called the leave long overdue.

Powers issued a statement saying he supported the university’s decision: “Matthew and his family remain foremost in my thoughts and prayers,” he wrote, calling the leave a way to let the review proceed “thoroughly, independently and without distraction,” and pledging full cooperation.

Current Status

As of September 30, 2026, Powers is on paid administrative leave with no timeline for a resolution. An internal university review had released initial results the week before that drew no conclusions, and an ASU Police Department investigation into the workout remains open; no one has been criminally charged. The Mayich family continues to demand an independent investigation into the August 20 session, saying the players “shouldn’t have to worry about retaliation from the people they report to every day.” Arizona State opened its season at Lindenwood on October 2-3 under Corbett, with the home opener at Mullett Arena set for October 9 against Holy Cross.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The leave froze, at the stroke of a season opener, a 17-year head-coaching run that had built Arizona State from a club team into a Division I program — and attached Powers’ name permanently to one of college hockey’s gravest workout tragedies. Whether he ever returns to the bench now depends on a university review, a police investigation, and a family demanding answers; even his defenders in the program face a season played entirely under that shadow. The case has renewed scrutiny of extreme-conditioned team workouts and the unsupervised outside trainers colleges bring into them.

Sources

• New York Post, “Arizona State hockey coach Greg Powers on paid leave after with player on life support” — source
• Arizona Sports, “ASU puts hockey coach Greg Powers on leave in wake of Matthew Mayich’s hospitalization” — source
• The Guardian, “Arizona State hockey coach on leave after practice that left player fighting for life” — source
• KTAR News, “ASU hockey coach Greg Powers placed on leave in wake of Matthew Mayich’s hospitalization” — source
• The Arizona State Press, “BREAKING: ASU hockey head coach Greg Powers placed on administrative leave” — source
• College Hockey News, “ASU’s Powers Placed on Administrative Leave” — source