A whopping 58 current/former athletes with ties to the Big Ten Conference have qualified for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games. Of those 58, five of them are representing the University of Michigan.
Hockey
It should be no surprise that the majority of the five former Wolverines — four of them, to be exact — are hockey players. Those players are Dylan Larkin (2014-15), Zach Werenski (2014-16), Kyle Connor (2015-16) and Quinn Hughes (2017-19).
Most of you reading this likely know Larkin, otherwise
known as D-Boss ‘round these parts (IYKYK). A Waterford, Michigan native, he played youth hockey locally before spending time with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor. After being selected in the first-round by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2014 NHL Draft, he attended U-M for one successful season — he tallied 43 points (15 goals and 28 assists) and was the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year — before forgoing his remaining collegiate eligibility.
Werenski (Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan) is another homegrown product. The defenseman played one season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program before going to U-M, where he was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-American his second and final year in Ann Arbor. He was the eighth overall pick in the first round in 2015 by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
As a freshman at Michigan, Connor — a Shelby Township, Michigan native — led the country in scoring (35 goals) to go along with 36 assists for 71 total points. He was a Hobey Baker award finalist, and was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. He also set the U-M record with at least one points in 27 straight games. He was taken 17th overall in the first round by the Winnipeg Jets in 2015.
Finally, Hughes played two seasons at U-M and accumulated 62 points (10 goals, 52 assists) in 69 career games. He led all defensemen in the Big Ten his sophomore season in total points (33) and assists (28). He was taken seventh overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 2018 and is one of the premier defensemen in the league, winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2024.
Ice Dancing
The lone non-hockey player repping Michigan at the Olympics is Evan Bates, who graduated from the university in 2013. The Ann Arbor native learned to skate at the age of four years old at the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club. He will be performing with his skating partner — and his wife — Madison Chock.
Fun fact — Bates is the only U.S. figure skater to compete at four Olympic Games (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022), and which means he is set to extend his streak to five Olympic Games. He ahas one gold medal to his name, with that coming in 2022 in Beijing with Chock.
Bates and Chock have also won three world championships (2023-25). Not only that, but according to Team USA’s website, “By winning their seventh U.S. title in Jan. 2026. Chock and Bates now hold the record for most consecutive podium finishes at U.S. Nationals in any discipline, surpassing Michelle Kwan (1994-05) and pairs team Theresa Weld Blanchard and Nathaniel Niles (1914, 1918, 1920-29).”
The 2026 Winter Olympics begin tonight (Feb. 6) and will run through Feb. 22. You can watch coverage of the games on NBC, USA Network, CNBC and Peacock.
