From Adrian College Athletics
ADRIAN, Mich. – Adrian College NCAA men’s hockey head coach Adam Phillips has announced the hiring of Gary Astalos as an assistant coach for the 2026-27 season. Astalos replaces Carter Clarke, who resigned to pursue a different career opportunity. He joins the NCAA staff after spending the past 10 seasons as the head coach of the Adrian College ACHA Men’s Division I hockey program.
“I’m thrilled to have Gary join our program,” Phillips said. “He’s an outstanding person first and foremost, and a coach who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. His impressive track record of winning speaks for itself. He’ll be a tremendous resource for our players and a great addition to our program.”
Astalos leaves the ACHA program as one of the most successful coaches in collegiate club hockey history. During his decade at Adrian, he guided the Bulldogs to 10 conference championships and three ACHA National Championships while compiling an overall record of 317-35-6 and a conference mark of 120-4-0.
Under Astalos’ leadership, Adrian also made eight ACHA Final Four appearances, advanced to six national championship games, and finished as national runner-up three times.
His accomplishments extend beyond Adrian College. Astalos earned eight Conference Coach of the Year honors between the GLCHL and GL6 and was named the ACHA Division I Coach of the Year following the 2017-18 season.
On the international stage, Astalos was selected as the head coach of Team USA for the 2023 World Cup of University Hockey in Romania, where he led the Americans to a perfect 5-0 record and a gold medal with a championship victory over Canada. He returned to the international bench in 2025 as the head coach of Team USA at the FISU World University Winter Games in Italy, leading the team to a fourth-place finish.
Astalos will begin his duties with the NCAA men’s hockey program immediately as the Bulldogs prepare for the 2026-27 season.
(Originally published at https://adrianbulldogs.com/news/2026/7/30/mens-ncaa-ice-hockey-three-time-acha-national-champion-gary-astalos-transitions-to-ncaa-mens-hockey-assistant-coach.aspx)
