The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey program signed four players to its 2027-28 freshman class Wednesday. The class includes forward Bailey Rupp of Bemidji, Minn., defender Gigi Martin from Santa Ana, Calf., defender Raeya Mackie of Victoria, Canada and goaltender Kerttu Kuja-Halkola of Janakkala, Finland.

"I am incredibly excited to welcome our 2027 recruiting class to the Bulldog family. This is an exceptionally talented group of players who come from outstanding programs and have already experienced success at a high level. Just as exciting is the character, competitiveness and quality of people we are bringing into our program. Each of these student-athletes will bring something unique to our team, both on the ice and within our locker room. We believe this group will continue to strengthen our Bulldog culture and help move our program forward."

Rupp was a U.S. U-18 World Championship gold medalist along with current Bulldog freshman Laini Gnetz last January, where she had a goal and assist over four games. The 5-8 forward was invited to the 2026 USA Hockey Girls U19 Training camp and also a member of the 2025 U.S. Under-18 Select Team at the Under-18 Series vs. Canada. A Bemidji, Minn. native, Rupp will begin her fifth season for Bemidji High School this month where she has already accumulated 212 total points on 102 goals and 126 over 102 games – an impressive 2.07 points per game clip as a prep.

Schuler on Rupp:

"We are thrilled to add Bailey Rupp to our 2027 recruiting class. Bailey brings an exciting combination of size, strength and offensive ability. She has a natural scoring touch, an exceptional shot and an attacking mentality that makes her a threat whenever she has the puck. What makes her particularly impressive is that she is also committed to playing a complete 200-foot game. Her offensive production speaks for itself, with 73 points in just 23 games last season. Having represented Team USA at the 2025 U18 World Championships and helped her country capture a gold medal, Bailey has already demonstrated that she can perform on the international stage. We love her competitive nature and the offensive dimension she will bring to our lineup."

Martin, a mobile defender that hails from Santa Ana, California, was invited to the 2026 USA Hockey Girls U19 Training Camp. Currently with the Bishop Kearney Selects hockey program in Rochester, New York (and where current UMD sophomore Rae Mayer also played), she had three points in five games (2g, 1a) in the U.S. 19U Nationals. Martin participated in the 2025 and 2024 USA Hockey Girls National 16/17 Camp and posted 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points with the BK Selects over 59 games last season.

Schuler on Martin: 

"Gigi Martin is an exciting addition to our defensive group. She is a dynamic, aggressive defender who plays with tremendous pace and intensity. One of her greatest strengths is her skating ability and exceptional fitness, which allow her to close gaps, eliminate time and space and make life extremely difficult for opposing forwards. She has the ability to recover quickly, compete relentlessly and make it very difficult for opponents to get around her. Gigi brings a disruptive presence to the defensive side of the game, and we love the competitiveness and energy she plays with. She is the type of defender who can really dictate how much time and space an opponent has."

Mackie, from Victoria, Canada, suited up for Canada's National U-18 squad for its 2026 series with the U.S. and was also invited to the 2026 National Women's Under-18 Selection Camp. A 5-7 blueliner also played for Team British Columbia the past two seasons, skating in 11 games and posting three assists. In three years with the Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna U18 team over 70 games so far, Mackie has posted nine goals and 44 assists for 53 points, including 23 points (5g, 18a) over 30 games in 2025-26, which included program's fifth-consecutive CSSHL title.

Schuler on Mackie:

"We are excited to continue building our strong recruiting pipeline in British Columbia with the addition of Raeya Mackie. Raeya Mackie. Raeya is a very intelligent, poised defender who sees the ice exceptionally well and has the ability to make plays under pressure. She is an excellent skater who moves the puck with confidence and makes good decisions in all three zones. Her experience representing Team Canada at the 2026 U18 Canada–U.S. Series, along with her two appearances with Team BC, speaks to the level of player she is. We are excited about the impact Raeya will make in our defensive corps and the continued growth we see in her game."

Kuja-Halkola is currently in Denmark after making her first senior Finland World Championship roster. Prior to her current roster position, Kuja-Halkola manned the pipes for Finland over three U-18 World Championships in 2025, 2024 and 2023, which included a bronze medal in both 2024 and 2023. In 2023, she recorded more minutes than any other goaltender in the tournament (308.56) with 176 saves, the most saves in the tournament. Kuja-Halkola followed that up in 2024 by again playing the most minutes in the tournament, and made the second-most saves. After leading Finland to the bronze medal game for the second consecutive year, she was named a top-three player on the team as selected by the coaches. After her time in Denmark, Kuja-Halkola will return to HIFK  of the Auroraliiga where she has played in seven games, a 2.03 GAA, a .926 saves percentage and a 4-1-0 record.

Schuler on Kuja-Halkola:

"We are incredibly excited to welcome Kerttu Kuja-Halkola to our program. Kerttu is an exceptional goaltender who brings an impressive combination of size, athleticism and world-class international experience to our roster. She covers a tremendous amount of net, moves extremely well and has the quickness to make difficult saves look routine. What really stands out is her poise and confidence in the crease. She competes with composure and has already demonstrated her ability to perform at the highest level, recently making her debut at the Women's World Championship. We are excited to add a goaltender of her caliber to our program and look forward to what she will bring to our team."