Cornell Defender Alyssa Regalado Eyes The PWHL Draft In The Next Chapter Of Her Career
The Cornell defender has spent the past four years in the program, and through it all, she's grown and developed and is ready to hear her name called at the 2026 PWHL Draft.
“Be where your feet are.”
It’s a phrase that often comes up when speaking with athletes. It speaks to the importance of being present, in the moment, focused on what you can control, not what you can’t. And for Cornell defender Alyssa Regalado, that’s exactly the mentality she’s taking into the 2026 PWHL Draft.
“It’s honestly really tough, obviously,” Regalado said. “It’s something that’s going to be on my mind until the day comes. But I think it’s more so, just how can I work towards something? How can I make myself better? Not just with hockey, or the PWHL, or whatever my future holds, but just myself as a person. I’m just taking it day by day.”
Regalado has spent the past four years patrolling the blueline at Cornell, helping the team to three straight Ivy League Championship titles, and over that time, through the ups and downs, she has grown. That growth has helped prepare her for this moment, and she cites this past season, with the program’s high expectations and the loss of 11 seniors, as a testament to her personal growth.
“I think it was hard to overcome those losses this year,” Regalado recalled. “Being one of the seniors and leaders, it was about teaching the underclassmen how to deal with those losses. I didn’t have those seniors telling me how to do that. So I think that communicating with them helped me to learn how to handle it and move on from it, but also use it to build on to the next game.”
Over that time, Regalado has also had the opportunity to play alongside current PWHL players. She spent three years paired with Ottawa Charge defender Rory Guilday and Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Katie Chan. Seeing them succeed and make their professional dreams come true motivates Regalado.
"I think both show that not only are they amazing hockey players and great people," said Regalado. "But there's a lot that goes on that people don't see. And just knowing that all that extra work pays off is really special to see. It motivates me that this work will all pay off some way, somehow in the end."
With the prospect of a professional career on the horizon, it isn’t lost on Regalado how special this moment is for her career. “It’s an amazing thing to even think about,” she said. “It’s something that I never thought was even going to be possible. I think my freshman year, I said, ‘Okay, well, after my four years, I guess maybe Sweden, if that’s an option. It’s hard to put into words how cool and how special it is to have this opportunity.”
For Alyssa Regalado, she may not know what is in the cards for this next chapter of her journey through the sport she’s always been a student of, but she knows that by being where her feet are and staying in the moment, she’ll end up exactly where she was meant to be.