SAN JOSE, CA (June 12, 2026) – PWHL San Jose today announced that defender Mariah Keopple has been signed to a two-year Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Standard Player Agreement ahead of the team’s inaugural 2026-27 season. Keopple joins PWHL San Jose with a contract through the 2027-28 campaign and becomes the team’s eighth player and third, following forward Maggie Connors and defender Hadley Hartmetz, to complete the team’s Phase 3 additions in the PWHL’s Expansion Player Distribution Process.
Keopple spent the 2025-26 season with the Seattle Torrent, recording three points (3A) across 29 games while providing defensive stability on the blue line. The 25-year-old native of Menomonie, WI, spent the first two seasons of her professional career with Montréal, joining the team as a training camp invite prior to the inaugural season, and was one of only five rookie defenders to appear in all 24 regular-season games. In 82 career games, Keopple has notched 10 points (3G, 7A) and saw action in seven postseason games with the Victoire in 2024 and 2025. Keopple played collegiately at Princeton University, earning All-Ivy League honors as a junior (second team) and senior (honorable mention) and garnering ECAC All-Academic Team honors three times. With a passion for style and fashion, Keopple launched her own brand, Riah The Label, and designs her own game-day outfits.
On PWHL San Jose, Keopple becomes the team’s third defender and reunites with Connors (teammates at Princeton), forward Kristin O’Neill (teammates in Montréal), and goaltender Corinne Schroeder (teammates in Seattle). She follows the team’s Phase 2 additions of forwards Anne Cherkowski, O’Neill and Maddi Wheeler, defender Rory Guilday, and Schroeder. All eight of PWHL San Jose’s players have been signed to two-year contracts.
At the end of the Phase 3 signing period, each expansion team will have up to eight total players by signing a maximum of three players on expiring contracts during this phase. Existing PWHL teams may protect three players under contract for the 2026-27 season, and/or players on expiring contracts signed during this phase, to bring their total protected lists to six players. The Phase 3 signing period continues until Friday, June 12 at 3 p.m. ET, followed by a 5 p.m. ET deadline for existing teams to submit their protection lists prior to the Phase 4 signing period.
A complete list of player signings and transactions is available on the official PWHL Transactions Page. To see the full overview of the status of PWHL player contracts, visit the PWHL Contract Guide here.
ABOUT PWHL SAN JOSE
PWHL San Jose is one of 12 teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), which was founded in 2023. The PWHL began its inaugural season in January 2024 and features the best women’s hockey players in the world. PWHL San Jose was officially announced as one of the league’s four new expansion teams on May 19 and will debut at SAP Center in the fall. Fans can place a time-stamped deposit here, opens in a new tab to secure priority access to season tickets for PWHL San Jose’s historic inaugural season, once ticket packages are released. To learn more and stay up to date, visit PWHLSanJose.com, subscribe to PWHL San Jose’s newsletter here, opens in a new tab, and follow the team on Facebook PWHL San Jose, opens in a new tab, Instagram @PWHL_SanJose, opens in a new tab, X @PWHL_SanJose, opens in a new tab, TikTok @PWHL_SanJose, opens in a new tab, YouTube PWHL San Jose, opens in a new tab, Threads @PWHL_SanJose, opens in a new tab, Bluesky @PWHL-SanJose, opens in a new tab, and LinkedIn PWHL San Jose, opens in a new tab.
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