U.S. Ski & Snowboard has officially announced the 21 athletes who will represent the 2025–26 Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, a roster that blends seasoned World Cup veterans with emerging NCAA and junior talent — all gearing up for the Olympic Winter Games this February in Milano-Cortina, Italy.
The team features a familiar core of Olympians and World Cup standouts returning to lead the charge, supported by a wave of rising collegiate stars and junior athletes making their first national-team appearance.
A-Team: Diggins, Brennan, Kern Lead Olympic-Year Squad
Three-time Olympic medalist Jessie Diggins once again headlines the A-Team, joined by Rosie Brennan, Julia Kern, and Sophia Laukli on the women’s side. Together, the quartet represents the most internationally decorated women’s roster in U.S. history — a group that has delivered podiums across sprint, distance, and stage racing.
On the men’s A-Team, Ben Ogden, Gus Schumacher, and JC Schoonmaker return, all of whom broke new ground for U.S. men last season. Ogden’s consistency in sprint finals, Schoonmaker’s developing top-10 form, and Schumacher’s breakthrough victory in Minneapolis in 2024 mark a generation ready to challenge for medals on sport’s biggest stage.
(Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
B-Team: Emerging Talent and College-World Cup Crossovers
The B-Team features a blend of established performers and breakout skiers. Among the women, Novie McCabe and Sammy Smith return, joined by Kate Oldham, who makes her debut after an impressive 2024–25 campaign highlighted by multiple top-30 World Cup results. Smith — who balances NCAA Division I soccer at Stanford with her ski career — remains one of the most unique dual-sport athletes in U.S. skiing.
The men’s B-Team includes Zanden McMullen, coming off his first top-10 in Ruka; John Steel Hagenbuch, a two-time NCAA champion and Dartmouth standout; and Jack Young, who posted a career-best 15th place in Davos last winter.
Development Team: The Next Wave
U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Development Team — long a pipeline for future World Cup talent — features both new faces and returning athletes.
New additions include Lucas Wilmot (University of Utah), Tabor Greenberg (University of Vermont, 2024 Youth Olympic Games bronze medalist), and Fin Bailey (Stratton/University of Vermont). They join returning collegiate standouts Sydney Palmer-Leger, Haley Brewster, Kendall Kramer, Murphy Kimball, and Jack Lange. Kramer, a 2024 NCAA Champion for Alaska Fairbanks, is back after a strong World Cup campaign that underscored her trajectory toward senior success.
Program Director Chris Grover said the team’s preseason momentum has been “exceptional,” noting that the return of on-snow training at Alaska’s Eagle Glacier helped sharpen preparation for what could be a historic Olympic season.
“This team has so many athletes who are poised for personal bests and career-defining results,” Grover said. “With the Olympics ahead and the Lake Placid World Cup Finals on home soil, we’ve been working hard to ensure our athletes have every tool they need to succeed.”
A Season Framed by the Olympics — and a Home World Cup
The 2025–26 COOP FIS Cross Country World Cup opens in Ruka, Finland, in late November, traveling through Scandinavia before reaching the Tour de Ski stages in Toblach and Val di Fiemme.
Then all eyes turn to the Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games, held February 6–22 in Val di Fiemme, Italy — marking a return to the same valley where many U.S. athletes will have raced just weeks prior.
The season concludes with a rare and symbolic homecoming: the Stifel Lake Placid World Cup Finals, March 20–22, 2026. The three-day finale will feature a 10 k classic, skate sprint, and 20 k freestyle mass start — the first World Cup Finals hosted on American snow in decades.
Full 2025–26 Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team
A Team – Women
Rosie Brennan (Anchorage, AK; Alaska Pacific University)
Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN; Stratton Mountain School)
Julia Kern (Waltham, MA; Stratton Mountain School)
Sophia Laukli (Yarmouth, ME; Aker-Dæhlie)
A Team – Men
Ben Ogden (Burlington, VT; Stratton Mountain School)
JC Schoonmaker (Lake Tahoe, CA; Alaska Pacific University)
Gus Schumacher (Anchorage, AK; Alaska Pacific University)
B Team – Women
Novie McCabe (Winthrop, WA; Alaska Pacific University)
Kate Oldham (Carbondale, CO; Bridger Ski Foundation) *
Samantha “Sammy” Smith (Boise, ID; SVSEF)
B Team – Men
John Steel Hagenbuch (Ketchum, ID; SVSEF)
Zanden McMullen (Anchorage, AK; Alaska Pacific University)
Jack Young (Jay, VT; Green Racing Project)
Development Team – Women
Haley Brewster (Avon, CO; University of Vermont)
Kendall Kramer (Fairbanks, AK; Alaska Pacific University)
Sydney Palmer-Leger (Park City, UT; Mansfield Pro Team)
Development Team – Men
Fin Bailey (Peru, VT; Stratton Mountain School)
Tabor Greenberg (Moretown, VT; University of Vermont) *
Murphy Kimball (Anchorage, AK; Alaska Winter Stars)
Jack Lange (Lyme, NH; Stratton Mountain School)
Lucas Wilmot (Jackson, WY; Jackson Hole Ski Club) *
(* = newly named to team)
Staff and Leadership
The team is led by Head Coach Matt Whitcomb, Program Director Chris Grover, and World Cup Coaches Jason Cork and Kristen Bourne, supported by Development Coach Greta Anderson and an experienced service staff headed by Oleg Ragilo.
As the countdown to Milano-Cortina begins, the mix of experience and youth within this team reflects both the sport’s growing depth in the U.S. and the high expectations for another breakthrough Olympic season.
