Penn State men’s hockey senior Trevor Hamilton was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday afternoon — beating out Notre Dame standouts Jake Evans and Jordan Gross for the award.

Trevor Hamilton of @PennStateMHKY named 2017-18 #B1GHockey Defensive Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/Rp0vwvPpKD

— Big Ten Hockey (@B1GHockey) March 13, 2018

Hamilton’s road to becoming the Big Ten’s best defenseman has been anything but straightforward. He played two seasons of college hockey at Miami (OH), but left the program just one game into his sophomore year. After three seasons of major junior hockey in the USHL, Hamilton joined Penn State for his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility.

The Grosse Point Farms, MI, native has grown tremendously since joining Penn State prior to the start of the 2016-17 season. He leads the team in points for a defenseman — scoring 29 points in 37 games played this season. Additionally, his physicality and willingness to fill lanes and block shots have made him one of the toughest defensemen to play against in the entire country.

Hamilton was also named to the conference’s first team for his effort this season and was the only Penn State player on the first team.