Have fun out there.
It’s a simple sentence: four words, a plain directive, a call to action that’s difficult to ignore. Some elite athletes might eschew such a basic initiative, choosing to focus on winning above all else.
But for Michigan State sophomore goaltender Trey Augustine, “have fun out there” goes beyond a simple message, and exemplifies something much deeper: It’s the phrase his grandfather, Kenneth Augustine Sr., would repeat to Trey before each of his hockey games.
“That always keeps me coming back to, ‘this is why I do it,'” Trey told ESPN. “I do have fun out there. And I love coming to the rink every day and seeing my friends and the coaches and the staff, and just kind of having this community at the rink where I can step away for four or five hours at a time means the world to me. And if I wasn’t having fun, I know there’d be a problem.”
Augustine is Michigan State’s netminder wunderkind, and he and his teammates are seeking to capture the program’s fourth NCAA championship — and its first since 2007. The Spartans, the No. 1 seed in the Toledo Regional, open play Thursday against Cornell (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+). Although his grandfather died just more than two years ago, his influence will be felt by Augustine and by extension the rest of the team.
Trey has been strapping on the pads and blocker and playing goal since he was 8. And his Michigan roots run deep.
Kenneth Sr., who was known as “Senior” in the hockey world, worked for Ford, and was transferred to the Detroit area in the early 1980s. His son, Kenneth Jr., met his future wife, Yvette, in St. Louis — Yvette passed on her athleticism to Trey, as she played basketball at Drake University — and Trey was born on Feb. 23, 2005. The family moved to Michigan a year and a half later to be closer to both Kenneth and Yvette’s families, and set up Trey in a hockey-focused community near his grandpa.
Before long, Trey’s hockey schedule took him away from Michigan, but that didn’t keep Senior from following along. From New York to Toronto to Chicago, Trey remembers “Gramps” rarely missed a game, even with the less-than-tropical conditions that come with being a hockey parent — or grandparent.
“Seeing him at every game he could be at, just sitting in the stands all bundled up with the blankets and the hats on because he would get cold,” Trey said of his first memories of seeing Senior at his games. “Just him being there for me obviously when he probably wasn’t in the most comfortable of situations being in a freezing-cold ice rink.”
Trey’s mother said Trey and his grandfather were always close.
“He was always there, he was always present, he was always having conversations with him. I think he always carried him with him,” Yvette said. “And I think it meant a ton to him that Trey was a third, right? And part of the namesake.”
Wait, a third? Yes, it’s true. The goalie in question also is named Kenneth Augustine, just like his dad and grandfather. But since he is the third Kenneth James Augustine, he goes by Trey.
“My grandpa was the first Kenneth James Augustine. My dad was the second. And I’m the third. So I’m kind of always playing for my grandpa,” Trey said.
Kenneth James Augustine Sr. particularly enjoyed watching Trey play for Team USA in the under-17 tournament. When Trey first made the team, he and his parents presented Senior with a USA hockey National Team Development Program shirt to show him the news in person.
“He knew how important that place was, especially seeing that as my goal. And he knew how high I wanted to strive,” Trey said. “He knew it meant a lot to me, so I think it meant the world to him as well.”
Kenneth Sr. died at the age of 91 on Jan. 27, 2023, while Trey was preparing to play for the U.S. in the U18 Worlds. Trey was devastated by the news, but he chose to go back on the bus with his teammates to process it.
“And then I remember getting home that night and going straight to my house to see all my family that was there,” Trey said.
Trey’s parents made sure Senior was represented at Trey’s national games for the duration of the tournament.
“My dad always wore this special hat. It was a blue USA hat. And my sister brought it to Switzerland with us,” Ken Jr. recalled.
During the gold medal game against Sweden, Trey’s aunt was holding the USA hat for the first two periods, but the game wasn’t going the way they’d hoped.
“We were losing 2-0 in the gold medal game,” Ken Jr. said. “And [Ken’s sister] said, ‘Here, you take it for the third period,’ and gave me the hat.”
The U.S. cut the deficit to 2-1 midway through the period, then tied the game with 3:16 remaining. Sweden went on the power play with 1:03 left in regulation and peppered Augustine with shots as the man-advantage stretched into overtime. But Trey held strong, and Team USA won it on Ryan Leonard’s goal just more than a minute after the penalty kill was complete.
“It was pretty special,” Ken Jr. said. “We’d like to think that [Senior] was there with us and watching over us.”
Trey remembers feeling a similar sentiment after the game.
“I really wanted my grandpa to see my first gold medal. And he obviously wasn’t there at that time. And I had an opportunity before that to win one,” he said. “I think just seeing [Trey’s dad], I saw my grandpa. … I know he was with me there in spirit.”
Since Trey’s first gold medal for Team USA on the U18 team in 2023, he has won two more at the World Juniors in 2024, and again this past January 2025, where Augustine became the winningest goaltender in U.S. history at the Worlds, propelling the Americans to victory over Finland in overtime.
In his second season at Michigan State, Augustine was the Big Ten’s goaltender of the year, leading the league in wins (18), save percentage (.927) and goals-against average (2.02) and is one of four finalists for the Mike Richter Award as the top goalie in the country.
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Trey’s reverence for his grandfather lives on in his jersey number. Trey wears No. 1, for Kenneth Augustine the first. He also wears a decal on the back of his helmet to honor his grandfather.
“He had ‘Senior’ with a heart on the back of his helmet,” Yvette said. “So I think he’ll always just carry him with him. He’ll always have his voice in his head.”
Trey experienced every sports fan’s dream come true: He was drafted by his childhood favorite team, the Detroit Red Wings, in the second round of the 2023 NHL draft, keeping true to his Michigan roots.
Now, as Augustine prepares for his second NCAA tournament with Michigan State, he remains inspired by the lessons Kenneth Sr. passed to him every time he steps onto the ice.
“I think he’d be extremely proud. But I also think for him, it’s bigger than the game,” Trey said. “It’s about being a good member of the community and having a positive impact on lives and people around you. And I think that’s something that kind of gets lost in athletes. It’s just how important it is at the end of the day to be a good person, to be a good member of the community. … I always think about as well.”
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