Tisha Thompson
A preliminary report released by the university on Tuesday reveals that Arizona State University did not review the training plan for a workout led by a former Green Beret, during which a hockey player recently collapsed.
Although the ASU hockey coaching staff sought approval for former Green Beret Tim Ziesel to address the team during a three-day team-building event, they failed to submit a training activity plan to ASU’s strength and conditioning coaches for review beforehand, wrote James Rund, the university official heading the investigation.
According to the report, Ziesel—who was introduced to ASU hockey coach Greg Powers by a team supporter—did not have a contract with the university. Rund noted that Ziesel had previously spoken with the team in January 2026 regarding his military background and principles of leadership and teamwork.
Rund, ASU’s senior vice president of educational outreach and student services, stated that his team and the ASU police department have conducted interviews with 20 individuals thus far, including multiple student-athletes.
St. Louis Blues prospect Matthew Mayich collapsed during an offseason workout on the morning of Aug. 20 and remains hospitalized in critical condition. His family’s attorney, Rob Carey, stated that Mayich suffered exertional heat stroke, which compromised oxygen flow to his brain and makes a full recovery unlikely.
The university’s review determined that the temperature was in the high 80s with a relative humidity between 46% and 51% at the time of the incident. The school confirmed that all three ASU hockey coaches were present alongside the team’s athletic trainer.
Rund highlighted that ASU athletes frequently practice and train outdoors, and many sports compete outside. He noted that these competitions involve visiting teams traveling from various climates to play in the desert with minimal time to acclimate to the conditions.
The university stated that all athletes, including Mayich, had received medical clearance from the team physician and athletic trainer. They had also participated in three voluntary strength and conditioning workouts prior to the Aug. 20 session, which included 15-minute outdoor exercises utilizing medicine balls, ropes, and weighted sleds.
According to the university, the coaching staff instructed players to rest and hydrate before the Aug. 20 workout, both in meetings and in written communications. Rund wrote that on the evening prior to the session, Mayich and his roommate went out for dinner, returned to their room, watched videos, and went to sleep.
The university outlined the workout as consisting of pushups, planks, flutter kicks, bear crawls, squats, sprints, and buddy carries. Rund stated that athletes wore short-sleeved, light-colored shirts and shorts provided by the school, while the athletic trainer supplied water and a cooler stocked with iced towels.
The university reported that coach Powers instructed Ziesel to provide a water break 20 minutes into the workout, with an additional break toward the end. Ziesel departed after assigning the athletes a wind-down run with a medicine ball, leaving the coaches and the athletic trainer to supervise the final exercises.
Mayich collapsed during the wind-down exercise, per the report. The athletic trainer and other students instructed him to remain on the ground, and the trainer provided him with iced towels and cool water. Although Mayich was initially responsive, his condition worsened, prompting the trainer to call 911, move him to a shaded area, and continue applying iced towels and water from a hose while awaiting paramedics, according to the university.
“The report omits what the players will tell you: this was a punishment workout,” Carey stated in a comment to ESPN. “Missing a rep meant the group ran again. The head coach orchestrated it, watched it unfold, and failed to intervene when the warning signs appeared. When Matthew went down, there was no plan or preparation, resulting in treatment that hindered his recovery rather than helping it.”
Ziesel’s attorney, Buddy Rake, previously likened the workout to “a medium preseason high school workout.”
Rund announced that ASU will convene a panel of experts to provide recommendations regarding outdoor athletic activities, protocols for changing conditions or adverse reactions, and the utilization of outside consultants.
According to Rund, all ASU student-athletes are invited to submit suggestions and information, which can be handled confidentially.
“A month later, no one has been named, suspended, or fired for violating the very policies ASU published today, and now the university wants to appoint a committee,” Carey stated. “A committee will not answer why grown men, holding a rulebook, allowed this to happen to a young man at his first real workout in the desert. That is the purpose of an investigation, which is why we are requesting the County Attorney conduct one.”
Carey had previously called for an independent investigation into Mayich’s collapse and proposed it be led by the Phoenix Police Department.
Rund stated that his team will continue to gather information regarding the incident. The ASU Police Department is also conducting its own investigation, and Rund noted that ASUPD’s report will be forwarded to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for independent review upon completion.
University policy mandates that outside consultants be certified under NCAA health and safety rules, including first aid training. When asked if Ziesel held this certification, Rake told ESPN, “Do you realize an ASU trainer was standing a few feet away?” He added that Ziesel was a Navy corpsman with additional medical training from his time as a Green Beret.
The university’s “exertional heat illness policy” requires staff to take “regular measurements of environmental conditions.” The initial report does not clarify whether ASU staff took the mandated measurements, instead citing data from Weather Underground sensors.
The policy also mandates that staff provide “cold water immersion tubs” for all practices during periods of heightened heat or humidity. Furthermore, any injured athletes should be moved to the shade or “preferably indoors with air conditioning.”
“I have read ASU’s report, and it recommends new policies,” Carey stated. “ASU already had policies that called for a cold tub on the field, a wet bulb globe thermometer reading, a vetted consultant, and a 911 call the moment an athlete collapsed. None of these measures were implemented, and ASU’s own timeline confirms it.”