The 2025-26 season is Rocky Russo's fifth as head coach of the Lincoln Stars and he looks to build off his impressive start behind the bench. The reigning USHL Coach of the Year has led the Stars to the Clark Cup Playoffs in each of his first four season and is looking to help the franchise win its third Clark Cup as it competes in its 30th season.
Russo and the Stars won the Anderson Cup in 2024-25 as holders of the best record in the USHL in the regular season. Lincoln broke its single-season wins record in 2024-25, surpassing the 2000-01 (43-7-4-2) and 2001-02 (43-15-0-3) seasons. The Stars recorded 40 wins in a season for the fifth time in franchise history and the first time in the last 23 campaigns. Lincoln also led the USHL with 272 goals and broke its single-season record of 246 in 2000-01. The Stars scored five-or-more goals in a game 27 times, matching 1997-98 for the team record and marking the ninth time doing it at least 20 times in franchise single-season history. It was the 13th time in team history that the Stars won at least 37 games and their second time in the last three seasons reaching the Conference Finals.
He led the Stars to the Clark Cup Playoffs in the 2021-22 season to give Lincoln its first playoff berth since the 2018-19 campaign and then followed it up with a 37-win 2021-22 and a berth in the Western Conference Finals. In 2023-24 the Stars overcame a slow start by winning 19-of-30 games at one point to earn a playoff berth for a third straight season. Lincoln swept third-seeded Waterloo in two games on the road to open the Clark Cup Playoffs before falling to Sioux City in three games in the second round.
Russo was named the franchise’s eighth head coach on July 8th, 2021. The Youngstown, OH native arrived in Lincoln after a four-year stint as head coach of the NAHL’s Amarillo Bulls, where he posted a record of 137-62-16-15 and a .664 winning percentage. In 2017, Russo was named the South Division Coach of the Year. His achievements also include a Robertson Cup Championship in 2013 during his prior stint as an assistant coach in Amarillo.
Russo previously served as the head coach of the Philly Little Flyers of the Eastern Hockey League, advancing to two consecutive league championships. During his time with the program, Russo was named the EHL Coach of the Year twice. He also enjoyed assistant coaching roles in the NAHL with the St. Louis Bandits and the Mahoning Valley Phantoms.
Russo played college hockey at Kent State University and graduated in 2005 with a degree in Business Management. The Golden Flashes played in three national tournaments during his time at the university.
