On Tuesday morning, Brooks Cullen, who helped Moorhead High School win its first state championship in March, announced his commitment to the Gophers men’s hockey program. In his Instagram announcement, Brooks posted a jersey photo with “B. Cullen” on the nameplate with the number “18″.

“I am proud and honored to announce my commitment to play Division 1 hockey at The University of Minnesota,” Brooks wrote. “I would like to thank God, my family, teammates, coaches, and everyone else who has helped me get to this point. #gogophs"

Previously committed to Michigan State, Brooks’ commitment comes one day after his 16-year-old brother, Wyatt Cullen, announced on Instagram that he had committed to play for the Gophers. Included in the post was picture of a gold Gophers jersey emblazoned with “W. Cullen” and the number “7” hanging in a locker room.

Maybe that was a clue of more to come.

Why would there be a “W. Cullen” nameplate if there were only one Cullen on the team?

On Tuesday, the rest of the story came into focus.

The Cullens come from a prominent Minnesota hockey family.

Their father, Matt Cullen, played for Moorhead High School and St. Cloud State before spending 21 seasons in the NHL, including four years over two stints with the Wild. Their grandfather, Terry Cullen, is the former coach at Moorhead High School.

Brooks, the oldest of Matt and Bridget Cullen’s three sons, capped his senior season by helping Moorhead win its first high school state championship. He had 23 goals and 25 assists in 29 games in 2024-25 after collecting 15 goals and six assists in 27 games the year before. He also received the Herb Brooks Award for leadership, character and a passion for the game.

Brooks gave a verbal commitment to Michigan State in November. It is expected he will play a year of junior hockey with Fargo of the USHL before joining the Gophers for the 2026-27 season.

Wyatt Cullen, a four-star recruit, announced his decision early Monday morning, a week after players entering their junior year of high school could begin making official campus visits.

Wyatt, 5-8 and 146 pounds, spent the 2024-25 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Under-17 squad, collecting nine goals and 39 assists in 88 games. His offensive prowess was on display during the previous two seasons when he played for Moorhead’s Bantam AA team. In 2022-23, Cullen had 41 goals and 65 assists in 60 games. In 2023-24, he amassed 68 goals and 98 assists in 60 games — an average of 2.77 points per game.

Wyatt is targeted to join the Gophers for the 2027-28 season.

The additions of Brooks and Wyatt could give the Gophers the inside track in landing a third Cullen brother, Joey, 15.

Joey Cullen, a forward, is the top-ranked 2010 U.S.-born skater in the PuckPreps.com ratings. He spent the past two seasons with Moorhead’s Bantam AA Under-14 team, producing 37 goals and 32 assists in 60 games in 2023-24 and 67 goals and 84 assists in 51 games — 2.96 points per game — this past season.

Wyatt and Brooks Cullen join Lakeville North center Gunnar Conboy and former Grand Rapids goalie Carter Casey in committing to Minnesota over the past nine days.