McCarthy, 22, registered 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points, along with 12 penalty minutes and a plus-16 rating in 38 games with the University of Vermont Catamounts of the Hockey East Association (HEA) this season. He established collegiate career-highs in games played, goals, assists, points, and plus/minus rating. McCarthy led the Catamounts in assists, points, and shorthanded goals (two), and ranked second on the team in goals and plus/minus rating. He tied for 25th in the nation in points, and ranked seventh in the conference in points, tied for ninth in goals, and eighth in assists. The Collegeville, Pennsylvania native posted 12 multi-point performances, including a career-high, four assists on February 21 at Merrimack. He also registered a season-high, seven-game point streak from January 25 at Boston University to February 22 at Merrimack, tallying 14 points (five goals, nine assists) over the span.
The 6-1, 205-pounder has skated in 150 career NCAA contests over five seasons with Vermont, registering 46 goals and 68 assists for 114 points, along with 69 penalty minutes. Last season, he led the team in goals (13), assists (18), and points (31) while skating in 36 contests. Prior to joining Vermont, McCarthy skated in 59 games in the U.S. Development Program (USDP) during the 2008-09 season, registering 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points, along with 48 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating.