Navy men’s rugby earns NAAA Director of Athletics Cup after another championship-caliber season
By Brian Hradsky
The Navy men’s rugby program added another major honor to an already impressive 2025-26 season, earning the Naval Academy Athletic Association’s Director of Athletics Cup.
Navy Director of Athletics Michael Kelly presented the award to the Midshipmen after a season in which the program excelled not only in competition, but also in academics, leadership, conduct, military aptitude and the broader standards expected of Naval Academy varsity athletes. The award is designed to recognize the Navy team that best represents excellence across all of those areas.
It is the second time Navy men’s rugby has won the award. The program previously received it following its inaugural varsity season in 2022-23.
Another dominant season for Navy rugby
The Midshipmen finished the 2025-26 campaign with an 11-2 overall record and once again established themselves as one of the top college rugby programs in the country.
Navy outscored opponents 541-246, averaging 41.6 points per game while allowing just 18.9. The Midshipmen also went a perfect 5-0 in Rugby East competition to capture their fourth consecutive conference championship.
One of the season’s biggest victories came against Life University, when Navy earned a 29-21 conference win. Roanin Krieger scored 14 points in the victory with a try, three conversions and a penalty kick.
Navy delivers another Army-Navy classic
The season also included one of the most dramatic Army-Navy finishes of the year.
Playing at West Point, Navy trailed late against No. 5 Army before scoring 14 points over the final 10 minutes.
Avion Ganse delivered the decisive moment in the 78th minute, breaking two tackles before crossing the try line for the game-winning score in Navy’s 21-16 victory.
The result gave Navy another Star Game victory and added another memorable chapter to the rivalry.
Midshipmen make another national championship run
Navy carried its success into the spring and finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the Collegiate Rugby Association of America power rankings.
The Midshipmen earned the top seed in the CRAA East Bracket and defeated No. 11 Mary Washington, 40-11, before routing No. 6 Army, 38-10.
Navy then knocked off No. 4 Life, 35-21, to advance to the national championship game for the third time in four seasons.
The Midshipmen ultimately fell to No. 1 California, 36-22, in the championship match, but the run further reinforced Navy’s place among the nation’s elite collegiate rugby programs.
Individual honors pile up
Navy’s success was reflected in postseason honors.
The Midshipmen placed 11 players on the Rugby East all-conference teams, the most in the league. Krieger, Edmund Soeder, Michael Strehle and Austin Taylor earned first-team honors, while Aidan Bryan, Ganse and Kade Williams were selected to the second team.
Eight Navy players also earned D1A All-America recognition from the CRAA: Andrew Baublitz, Bryan, Ian Bullock, Ganse, Krieger, Soeder, Strehle and Taylor.
Krieger capped another standout season by leading Rugby East in scoring for the third consecutive year with 77 conference points.
He finished the season with 182 total points and ended his Navy career as the program’s all-time leader in points with 673, conversions with 205 and penalty kicks with 56. He was also a three-time finalist for the Rudy Scholz Award, which honors the top men’s collegiate rugby player in the country.
Baublitz also made program history, scoring a team-high 11 tries during the season and becoming Navy’s all-time leader with 38 career tries.
Taylor added another historic achievement by becoming the first Navy men’s rugby player to win the Naval Academy’s Coaches’ Calvert Award.
Program continues to set the standard
The Director of Athletics Cup is especially significant because it measures far more than wins and losses.
Navy’s men’s rugby team had an elite season on the field, but the award also recognizes the program’s performance in academics, military leadership, conduct and preparation for commissioning.
That combination is exactly what separates this honor from a traditional championship trophy.
Under director of rugby Gavin Hickie, Navy has built one of the strongest programs in collegiate rugby. Hickie entered the 2026-27 season with a 101-19 overall record and a 61-6 record since Navy rugby became a varsity program. During that span, Navy has won a national championship and four Rugby East titles.
The program has shown little sign of slowing down. Navy opened the 2026-27 season with a dominant 50-0 victory over St. Bonaventure, scoring seven tries from seven different players.
MSB Take
This award may be one of the best measures of just how complete Navy men’s rugby has become.
The Midshipmen did almost everything a program could ask for in 2025-26. They won 11 games, captured another Rugby East championship, beat Army twice, reached the national championship game and produced a long list of all-conference and All-America players.
But the Director of Athletics Cup goes beyond that.
At the Naval Academy, athletic success is only part of the expectation. Midshipmen are also preparing to become officers, which means leadership, academics, discipline and character carry real weight.
For Navy rugby to win this award twice in four varsity seasons says a lot about what Hickie and his staff have built.
This is no longer simply a successful rugby program. Navy has become one of the standard-setting programs within the entire Naval Academy athletic department.
And with another strong roster already opening the 2026-27 season with a 50-0 victory, there is little reason to believe the Midshipmen are finished adding trophies.
