No. 8 Navy Rifle Makes History, Sweeps No. 3 TCU and VMI in Record-Setting Season Opener
By Brian Hradsky
The No. 8 Navy rifle team could not have asked for a much better start to the 2026-27 season.
Navy opened the year with a historic performance Saturday at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range in Annapolis, posting a 4,729 aggregate score to defeat No. 3 TCU, VMI’s mixed team and VMI’s women’s team. The Midshipmen finished the opening weekend 3-0 and, more significantly, defeated national powerhouse TCU for the first time in program history.
The Midshipmen defeated TCU 4,729-4,718, VMI Mixed 4,729-4,620 and VMI Women 4,729-4,595. Navy also produced its highest season-opening team score in program history, giving head coach Mike Anti plenty to like as the Midshipmen begin another season with NCAA championship aspirations.
This was not simply an early-season victory against another ranked opponent.
TCU finished as the 2026 NCAA national runner-up, while Navy placed sixth at last season’s NCAA Championship. The Horned Frogs entered Saturday ranked third nationally and brought another roster capable of competing near the top of collegiate rifle.
Navy beat them anyway.
Navy makes history against TCU
TCU has been one of the country’s premier rifle programs for years, and Saturday marked the sixth consecutive season the Horned Frogs opened their schedule in Annapolis.
Until this weekend, Navy had never beaten them.
That changed with a tremendous all-around performance.
The Midshipmen posted 2,347 points in smallbore and 2,382 in air rifle, producing the 4,729 aggregate. TCU finished only two points behind Navy in smallbore at 2,345 but fell nine points behind in air rifle with 2,373.
Those 11 points became the final margin.
Navy also accumulated a match-best 317 center shots. Its 2,382 air-rifle total and 4,729 aggregate both tied for seventh-best in program history, while the 2,347 smallbore score came within two points of entering Navy’s all-time top 10.
For an opening match, those are remarkable numbers.
Anti described the performance as the best season-opening score Navy has ever recorded and highlighted the significance of finally defeating TCU.
It immediately gives the Midshipmen an important national result.
Tyler Wee picks up where he left off
Tyler Wee entered his sophomore season with enormous expectations after one of the best freshman campaigns in Navy rifle history.
He wasted no time meeting them.
Wee dominated Saturday’s competition, winning smallbore, air rifle and aggregate.
The sophomore fired a 592 in smallbore and followed with a 598 in air rifle, producing a match-high 1,190 aggregate. No other competitor matched him in any of the three individual categories.
It was an impressive continuation of what Wee accomplished during 2025-26.
As a freshman, Wee established Navy season-average records in smallbore at 590.1, air rifle at 598.6 and aggregate at 1,188.7. He also established the program’s single-match aggregate record with a 1,193 and shot three perfect 600s in air rifle.
Those performances led to one of the most decorated freshman seasons in program history.
Wee became the first Navy shooter named the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association National Rookie of the Year. He also earned first-team All-American recognition in smallbore and air rifle and second-team honors in aggregate.
There was therefore little question about whether Wee could compete with the best shooters in the country.
Saturday provided another reminder.
Against the No. 3 team in the nation and several accomplished TCU shooters, Wee was the best competitor on the range.
Hannah Talbott delivers remarkable collegiate debut
Wee’s performance was expected.
What freshman Hannah Talbott did in her first collegiate competition may have been even more encouraging for Navy’s long-term outlook.
Talbott finished second overall with an aggregate score of 1,185, firing a 588 in smallbore and an outstanding 597 in air rifle.
She actually tied TCU’s Marissa Fedora for second in aggregate scoring.
The tie came down to center shots.
Talbott held an 84-83 advantage, giving the Navy freshman second place in her collegiate debut.
That is a significant development for an already talented Navy lineup.
The Midshipmen entered the season returning several accomplished shooters, including Wee, Isabella Baldwin, Ryan Wee and Chelsie Glover. Adding a freshman capable of immediately producing an 1,185 aggregate against nationally ranked competition could make Navy even deeper.
Anti specifically praised Talbott afterward, noting that she finished immediately behind Tyler Wee in the individual standings in her first collegiate appearance.
Talbott was particularly impressive in air rifle.
Her 597 was second only to Tyler Wee’s 598.
Navy sweeps top three in air rifle
Air rifle ultimately separated Navy from TCU.
The Midshipmen did not merely win the discipline.
They swept the top three individual positions.
Tyler Wee led everyone with 598.
Talbott followed at 597.
Senior captain Isabella Baldwin finished third at 596.
That gave Navy three shooters separated by only two points at the top of the standings.
TCU’s strongest air-rifle counters could not quite match that consistency. Christina Hillinger led the Horned Frogs’ counters with a 595, while Fedora scored 594 and Viola Allen and Rylie Passmore each produced 592.
TCU still fired a strong 2,373.
Navy was simply better.
The Midshipmen’s 2,382 represented a nine-point advantage in the discipline and turned what had been a two-point smallbore margin into an 11-point aggregate victory.
Against a team that finished second nationally last March, that is an impressive early statement.
Baldwin provides veteran leadership
Baldwin began her senior season in exactly the way Navy needed from its new captain.
She finished fourth overall with an 1,184 aggregate, consisting of a 588 in smallbore and 596 in air rifle.
Baldwin’s performance gave Navy three of the top four aggregate shooters.
Her importance extends well beyond one match.
Baldwin was selected by her teammates as Navy’s captain for 2026-27 after an outstanding junior season. She entered the year as a nine-time CRCA All-American and was a first-team All-American in air rifle last season while receiving second-team smallbore and third-team aggregate recognition.
She also made history alongside Wee last season.
Baldwin and Wee both shot perfect 600 air-rifle scores at The Citadel, a performance Navy believes made them the first teammates in NCAA history to shoot perfect air-rifle scores during the same competition.
Baldwin did not need perfection Saturday.
Her 596 was plenty good enough to help Navy defeat one of the country’s best programs.
Five Midshipmen finish inside top 10
Navy’s performance went well beyond its top three.
The Midshipmen placed five shooters inside the top 10 in aggregate scoring.
Tyler Wee finished first at 1,190.
Talbott took second at 1,185.
Baldwin placed fourth at 1,184.
Senior Ryan Wee finished eighth with an 1,171, shooting 578 in smallbore and 593 in air rifle.
Senior Chelsie Glover rounded out Navy’s top-10 contingent in 10th place with an 1,170 aggregate, consisting of a 579 smallbore and 591 air-rifle performance.
That depth matters.
A championship-caliber rifle team cannot depend on one exceptional shooter. Navy certainly has an elite competitor in Tyler Wee, but Saturday demonstrated the Midshipmen have plenty behind him.
Talbott immediately looks capable of becoming a major contributor.
Baldwin is one of the most decorated shooters in program history.
Ryan Wee and Glover provide experienced senior depth.
That gives Anti multiple options as the season develops.
Young Midshipmen gain valuable experience
Several other Navy shooters competed Saturday, including a group of freshmen making their first collegiate appearances.
Freshman Liam Conklin posted a 574 smallbore and 579 air rifle. Fellow freshman Sang Van recorded 570 in smallbore and 584 in air rifle, while freshman Madison Thompson finished with 562 and 580, respectively.
Sophomore Audrey Hart produced scores of 566 and 582, while fellow sophomore Preston Everette fired 565 and 582. Senior John Dely recorded a 543 in smallbore and 561 in air rifle.
Not every score contributes to the official team total, but competitions like Saturday are valuable for Navy’s depth.
The Midshipmen have a veteran core capable of competing nationally right now.
They also have younger shooters beginning to gain experience behind it.
Talbott’s immediate emergence makes that group even more intriguing.
TCU provides a legitimate early measuring stick
Beating TCU gives the result considerable national significance.
The Horned Frogs were not simply a highly ranked team arriving in Annapolis based on reputation.
They finished second at the 2026 NCAA Championship, behind national champion West Virginia. TCU produced a 2,354 smallbore score and 2,387 in air rifle at the championship, finishing with a 4,741 aggregate.
TCU entered 2026-27 having to replace Katie Zaun and Mikole Hogan, but returned several accomplished shooters from its national runner-up team.
Fedora demonstrated that Saturday.
She led TCU with an 1,185 aggregate, including a 591 smallbore score. Hillinger finished with 1,178, Amanda Pettersen scored 1,177 and Passmore produced 1,173.
Five TCU shooters finished among the top 10 overall.
This was not a poor TCU performance.
The Horned Frogs shot 4,718.
Navy shot better.
VMI breaks records despite Navy sweep
VMI also left Annapolis with reasons for optimism despite finishing behind Navy and TCU.
The VMI mixed team fired a 4,620 aggregate, including 2,288 in smallbore and 2,332 in air rifle. The VMI women’s team finished at 4,595, recording 2,262 in smallbore and 2,333 in air rifle.
Both VMI teams established school records in aggregate scoring and smallbore.
That makes Navy’s overall performance even more notable.
The Midshipmen did not pile up three victories against teams having disastrous days. TCU posted a competitive national-level score, while VMI produced multiple program records.
Navy still finished comfortably atop the standings.
An extension of a historic 2025-26 season
Saturday’s performance did not come out of nowhere.
Navy is coming off one of its strongest seasons in recent history.
The Midshipmen finished 15-4 in 2025-26, producing their seventh winning season in eight years. They also reclaimed the President’s Trophy by scoring 5,891 points and ending Air Force’s 11-year winning streak in the competition.
Navy also defeated Army 5,904-5,839 at West Point for its fifth consecutive Star Match victory over the Black Knights.
The Midshipmen then finished third at the Great America Rifle Conference Championship before earning sixth at the NCAA Championship in the program’s 30th national championship appearance.
The record book took a beating along the way.
Navy established program season-average records in smallbore at 2,347.5, air rifle at 2,381.4 and aggregate at 4,728.9. The Midshipmen also established single-match team records in all three categories.
Saturday’s 4,729 aggregate is therefore particularly encouraging.
Navy essentially opened 2026-27 at the same scoring level as its record-setting average from the previous season.
And it did so in September.
Mike Anti continues building Navy into a national contender
Anti’s program has continued trending upward.
He earned GARC Coach of the Year honors for the third time following last season and received the 2026 Heinz Lenz Fellowship Award. Assistant coach Lou MacKenzie earned GARC Assistant Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season.
The results explain the recognition.
Navy has combined national-level individual talent with improved team depth.
Last season, Wee, Baldwin and Parker Haydin combined for nine CRCA All-American honors. Wee became the first Midshipman to earn CRCA Rookie of the Year recognition.
Now Talbott has immediately inserted herself into the conversation after one competition.
Navy is still a long way from the NCAA Championship in March.
But Saturday showed that the pieces are there.
Navy enters the national conversation immediately
One September match does not determine how a team will perform in March.
It can, however, establish a baseline.
Navy’s baseline is extremely high.
The Midshipmen entered the year ranked eighth after finishing sixth nationally last season. TCU came to Annapolis ranked third after finishing second at the NCAA Championship.
Navy beat TCU head-to-head.
The 4,729 score also stacks up well against the national championship landscape.
West Virginia won the 2026 NCAA title with a championship-record 4,748 aggregate, seven points ahead of TCU. The Mountaineers remain the team everyone is chasing after winning consecutive national championships.
Navy’s opening score was 19 points below that championship performance.
There is plenty of room for improvement between September and March.
That should be encouraging.
A difficult road weekend comes next
Navy does not receive much time to celebrate.
The Midshipmen immediately head onto the road for two competitions this weekend.
No. 8 Navy travels to face No. 15 Akron on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 9 a.m. before heading to Columbus to compete against No. 14 Ohio State on Sunday, Oct. 4, also at 9 a.m.
The Akron match will also open Navy’s Great America Rifle Conference schedule.
That creates another important early-season test.
Navy must now prove it can reproduce Saturday’s performance away from Bancroft Hall and on consecutive days.
The Midshipmen will later return home Oct. 25 to host Memphis and Mount Aloysius.
The ultimate objective remains much farther down the calendar.
The 2027 NCAA Rifle Championship will take place March 12-13 in Statesboro, Georgia.
Navy certainly looked like a team capable of working toward that stage Saturday.
MSB Take
This was about as strong of a season opener as Navy could have produced.
The Midshipmen did not simply beat VMI and take care of business against teams they were expected to defeat. They went head-to-head with the No. 3 team in the country and the reigning NCAA runner-up and beat TCU for the first time in Navy history.
That makes the 4,729 aggregate mean considerably more.
Tyler Wee looks ready to build on his incredible freshman season. He swept all three individual categories and fired a 1,190 aggregate in his first competition as a sophomore. For someone coming off CRCA National Rookie of the Year honors, that is exactly the type of opening performance Navy wanted.
Talbott may be the biggest story, though.
Walking into your first collegiate competition, facing a national championship contender and finishing second overall with an 1,185 aggregate is impressive. If that performance is an indication of what Talbott can provide throughout her freshman season, Navy may have added another elite scorer to an already loaded lineup.
Baldwin’s fourth-place performance gave Navy three of the top four aggregate finishers, while Ryan Wee and Glover made it five Midshipmen inside the top 10.
The air-rifle performance was especially dominant.
Navy went 1-2-3 individually and beat TCU by nine points in the discipline. Against a program of TCU’s caliber, that is significant.
There is an enormous amount of season remaining. Navy still has GARC competition, the President’s Trophy, the Army-Navy Star Match, conference championships and eventually NCAA qualifying ahead.
But the Midshipmen could not have sent a much stronger message on opening day.
No. 8 Navy is 3-0. It owns its first victory over TCU in program history. It just recorded the best season-opening score in program history.
And after finishing sixth nationally last year, Navy has given everyone an early reason to watch what happens in Annapolis this season.
