While the best and brightest in college rugby show off their skills at NCR All-Star weekend, the next generation will be flashing their unlimited potential in the Rising Stars competition at Silverbacks Park at the same time. With a few tweaks to the format, and plenty of big name talent, this year’s go round should produce plenty of jaw-dropping moments to help preview who’s got next in the college game.
In this year’s format, the finest first-years and most sensational sophomores from across the country, regardless of division, will join forces with fellow stars from their geographic region, forming teams from the North, South, East, and West. Each Cardinal direction will play one game against every other team in the pool, playing two games on Saturday and one game on Sunday. The team with the most points in the table when all is said and done will be crowned champions.
The contenders will from the North will be led by a strong contingent of young talent from St. Bonaventure, namely twins Kane and Liam Murray. The Murrays are from Irving, TX, and were high school state champions while playing at Dallas Jesuit, one of the strongest programs in the state. A couple of up-and-comers from top DI-AA programs will also lend a hand, with Babson winger Nico Bosa joined by Gaspard Pinard and Cole Popella from Boston College.
There are also plenty of DIII standouts on the roster for the North, including Christopher Dalton, who made a name for himself at Holy Cross this year on both sides of the ball. Endicott sophomores Owen Swanson and Will Savage were big-time scorers for the Gulls this season and should provide plenty of pop for the North this weekend. NERFU champs Nichols College will also be sending a couple of great athletes in Christian Evans and Tobias Ludewig.
Alfred University’s Chevon Adriaans and Phillip Peterson will have the easiest time establishing cohesion on the team as they’ll be taking orders from their own head coach, Dale Russell, who will be leading the team along with Norwich’s Austin Manhey and Roger Williams’ Christian Palombo.
The first match of the weekend will be between the North and the South and should be quite a clash. The Rising South is in great shape because of their ability to draw players from two of the top DI-AA conferences in the country, the SEC and Lonestar. Texas A&M fullback Carim Daher has had a standout season, capped off by a game winning penalty kick at the death to put the Aggies through to the national semifinals over defending champs Kentucky. Daher will be a huge part of the South’s plans along with teammate Lance Lipkin. Freshmen Leo Makosiej and Aaron Sloane made a strong impression in their first season at Lander and will hope to build on that this weekend.
Despite the fact that South Carolina did not have the postseason success they might have hoped for, the Gamecocks still had plenty of talented players starting with 6’4” 240lb. Lock Tommy Darlington. Darlington is a powerful runner, a strong tackler, and creates space for teammates in open play. He’ll be joined by his slightly smaller second-row mate Abram Keener (6’2” 230lbs.), and teammate Landon Day. The group from South Carolina will be playing for their head coach Roy Hulsey, who joins a staff that also includes North Texas’ Gregorio Chavez, Wake Forest’s Jonathan Diaz, Alabama’s Aaron Phillips, and Texas’ Van Stewart.
The team from the East has an incredibly strong roster which is buoyed by some of the up and coming players at Wheeling University, who have perhaps not gotten as much shine this season playing behind some of the Cardinals who are on All-Star rosters this weekend. First on that list is James Holland, who served as the back-up to Taku Musingwini throughout the year. Holland attempted 10 conversion kicks on the season, putting seven through the uprights to finish with 14 points. All 14 of those points would come in the season-opening win against IUP, as he started his season off with a bang. The other two Rising Star honorees to make the stat sheet were Ntsika Mduba and Ntamu Mathebula, who each scored one try on the season. Brandt Pawlowski, Jose Lawal, and Benjamin Andrews will also serve as key pieces as they get their first experiences on the National Stage.
Sophomore center Nate Ingalls and freshman lock Elliot Smyth will join with Kentucky teammates Henry Beazley and Ryan Paul to form a strong Kentucky Wildcat corps for this team as well. The Scranton Norsemen, who had a strong season in DII this Fall, will send three players in Seamus Fosbenner, Joseph Griffin, and Shane Rowland. And some DIII standouts will also be joining this team, with the biggest name being Player of the Year candidate Joseph Moleski, from the national-championship-winning Franciscan Barons. Moleski will be joined by Susquehanna's Jason Reenock and Aaron Cavanaugh who were absolute studs for the Riverhawks this season. Rising East will be coached by Wheeling’s Max Hamilton, Scranton’s Quinn Conaboy, Miami Ohio’s Killan Mulkern, the University of Delaware’s Stephen Sanchez, and Purdue’s Luca McCallister.
Last but not least, the Rising West will be a tough out despite having the least amount of depth in the competition. That’s because the core of their small team is made up of talented players from Iowa Central Community College. Nathan Cox, Isaac Firsching, Elian Robles, Caden Sugden, and Wyatt Young are all part of the future for the Tritons and will hope to show this weekend that that future is bright. Montana State’s Rex Muldoon and Dylan Lugar will also be key to any success that the West will have. The team will also hope to get a strong contribution from the large group of DIII Denver players that are on the squad including Zach Billings, Lane Gahagan, Tyler Kriss, Theodore Matthieu, Liam McBride, James McDonnell, and Alijah Sanford. Freshman flyhalf Nicholas Cappozzo is also a player to keep an eye on after his breakout season with the Blugolds.
The West will be coached by Northern Iowa’s Kaleb Boleyn, Colorado Mesa’s Liam Brannan, Wisconsin Whitewater’s Carmen Consolino, and St. Scholastica’s Tyler Selleck.
Last year, Tennessee’s Nathan Rawls was playing in this Rising Stars tournament as a freshman. This year, Rawls was a Player of the Year candidate after a stellar sophomore season for the Vols. If you want to get a jump on the next wave of talent coming up the ranks, or to find out who the next Nathan Rawls is going to be, you’ll have to tune in this weekend.
All matches will be streamed live. Stadium matches available on NCR TV for a $12.99 weekend pass and outer field matches on YouTube.
