2026 Division 1-A Rugby Championship

Division 1-A Rugby Championship
Tournament details
Countries United States
Tournament format(s)knockout
DateApril 11, 2026 – May 2, 2026
Tournament statistics
Teams16
Matches played15
Final
VenueKuntz Memorial Soccer Stadium
ChampionsCalifornia (28th title)
Runners-upNavy

The 2026 Division 1-A Rugby Championship was the fourteenth season of the Division 1-A Rugby championship, the annual university rugby union competition run by USA Rugby involving the top sixteen college teams in the United States. Cal entered as defending champions having beaten Life in the 2025 final 55–38.[1] Cal beat Navy 36–22 for their second striaght final victory.[2]

Teams

Sixteen clubs from the five major conferences compete in the 2026 National Championship playoffs.

The distribution of teams is:

  • California: three teams
  • Rugby East: six teams
  • Independent: thee teams
  • Mid-West Conference: three teams
  • Rocky Mountain: two teams

The following teams qualified for the tournament.

California East Independent Mid-West Rocky Mountain

Sources:

Team locations

2026 Division 1-A Rugby Championship is located in the United States
Life
Life
Lindenwood
Lindenwood
Mary Washington
Mary Washington
Navy
Navy
Army
Army
Penn State
Penn State
Arkansas State
Arkansas State
Mt St. Mary's
Mt St. Mary's
Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
BYU
BYU
Arizona
Arizona
Cal Poly
Cal Poly
Colorado State
Colorado State
San Diego
San Diego
San Francisco Bay Area California St. Mary's
San Francisco
Bay Area
California
St. Mary's
Locations
– East, – West

Standings

Bracket

Playoffs
Sweet 16
(April 11) 		Elite Eight
(April 18) 		Final Four
(April 25) 		National Championship Game
(May 2)
            
1 California 83
8 San Diego 5
1 California 96
4 BYU 12
4 BYU 33
5 Cal Poly 19
1 California 59
WEST
2 Saint Mary's 19
3 Arizona 41
6 Grand Canyon 35
3 Arizona 19
2 Saint Mary's 48
2 Saint Mary's 69
7 Colorado State 10
1 California 36
1 Navy 22
1 Navy 40
8 Mary Washington 11
1 Navy 38
4 Army 10
4 Army 42
5 Arkansas State 17
1 Navy 35
EAST
3 Life 21
3 Life 61
6 Mount St. Mary's 5
3 Life 31
2 Lindenwood 24
2 Lindenwood 31
7 Penn State 10

Sources:[12][13][14][15][16][2]

Round 1

11 April 2026
California California88–5California San Diego
Try: T Archer 5' m
N Cominskey (3) 15' m, 34' c, 61' m
M Threlkeld 21' c
S Deely 25' c
T Tuimaunei 29' c
E Cook (3) 31' c, 41' m, 57' m
C Saint 54' c
M de Beer 65' c
E Lewis 69' c
P Symington 77' c
Con: C Saint (9/15) 21', 25', 29', 31', 34', 54', 65', 69', 77'		Report[17][18]Try: 72' m
Con: (0/1)
Witter Rugby Field, Berkeley, California
11 April 2026
13:00
BYU Utah33–19California Cal Poly
Try: W. Pugmire 16' c
S Fountaine 23' m
C Connors 32' m
J Tenney 57' c
R Larsen 64' m
C Erikson 71' c
Con: V Mataele (3/6) 16', 57', 71'		Report[18][19]Try: 49' c
60' m
66' c
Con: (2/3) 49', 66'
South Field, Provo, Utah
11 April 2026
Arizona Arizona41–35Arizona Grand Canyon
Try: Morgan
D Slaughter
J Schumacher
E Heim
A Andersson
I Morrill
M Berenger
Con: M Berenger (1/4)
S Gerstl (2/3)		Report[18][20]Try: L Jackson 28' c
D Mercer 41' c
V McKeefery c
D Sanchez c
S Siaki C
Con: V Allue (5/5) 28', 41'
Sitton Field, Tucson, Arizona
11 April 2026
13:00
Saint Mary's California69–10Colorado Colorado State
Try: S Ix-Siu (2) c, c
I Toia’ivao 10' c
A Tukuafu 16' c
B Hatch 20' c
E Younger 24' m
K Tingin m
Toia'ivao (2) m, c
m
N Corcoran-Clark c
Con: T Pappas (5/9)
R Pool (2/2)		Report[18][21]Try: L Cullingworth c
Con: A Agasse (1/1)
Pen: A Agasse (1/1)
Saint Mary's Stadium, Moraga, California

Rudy Scholz Award

Winner

  • Solomon Williams – California

Finalists

  • Roanin Krieger – Navy
  • Dom Besag – Saint Mary's
  • Solomon Williams – Cal
  • Logan Ballinger – Life

Nominations

  • George Engels – Army West Point
  • Logan Ballinger – Life University
  • Aaron Van Dyk – Arkansas State
  • Roanin Krieger – US Naval Academy
  • Manu Taula – St. Bonaventure
  • Solomon Williams – Univ. of Cal - Berkeley
  • Jack McAllister – Lindenwood
  • Kieran Downs – San Diego
  • Sosaia Pongi – Saint Mary's
  • Coby Baker – Cal Poly
  • Dom Besag – Saint Mary's
  • Drew Baublitz – US Naval Academy
  • Rand Santos – Univ. of Cal - Berkeley
  • Marco Lapierre – Brown
  • Matteo Berenger – Arizona

Sources:[22][23][24][25]

2025–2026 First Team All Americans

  • Oliver Kirk – University of California – Berkeley
  • Adam Chadwick – Life University
  • Luke Shaefer – Lindenwood University
  • Byron Finley – Lindenwood University
  • Liam Walsh – Army
  • George Engels – Army
  • Maximus Goethals – Davenport University
  • Edmund Soeder – United States Naval Academy
  • Solomon Williams – University of California – Berkeley
  • Rand Santos – University of California – Berkeley
  • Avion Ganse – United States Naval Academy
  • Dominic Besag – Saint Mary's College
  • Andrew Baublitz – United States Naval Academy
  • Masi Koi – University of California – Berkeley
  • Ronan Krieger – United States Naval Academy
  • Ian Bullock – United States Naval Academy
  • Cade Crist – University of California – Berkeley
  • Dalton Slaughter – University of Arizona
  • Logan Ballinger – Life University
  • Austin Taylor – United States Naval Academy
  • Siale Ofa – Saint Mary’s College
  • James Rose – Life University
  • Taoniashe Mapani – St Thomas University

Sources:[26]

References

  1. ↑ "NATIONAL CHAMPIONS". Calbears. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Cal Wins Thundering D1A Final for 2nd Straight Title". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Fall 2025 Standings". Rugby East. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "2025 Fall Standings". Big Ten Rugby. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Midwest Men D1A - News, Videos, Fixtures & Results". xplorer.rugby. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "California Men D1A - News, Videos, Fixtures & Results". xplorer.rugby. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "2025-2026 schedule". Arizona Rugby. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Bears Defeat Saint Mary's In Regular Season Finale". Calbears. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "California". Calbears. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Grand Canyon University Club Sports". GCU Club Sports. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Rocky Mountain Men D1A - News, Videos, Fixtures & Results". xplorer.rugby. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  12. ↑ "D1A Announces 2025–2026 National Championship Playoff Brackets". CRAA. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "D1A East Round 1 Sets Up Rivalries". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "D1A Playoffs-The West". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "One Road Winner as D1A Playoffs Follow Script, Mostly". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "Navy Comes Back, Cal Flies in D1A Semis". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Bears Roll Past San Diego". California Golden Bears Athletics.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "D1A Playoffs-The West | Goff Rugby Report". goffrugbyreport.com. 15 July 2026. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "D1A 2025-2026 2026 Round 27: BYU D1A vs Cal Poly D1A Fixture". xplorer.rugby. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  20. ↑ "Second Half Surge Sends Arizona to Quarterfinals". arizonarugby. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "Gaels Roll Past Colorado State 69–10 to Advance in Rugby Playoffs". St Mary's CA. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "Nominees for 2026 Rudy Scholz Award Named". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "2026 MA Sorensen and Rudy Scholtz Award Nominees announced". USA Rugby. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "Finalists for 2026 Scholz Award Named". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  25. ↑ "Collegiate Player of the Year Awards Officially Presented Saturday Night". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  26. ↑ "CRAA Names the 2025–2026 D1A All‑Americans". CRAA. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.