After a thrilling final last year, defending national champion Babson and runner-up Wayne State College open a new season ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in Men’s Division III. The Beavers overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to beat the Wildcats, 27-23, in Houston last December.
Wayne State is a longtime DIII contender, and will be back in the mix under second-year head coach Bryn Chivers, whose cupboard is stocked. Returning for the Wildcats is a trio of All-Americans in hooker Banele Jiyane, flanker Sean Munemo and wing Asante Rikhotso.
The Beavers are just as brimming with experienced talent. All-everything flyhalf and MVP of the national championship game, Reed Santos, has graduated, but All-American lock Brice Muller returns, as does talented Canadian back rower Charles Price.
2022 national champion Cal Poly Humboldt starts the season at No. 3. The Lumberjacks fell narrowly to Wayne State in the semifinals last December, 23-20, and they return a pair of All-American forwards in prop Isaac Khelo and lock Logan McDaniel. Both provide the hallmark physicality that’s made Humboldt a force in recent years.
Fourth-ranked Catholic will retain half of its All-American front row, with Sean Richter returning for his junior season. The Cardinals will also bring back their top two try scorers in John Walsh and Lucas Mayer. Catholic, who made it to the national semifinals for the first time in program history in 2022, will hope this core of players can get them over the hump and into the final after falling just short two years in a row.
Catholic faces a stiff challenge from the southern flank, as the fifth-ranked Southeastern Louisiana, who went 9-1 last year and pushed the Cardinals to the brink in the regional final, 28-24, will look to shake things up. Though the Lions will no longer be able to rely on All-American back rower Allen Penning, dynamic flyhalf, and fellow All-American, Felix Hamilton-Marino, will look to keep the big cat’s offense purring under SCRC small college coach of the year Mark Dixon.
To the north, it’s a new coach and a new conference for Endicott College, causing the Gulls to dip slightly in the rankings from where they ended last season. Australian Dan Jeffrey will take the reins from longtime head coach Dave Kenkel and lead Endicott in its first season in the newly-formed North Atlantic Collegiate Rugby (NACR) conference.
The Gulls will now compete against Salve Regina, Roger Williams, Springfield, Bryant, and Stonehill. Lucky for Jeffrey, All-American Jordan Chappell returns for his senior season to aid the Gulls in their quest to bring a championship trophy back to The Nest.
In the Midwest, Franciscan will face an uphill battle in the Allegheny with the emergence of talented sides in John Carroll and a feisty Slippery Rock, who land the final spot in the top ten after a playoff appearance last fall and a surprising first-place finish at CRCs in the spring. Losing All-American scrumhalf Vincent Prezzia was also a blow, but it’s tough to count out the Barons who have become perennial contenders under head coach Jason Adams.
Two-time national champion St. John’s opens the season at No. 8, and the Johnnies appear to be the team to beat in the Northern Lights. But looking to upset the applecart is rival St. Thomas, as the Tommies are coming off an appearance at the Collegiate Rugby Championship in April.
