ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The top-ranked Navy men's rugby team (5-0, 4-0 Rugby East) travels to West Point, N.Y., on Saturday to face sixth-ranked Army (7-1, 4-1 Rugby East) at the Anderson Rugby Complex in the annual Star Game, part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. The final game of the fall season is set to kickoff at 4 p.m.
Live Coverage
The game will be streamed live on the
Army YouTube channel.
2025-26 Army-Navy Series
Along with the men's rugby Star being on the line, the sprint football Star will also be decided in West Point this Saturday. Kickoff for that game is set for 1 p.m. and can be watched on the Army YouTube page. The Black Knights enter the weekend with a 4-2-1 lead in the Army-Navy Star Series. Navy's victories have come in men's golf (6-5) and men's cross country (26-29).
Navy Sports Magazine
Senior co-captain
Austin Taylor joined
Tim Nolan on this week's episode of the Navy Sports Magazine Show to preview the Army-Navy Star Game and share his journey to the Naval Academy. The full interview is available on the
Navy Athletics YouTube channel.
Navy Claimed Rugby East Title
Navy has won its fourth-straight Rugby East title. The Mids enter the weekend tied for first place with Life, but Navy holds the tiebreaker thanks to it posting a 29-21 victory when the teams met earlier this season.
Last Time Out: at No. 10 Penn State
Navy defeated 10th-ranked Penn State, 36-7, in its last game on Oct. 25 in University Park, Pa.
Avion Ganse sparked the Mids with a pair of tries in the first 10 minutes, while
Roanin Krieger went 4-for-5 on conversions.
Jake Cornelius led the Mids with 12 tackles against the Nittany Lions.
Navy's defense forced seven turnovers on eight possessions in its own 22-meter zone in the win over Penn State.
Navy Notes
- Saturday marks Navy's second road contest of the season.
- Krieger leads the team in total points (86), conversions (28) and penalty kicks (6) and is tied for the most tries (4). He leads the Rugby East with 71 points and looks to capture the conference scoring title for the third-straight season.
- Andrew Baublitz ranks second on the team with 20 points on four tries.
- Navy's depth has shown throughout the fall as 17 players have scored at least one try this season.
Scouting Army
- The Black Knights have posted a 7-1 overall record and a 4-1 mark in Rugby East play. Army's lone loss came against Life, 35-7.
- Army defeated Penn State last weekend, 55-14, highlighted by a 20-0 run in the second half.
- Howie Heller leads the team with 51 total points on 14 conversions and six penalty kicks. He ranks fourth in Rugby East scoring with 31 points (seven conversions, four penalty kicks and one try).
- Two additional Black Knights rank among the top 15 in Rugby East scoring.
- Head coach Matt Sherman is in his 11th season of leading the program.
Army vs. Navy
- Navy holds a 5-0 record against Army since being elevated to varsity status.
- The Mids are averaging 29.2 points per game against Army while allowing 14.4 points per game.
- Navy has edged Army in each of the last two matchups at West Point. The Mids earned a 34-26 win in spring 2023 and claimed a 23-21 victory on a walk-off penalty kick from Krieger in fall 2023.
- Navy returns three players – Baublitz, Aidan Gerber and Krieger – who scored in last season's 32-5 win over Army. Baublitz and Gerber each recorded a try, while Krieger converted three kicks after tries and added two penalty kicks.
