The SCRC D1AA season is fairly short, with teams only playing two pool games before the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the teams’ schedule as whole is short.
The conference itself kicks off September 21 with Kentucky at Alabama, and really gets going with games on October 5, 12, and 19. The conference is split into three pools—East, West, and South.
Let’s take a look.
Kentucky
Probably favored to repeat as champions and challenge for a second-straight NCR title, the Wildcats return 11 of their 15 starters from last season, and 18 of their gameday 23. They do lose Will Meskauskas, who was a pillar of poise for them last year, as he graduates. But returning for another season is Jack Phillips, the flyhalf who secured a Scholz Award nomination last season, and USA U20 flanker Holden Hahn, who was brilliant in the NCR D1AA final last December.
Phillips tore his MCL in may, but is reportedly back and fit.
Hahn’s fellow loose forward Gage Curry, who was also excellent in the final against Louisville, is back, as are outside backs Luke and Joe Keough. Add to that some impressive recruits: Sam Chalboub and Charlie Sizemore from St. Ignatius Cleveland, Eli Arthur from Pendleton, and Aidan Dore on transfer from Hampden Sydney. Mike Punzalan returns from deployment.
“With a new conference setup we are only playing Tennessee and Alabama in our conference pool before a longer conference playoff series,” said Head Coach Sam Enari. “This has left room in the schedule to play strong competition. NCR D1 teams and a D1A team make up the rest of the schedule. We now have 63 players on roster up from 38 when I took over the club. This allows us to have competitive practices, robust mentorship within the team, and meaning connections off the the pitch.”
Kentucky plays Indiana this coming weekend followed by Illinois and Marian before the SCRC season kicks off and they also have Thomas More on the slate.
The Wildcats are in the SCRC D1AA West along with Alabama and Tennessee. All three are ranked by GRR and all three are very strong—a good team could well go 0-2 in this pool.
Men D1AA College Rankings Fall Week 1
Tennessee
Top scorer and captain Luke Mathis has graduated but with most of their front row and most of their back row returning, along with their entire interior backline, the Vols should feel comfortable. Six transfers and 14 freshmen join the program, led by Charlotte Cardinals No. 8 Nate Rawls, and transfers Hudson Schutte (Nazareth) and Garret Salas (Central Washington).
Tennessee, also, has found tough games out-of-conference.
“We have scheduled five D1 out-of-conference opponents—Queens, Thomas More, Rio Grande, Texas A&M, and Ohio State—as well as our highly respected rivals Kentucky and Alabama,” said Head Coach Scott Tungay. “Volunteer fans have some great home weekends to look forward to with both our match against Florida, and our match against Bama, taking place on the Friday nights before the respective football games in Knoxville.
