Oct 13- The Wildcats have officially announced their Fall 2025 roster, with a deep group of 23 new Wildcats joining the side for the 57th season of Arizona Rugby.

 

FORWARDS REINFORCEMENTS

The Wildcats’ will look to replace a strong group of graduating seniors, with All Americans Cameron Blair and Jack Bresland wrapping up their careers this past April. Director of Rugby Sean Duffy has made a move for several tight five reinforcements, with Props Jack Lister, Scott McGhee, and Geno McKenna up front having already shown well in early matches. Both Lister and McGhee will join the Wildcats after standout careers in Scotland, while McKenna is the latest San Diego-area talent to join the program. Arizona has also signed two impact transfers with Lock Chris Grosse and Hooker Logan Shea from Central Washington University following the status change of that program. Grosse is joined in the second row by two first-year locks in the 6’ 5” Alex Kemp out of San Diego and the 6' 8” Lachlan Teissier from Western Australia. Kemp is one of three brothers in this class, as he follows older brother Aiden, a current junior in the back row for the Wildcats.

 

Arizona returns a large portion of their back row this Fall and has added to it with a group of high workrate forwards, giving the squad the depth needed for the rigorous run through the D1A season. Will Barrett joins the Wildcats at flanker fresh off of a National Championship with the San Diego Mustangs, while Jamie Clegg and Nick Lake have also joined the side and demonstrated great potential in both the loose play and set piece.

 

BACKLINE BOOST

The program’s continued efforts on the recruitment side have allowed the team to prioritize areas of the game, with a wave of on-field decision makers joining the side from around the world. Scrumhalves Jonny Rix (UK) and Jano Jansen van Vuuren (AZ) give the Wildcats two great prospects that pair with Lance Barker (UK) and Kellen Eskridge (WA) for a young corps of halfbacks. Outside backs Nico Enegren (KS) and Jake Catchpole (AZ) are two more legacy Wildcats, with Enegren the third in his family to join the program. Center Peter McKenna (CA) and Fullback Ethan Heim (DC) have already made their presence felt, starring in an early win over Northern Arizona.

 

For Director of Rugby Sean Duffy, the class has already begun the process of buying in and shown great potential. “We have a great class this year, and last year’s class has taken that next step as a whole. We will continue to lift the program by continuing to build a culture that players want to be a part of here at a school that has everything you’d want if you’re a young rugby player. We’re also blessed to have a few guys join us that we didn’t expect like Kai Caulfield, Takumi Kawamura, and Sergio Ruiz Sanchez, and they’ve fit right in. It’s a tremendous group of additions to the team both on the field but also off of it as we look to continue building that culture of excellence. But most importantly we are thankful to these guys and their families who support them. Rugby is is still growing and these are true student-athletes picking your program but also picking your school and your people and trusting you with their growth. I know I speak for all of our coaches and staff when we say we'll give them everything we got to help them grow as people and players these next four years because we know they're putting in that same effort.” said Duffy.

 

Arizona reached the national quarterfinals last season, reaching the top eight with five All Americans in the side. The Wildcats will kick off their D1A season on Friday October 17, traveling two sides to Boulder to take on Colorado at 6 PM MST. No broadcast of the match will be available, so stay tuned to the team's social media channels for scoring updates and other news.

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Fall 2025 Recruiting Class

-Barker, Lance

-Catchpole, Jake

-Caulfield, Kai

-Clegg, Jamison

-Enegren, Nico

-Eskridge, Kellen

-Heim, Ethan

-Gabrielsen, Hunter

-Gilbert, Charlie

-Grosse, Chris

-Jansen van Vuuren, Jano

-Kawamura, Takumi

-Lake, Nick

-Lister, Jack

-Kemp, Alex

-McGhee, Scott

-McKenna, Geno

-McKenna, Peter

-Rix, Jonny

-Ruiz Sanchez, Sergio

-Shea, Logan

-Stans, Gavin

-Teissier, Lachy

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