ATLANTA \u2013 January 23, 2026 – National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) has announced the recipients of the 2025 Women\u2019s Player of the Year Awards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
A national panel of rugby administrators, competition officials, and collegiate coaches identified the honorees after reviewing nearly 7,000 players from 300 teams. Honorees represent the highest level of achievement in performance, leadership and impact across NCR\u2019s four competitive divisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe continued growth and competitiveness across all four divisions is exciting to see,\u201d said Women\u2019s Director Alycia Washington of the awards, \u201cWhat stood out most in this year\u2019s selections was not just individual performance, but the impact these players had on their programs and teammates. They are leaders, competitors, and ambassadors for the future of women\u2019s rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
2025 Women\u2019s Player of the Year Award Winners<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
Division I<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Telesi Uhatafe | Southern Nazarene | Center | Junior<\/p>\n
With five tries in the national championship game, helping lift Southern Nazarene to an 82-21 victory over Northern Iowa, Uhatafe led the Crimson Storm to the first national title in program history. The explosive center from Euless, TX is as fast and elusive as she is fierce and physical. She was the standout in SNU\u2019s first championship appearance in 2024, and she backed it up with a big junior campaign, spending part of the fall training with the 7s national team in Chula Vista, CA. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
Division I-AA<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Molly McAlevey | Northeastern | No. 8 | Senior<\/p>\n
Coming off an All-American selection in 2024, the senior went to greater heights in 2025 during Northeastern\u2019s National Championship campaign. McAlevey was the constant heartbeat that drove the Huskies pack this year, scoring tries, creating opportunities for others with superior ball skills, and making dominant tackles in defense. 2025 was a huge year for McAlevey \u2013 after winning a 7s national championship with Northeastern last April, she spent the summer touring England with the NCR All-Americans during the Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup, and finished the year with a 15s title in December.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Division II<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kate Boggs | Coast Guard | No. 8 | Senior<\/p>\n
Kate Boggs is the epitome of resilience, grit, and determination. After suffering a broken leg during the final of the Collegiate Rugby Championship, which Coast Guard would go on to win with Boggs en route to a hospital, the senior forward made a full recovery to lead the Bears to the program\u2019s first-ever XVs national title. Boggs scored a try in Coast Guard\u2019s 51-12 win over Wisconsin Eau Claire in the championship game, scoring five times in total during the Bears\u2019 four-game playoff run. All of this was accomplished in the 25th anniversary year of Coast Guard women\u2019s rugby. Boggs\u2019 blend of speed, power, skill and rugby IQ make her the total package.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
Division III<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Piper Lee | Colorado School of Mines | Fullback | Sophomore<\/p>\n
In just her second full season of rugby, scoring sensation Piper Lee moved from center to fullback and helped the Colorado School of Mines win the first national championship in program history. With the field vision to find space, and the freedom to attack it from her new position, Lee averaged two tries a game during the Orediggers\u2019 four-game playoff campaign. She\u2019s a fast, powerful runner with a potent stiff arm and a strong leg drive. In defense, she\u2019s a sure tackler with a nose for forcing turnovers in the breakdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
The awards were presented during the Women\u2019s All-Star Weekend at the Players\u2019 Welcome Dinner, attended by more than 400 athletes, coaches, and fans. Following an inspiring address from USA Eagle Cheta Emba\u2014who earned 17 caps in XVs and more than 30 in Sevens\u2014Women\u2019s Director Alycia Washington presented the 2025 Women\u2019s Player of the Year Awards.<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA \u2013 January 23, 2026 – National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) has announced the recipients of the 2025 Women\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434073,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-434072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}