Wheeling, W. Va. - Even with a veteran roster taking the field, the Wheeling University Men's Rugby team (5-4-1, 1-3-1) had a new look and new challenges to face throughout the 2025 season. The team entered the year under new leadership, with the appointment of Maxwell Hamilton as the Head Coach, and playing in a new conference, competing in the first year of the Atlantic Rugby Conference (ARC). Despite battling through injuries and the challenge of the new schedule, the Cardinals once again found themselves on the national stage, continuing the winning tradition that has been set forth by the program throughout both their 15's and 7's seasons.

The year would start out with a bang for the Cardinals as they challenged themselves against IUP and Rio Grande in their non-conference slate. They kicked off the year at home with a 69-12 win over the Crimson Hawks at home, and added a 45-13 win on the road against the Red Storm. The ARC schedule would see the Cardinals continue scoring, taking down Kutztown 36-17, but they would take their first loss in a tight 26-24 contest with Walsh. They got a point back two weeks later, earning a tie on Friday Night Rugby against Queens 36-36, but dropped their final two matches to finish the regular season 1-3-1 in ARC play. They would end up battling for 5^th in the ARC Playoffs, and defeated Kutztown 40-23 to earn an automatic bid to the NCR DI 15's Playoffs. They would draw Dartmouth in their first-round match-up, and defeated the Big Green 38-33 to advance. However, they would have to match-up with ARC opponent Queens in the Quarterfinals, and fell 45-28 to bring their season to an end.

On the offensive side, the Cardinals were led by the one-two punch of Panashe Mugorogodi and Alex Nyamunda. It was Nyamunda who would have the upper hand, setting new career highs finishing with 16 tries and 80 points. He would step up his game as the postseason began, scoring four of those 16 tries during the NCR DI 15's National Tournament. He would end up setting the single-season 15's try record in the wild card round against Dartmouth, scoring his 13^th try of the season to break former Cardinal Dante Walter's record that stood for the past 13 seasons. He would add three more to that ledger in the Quarterfinal round to push both his single-season and career tries lead in 15's season. Nyamunda broke the career 15's try record earlier in the season, and became the first Cardinal to score 30+ tries in a 15's career, finishing with 31 after his junior season. He has scored eight more tries than the next closest competitor, cementing himself at the top of the record books.

The man who sits behind him is the second part of the one-two punch, sophomore Panahse Mugorogodi. Mugorogodi had a breakout year of his own, scoring 15 tries and totaling 23 for his collegiate career. He set new career highs in both tries and points (75), nearly doubling his scoring total from a season ago. Leading the way in points for the Cardinals was Taku Musingwini, who had a hold on the kicking game throughout the season. Musingwini would finish 27-34 (79.4%) on conversions during the season and an even more impressive 12-14 (85.7%) on Penalty Kicks. He would be the Cardinal's leading scorer with 82 points during the season. Musingwini would also write his name in the record books, setting the single-season penalty kicks record (12), the single season conversion kicks record (27), and the single-season penalty kicks attempted record (14) on the season, while tying the single-season points record of 90, set by former Cardinal Luke Titus.

The 2025 15's season was a milestone year for the Cardinals, marking the beginning of a new era in the ARC. Wheeling was one of six founding members of the conference, giving them the chance to battle among some of the top teams in the country. Despite not reaching the ultimate goal of winning a National Championship, the team made their way back to the NCR DI 15's National Playoffs for the fourth year in a row, making it to at least the quarterfinal round in each of those four appearances. The offense led the way for the Cardinals throughout the season, averaging 34.4 PPG and scoring 30+ points in six of their 10 games. After battling to the National stage once again, the Cardinals will look to keep their winning ways going as they prepare to compete for a three-peat at the National Title during 7's season.

The Wheeling University Men's Rugby team now heads into the off-season as they get ready to take the field again in February for 7's season.