Maxwell Hamilton enters his first season as head coach for the Wheeling Men's Rugby team and his second season with the program.
During the 2024-25 season, Hamilton served as a Graduate Assistant primarily in charge of developing the team's back line, which turned out well as the team averaged 40.5 points during the Fall 15's season. His coaching helped the Cardinals make a Fall 15's semifinals appearance and to earn back-to-back championships in 7's. Under Hamilton's watch, Cardinal sophomore Alex Nyamunda took home National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) All-American honors after leading the Cardinals with 11 tries while scoring 55 points during 15's season. He also helped coach Panashe Mugorogodi, Shadreck Mandaza, and Nyamunda to the first-ever All-Big River's Rugby Conference (BRRC) team during the 15's season. Along with his coaching experience with the Wheeling Men's Rugby program, Hamilton was also selected to assist the Great Lakes Thunderbirds at the 2025 NCR All-Star Shield Challenge this past year.
Hamilton worked primarily with the team's backs during the 2023-2024 season, helping to set up different offensive schemes. He also worked to help the team during film breakdown and strategy for their upcoming opponents. Under his watch, Rua Karimazondo took home his first ever All-American honor, while the Cardinal's offense was dominant throughout the CRC 7's National Tournament. With the dominant play throughout the tournament, the Cardinals would end up taking the title of 2023-24 National Champions.
Prior to Wheeling, Hamilton was the president of Blackhorse Rugby at SUNY-Fredonia, where he played for four seasons. He also played for the Corning Rugby Club in Corning, New York and was the Sports Editor for the Fredonia Leader, the student-run newspaper at SUNY Fredonia.
Hamilton Graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a degee in Communications and Journalism, Video Production in May 2022 and is currently purusing a Master's in Business Administration at Wheeling University.
