Maxwell Hamilton enters his second season as head coach for the Wheeling Men's Rugby team during the 2026-2027 season, and his third season overall with the program.
He began his first season as a collegiate Head Coach during the 2025-2026 season, and continued the program's winning tradition. He led the team to the National Championship stage during both 15's and 7's season, going a combined 23-5-2 across both seasons. During the Fall 15's season, the team competed in their first season as a member of the Atlantic Rugby Conference, and went 3-3-1 during the regular season. They would end up finishing 5th in the ARC tournament, and would earn a wild card spot in the NCR DI 15's NAtional Championships. They would pick up a 38-33 win over Dartmouth in the wild card round, but their run would come to an end with a 45-28 loss to Queens in the Quarterfinals. Under his watch, three Cardinals won All-Conference honors, led by the NCR Natiional Player of the Year Alex Nyamunda.
That winning momentum continued for Hamilton's group into 7's season, where they kicked their winning into high gear. They would go 13-1-1 during the regular season, winning all three of their regular season tournaments. They would earn the #1 seed in the CRC National 7's, entering as back-to-back national champions. They would show why they did just that, running through the early rounds wins over Indiana Tech, Utah State, and Belmont Abbey where they allowed a combined 22 points. They would take down Kutztown 17-10 in the national semifinal, and added a 14-12 win over Dartmouth to win their third straight national championship. Alex Nyamunda would take home the CRC National Tournament MVP, while Taku Musingwini would join him as the second All-American for the team under Hamilton's watch.
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 degree in Communications and Journalism, Video Production in May 2022 and earned his Master's in Business Administration at Wheeling University in May 2025.
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| Year |
Record |
Achievements |
| 2025-2026 |
23-5-2 |
NCR DI 15's National Qualifier, CRC National 7's Qualifier, CRC National 7's Premiere Cup Champions |
| Overall |
23-5-2 |
1X NCR DI 15's National Qualifier, 1X CRC National 7's Qualifier, 1x CRC National 7's Champion |
