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Greetings, Crusaders!
Since my last message a short time ago in late April, we have been incredibly busy both on and off of The Hill. We have traveled near and far: to Boston, New York City and Chicago for our Coaches Road Shows, and Texas, Kentucky and California for national, postseason competition. We celebrated our graduating student-athletes at Commencement in May, cheered for our programs as seasons came to a close, recognized greatness at our annual Crusader Awards, and much, much more. You can read more about these recent highlights below.
Reflecting on the academic year as a whole, it has once again been a period of tremendous progress. Our department winning percentage continues to increase, our standing in the Patriot League Presidents' Cup continues to improve, we are seeing positive momentum built across all seasons, and continue to send multiple teams and individuals to national competitions. I am incredibly proud of the work that has been done — and I am sure you are as well — but also know our coaches and student-athletes are far from satisfied. The best is yet to come, and we are all eager to break new ground in the coming year!
While drafting this communication, I received phenomenal updates regarding the academic success of our student-athletes during the spring semester. Highlights include:
- 27/27 teams achieved a team GPA of 3.0 or higher
- 15 teams achieved a team GPA of 3.5 or higher
- 3.45 average GPA (highest on record!)
- 572 student-athletes achieved a Spring GPA of 3.0 or higher
- 384 student-athletes achieved a Spring GPA of 3.5 or higher
- 63 student-athletes achieved a Spring GPA of 4.0
This sort of academic excellence, when paired with the incredible contributions that our student-athletes make in the Worcester community, is at the core of what makes Holy Cross so special. Our students are motivated to be great in more than just their sport, more than just the classroom, and more than just the community. Students — and staff for that matter — choose Holy Cross for the opportunity to pursue excellence in each and every dimension of their lives, and it is a distinct privilege for each and every one of us to support them on their journey.
It is our intent to consistently enhance opportunities for our student-athletes while reinforcing and remaining true to the values at the core of a Holy Cross experience. It is the support of our loyal alumni, fans and families that makes opportunities like these possible — empowering our Crusaders to achieve comprehensive excellence — and I hope you recognize the gratitude that fuels our community each and every day.
As of today, we have raised over $2,922,286 with $877,714 remaining to reach our goal of $3,800,000 for the Crusader Athletics Fund before June 30. Thanks to the generous support of Tom '71 and Jeannine Clarke and another anonymous donor, there is an opportunity for an additional $400,000 to be unlocked for Crusader Athletics! Your partnership is crucial in providing a co-curricular athletic experience that is truly world-class, sustained by our Jesuit, Catholic identity. I ask you to please join with over 4,000 supporters and make your gift before the June 30 deadline. Your support is essential as we continue this work together!
Go Cross Go!
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Feel free to reach out — any time — with your thoughts, questions or concerns on our "Be Heard" page!
Three Things To Know:
- All summer long, many of our teams will be hosting youth clinics — visit goholycross.com/clinics to learn more about all of our options!
- Looking to attend a Holy Cross football game with your team, organization or friends this fall? Place your deposit today for a group experience at Fitton Field this fall! Group experiences include opportunities such as a halftime scrimmage or performance, or the Pregame Fan Tunnel — learn more now!
- The last day to make your gift to the Crusader Athletics Fund to count for this year is June 30. Gifts can be designated to any of our 27 varsity sports, and every gift gets us closer to our $3.8 million goal! With any questions, please contact the Crusader Athletics Fund team at crusaderathletics@holycross.edu.
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Baseball wins back-to-back Patriot League Championships
Baseball won its second straight and third overall Patriot League Tournament Championship in May. The fourth-seeded Crusaders defeated top seed Army in the semifinals en route to winning the championship series at Bucknell, with a Game 3 win over the Bison on Wednesday, May 20. Senior right-handed pitcher Jaden Wywoda was named Patriot League Championship MVP. The Crusaders were the first No. 4 seed to win the Patriot League Tournament Championship since Bucknell in 2010.
Holy Cross was selected to the Austin Regional for the 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament, where they battled No. 6 nationally ranked Texas and UC Santa Barbara.
Egrie named Patriot League Player of the Year
Senior outfielder
CJ Egrie became the first student-athlete in program history to be named Patriot League Player of the Year twice as well as the fourth player in Patriot League history to earn back-to-back Patriot League Player of the Year honors. Egrie, the program's all-time leader in career stolen bases (98) and runs scored (137), finished the 2026 season ranking second in the NCAA in stolen bases (46) and stolen bases per game (0.98). Egrie was also named Academic All-Patriot League, to the All-Patriot League Tournament Team and All-ECAC Team, and was joined by
Jaden Wywoda on the 2026 ABCA/Rawlings Northeast All-Region Second Team.
Wywoda, junior outfielder
Gianni Royer, junior infielder
Alex Sandell and sophomore right-handed pitcher
Jake Lenahan additionally earned All-Patriot League honors. Royer and Lenahan joined Egrie on the Academic All-Patriot League squad.
Men's rowing returns to IRAs
The No. 19 men's rowing team traveled to Gold River, Calif., to compete in the 2026 IRA National Championship on Lake Natoma. Each of the Crusaders' three 8+ entries qualified for the third-level finals, finishing 18th in each of their respective events, while the varsity 4+ finished fifth in the fifth-level final. As a team, the Crusaders finished 19th out of the 24 entries in the national championship, finishing ahead of No. 17 Temple, No. 20 La Salle, Oregon State, No. 25 California-San Diego and No. 22 MIT in the standings.
Lyons qualifies for NCAAs, leads Crusaders at Patriot League Championship
Senior
Liam Lyons captured the gold medal in the 1,500m at the Patriot League Outdoor Championship with a time of 3:40.76, shattering both the meet and facility records in the process. He later qualified for the East First Round of the NCAA Championship, hosted by the University of Kentucky, in the 1,500m. Lyons placed 21st in the event (3:44.85), and became the first Crusader to represent Holy Cross men's track and field at the NCAA East First Round in back-to-back seasons since Nathaniel Couture '08, who competed in the javelin in 2006 and 2007.
Two other Crusaders on the men's side picked up All-Patriot League honors at the 2026 Outdoor Track and Field Championships: junior
Joseph Mahon, who earned a silver medal in the 5,000m, clocking in a time of 14:34.74, and freshman
Nic Oglesby, who took home the silver medal in the high jump, clearing 2.00m. Lyons was additionally an Academic All-League honoree.
Kulis, Ryan shine for women's track and field
Junior
Grace Ryan qualified for the East First Round of the Division I NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the javelin, becoming just the fifth Crusader in program history to represent Holy Cross women's track and field at the NCAA East First Round, and the first to do so since Christa Jay Moore '21. Ryan qualified in the event with a personal-best mark of 46.95m, which she set at the Raleigh Relays on March 26. The mark shattered her previous school record of 42.88m from the season prior.
Senior
Celia Kulis received First Team All-Patriot League honors, becoming the first Patriot League women's heptathlon champion in school history and resetting her previous program record with 5,171 total points. Kulis also received a bronze medal in the 100m hurdles (13.78). Her prelim time of 13.47 set a new program record for Holy Cross, as well as a new facility record at Navy's Ingram Field. Both Kulis and Ryan earned Academic All-Patriot League honors.
Flanagan, Lyons highlight Varsity Club Award winners
Graduating seniors
Liam Lyons (cross country, track and field) and
Kaitlyn Flanagan (women's basketball) were the 2025-26 recipients of the Crusader of the Year. The Crusader of the Year is the most prestigious award presented to a Holy Cross student-athlete each year; it is given to the student who has excelled as a varsity athlete (60 percent), in the classroom (20 percent) and in campus and community activities (20 percent). The awards were presented during Holy Cross'
Crusader Awards on May 4.
2026 Hall of Fame class announced
A group who set numerous school records and earned extensive recognition headlines a class of six individuals who will be inducted into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2026 inductees into the Hall of Fame are John Colella (Class of 2013 / baseball), Frank Mattiace (Class of 1983 / football), Erin Singleton (Class of 2009 / field hockey), Alex Smith (Class of 2014 / women's basketball), Steve Zychowski (Class of 2013 / men's golf) and Bob Molt (honorary / men's and women's golf coach). These new honorees will be formally inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame on Nov. 21 at the Varsity Club's annual dinner, to be held in the Hogan Campus Center.
Interested in nominating a Crusader great for the 2027 Hall of Fame Class?
Nominations are now being accepted until Dec. 31.
Levy-Smith wraps up outstanding career
Women's lacrosse senior
Racheli Levy-Smith earned third team All-America honors from both the IWLCA and USA Lacrosse, in addition to being named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. She also received first team All-Patriot League, All-Northeast Region and All-ECAC honors, and was selected to play in the IWLCA senior All-Star Game. Over the course of her career with the Crusaders, she recorded a school-record 475 draw controls, 111 ground balls and 88 caused turnovers in 61 games played. Levy-Smith was joined on the All-Patriot League teams by junior
Kate Avitabile, junior
Annabel Brennan and sophomore
Hadley Cepiel. Avitabile was also an Academic All-Patriot League selection.
Rourke honored with Sarah Devens Award
Women's ice hockey junior
Lulu Rourke was named the 2025-2026 recipient of the Sarah Devens Award. Presented annually to a player who demonstrates leadership and commitment both on and off the ice, the Devens Award is given as a joint honor between ECAC Hockey and Hockey East and aids a deserving student-athlete with a post-graduate scholarship of $15,000. The award is named in honor of former Dartmouth ice hockey player Sarah Devens, who died in 1995 prior to her senior year.
17 Holy Cross teams post perfect 1,000 APR scores
Seventeen of our athletic teams achieved a perfect score of 1,000 in the NCAA's academic performance standard, the Academic Progress Rate. These 17 teams all had a perfect multi-year APR score (based on data from the 2021-2022 through 2024-2025 school years), which tied us for second in the nation out of 362 Division I schools.
Tighe named to Peru National Team
Holy Cross women's soccer rising senior forward
Allison Tighe was named to the Peru Women's National Team and competed in CONMEBOL qualifying matches for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. Peru faced off against Argentina on June 5 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Bolivia on June 9 in Callao, Peru.
Other All-Conference accolades
Junior
Matt Carlson from men's tennis earned All-Patriot League honors, becoming just the third All-Patriot League selection in program history. Holy Cross finished the season with their second straight year of eight victories, their most overall team wins in 22 years.
Carlson and senior
Ashley Zilora from the women's program also earned Academic All-Patriot League accolades. Carlson is the third athlete in program history and first since 2013 to be named Academic All-League; Zilora is the fourth student-athlete in program history to be named Academic All-League and first selection since 2016.
Men's lacrosse senior defenseman
Michael Rincon and freshman faceoff specialist
Shane McDonnell were named to the All-Patriot League second team, while senior goalkeeper
JR Long earned Academic All-League laurels. Seniors
Ella Lynch-Bartek (women's rowing) and
Ali Sniegocki (softball) were also Academic All-League honorees in the spring.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Aug. 12 | Women's Soccer Home Opener vs. Quinnipiac
Aug. 12 | Meet the Crusaders - Football Event
Save the Date!
Aug. 20 | Men's Soccer Home Opener vs. Northeastern
Aug. 21 | Hockey Golf Tournament
Register
Aug. 28 | Field Hockey Home Opener vs. Stonehill
Aug. 29 | Football Season Opener vs. Lehigh
Season Ticket Deposits
Sept. 1 | Volleyball Home Opener vs. New Haven
Sept. 19 | Football Family Weekend vs. Yale
Oct. 24 | Football Homecoming vs. Bucknell
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