Scholz Award Nominees Named
Scholz Award Nominees Named
The nominees for the 2018 Rudy Scholz Award have been announced.
A panel of coaches, administrators, and media members have selected the nominees for the 2017-18 Rudy Scholz Award.
Rudy Scholz was a standout for Santa Clara and won two Olympic gold medals in rugby in 1920 and 1924. He now lends his name to the award for the best men's D1 college player of the season.
This award, first given out in the 2015-16 season, is sponsored by the Washington Athletic Club of Seattle. Dylan Audsley of Saint Mary's won in 2016, and Bryce Campbell of Indiana won in 2017. Those two ended up starting several games together in the midfield for the USA in this season's ARC.
Fans are asked to help narrow this down to four finalists. To vote, go to this link.
College programs can also participate in a special vote (one vote per college team) here.
Both polls close at midnight CDT on Friday, April 13.
After the finalists are selected, an elite panel will choose the winner. The 2017-18 Scholz Award will be presented officially at a gala dinner in Seattle on June 9.
2017-2018 Scholz Award Nominees | |||
| Tyler Sousley | Center | Indiana | An elusive runner and hard tackler, Tyler Sousley helped lead Indiana to the Big 10 title this season. |
| Jake Lachina | Fullback | Army | Lachina stepped into the rugby limelight two years ago with a three-try performance against Navy. Since then, he has been Army's most potent attacker, usually at fullback. |
| Marcus Tupuola | Fullback/FH | Notre Dame College | Playing flyhalf and fullback, Tupuola is a multi-skilled player who is one of the most dangerous runners in the game. |
| Vili Helu | No. 8 | Saint Mary's | The hard-running No. 8 has led from the front as Saint Mary's has been at the top of the D1A rankings all season. |
| Duncan van Schalkwyk | Flyhalf | Life University | A superb goalkicker and field general, the North Carolina high school product is also a dedicated defender for a national title contender. |
| Nick Feakes | Flyhalf | Lindenwood | Feakes is a smart flyhalf who runs a Lindenwood attack that has the Lions cracking the top five in the D1A rankings. |
| Connor McNerney | No. 8 | Navy | A superb all-around athlete, McNerney is a ferocious defender, a powerful runner in traffic, and also kicks for points for the Naval Academy. |
| Kyle Rogers | Fullback | Arizona | Arizona is having one of its best seasons in a long time, and captain and fullback Kyle Rogers has led the Wildcats with his brilliant play on both sides of the ball. |
| Kevin Sullivan | Prop | Cal | Cal might well be "Front Row U" and Sullivan carries on this tradition with power in the scrum and an impressive ability to find the tryline. |
| Brennan Falcon | Flanker | LSU | An excellent open-field runner and defender, Falcon has been a shining star for LSU at flanker or No. 8 and was also the player of the game when the Texas All-Stars played the Liberty All-Stars in Bermuda. |
| Michael Scarcella | Center | Iona | Perhaps the best backline defender in the game, Scarcella is a repeat Scholz nominee and he gets the nod because of his unmatched physicality. |
| Mike Eife | Wing | Penn State | Penn State's run to the Rugby East title was helped by a superb season from the Nittany Lions wing. His ability to finish off attacks helped Penn State win one of the toughest conferences in the country. |