Dear Friends of Tribe Athletics,

I want to start out with some exciting news about a new initiative that will resonate throughout our program.

William & Mary aspires to be at the forefront of sports analytics, the application of data beyond traditional statistics to improve player and team performance. We feel this is an area that could give us a competitive advantage in the evolving world of college athletics.

A lot will go into this enterprise, including an academic component that will build on our relationships with partners on campus. To help develop this strategy, Tribe Athletics has recently posted an opening for an Associate Athletics Director for Sports Analytics.

We have high hopes for this venture. This is an opportunity to strengthen recruiting, competitive performance and student-athlete development in a way that is true to our distinguished university.

We will share more about this as the project takes shape. For more information on the new position, please click the link below.
 
W&M is home for Coach Laycock
When an 18-year-old Jimmye Laycock decided to make William & Mary his home as a freshman quarterback in 1966, he set in motion a longstanding relationship that continues to impact the university immensely. Sixty years later, he remains a fixture in both the Williamsburg and campus community. His 39 years as the head football coach redefined what success looked like for our program, and just as importantly, he did it while embracing the elite academic rigors demanded of all our student-athletes.

As we approach the 100th anniversary of Homecoming & Reunion Weekend at William & Mary on Oct. 22-25, I encourage you to click the photo below to read a fantastic story about one of our most distinguished alumni. Jimmye talks about how he used his time on campus to build the leadership skills that helped shape generations of student-athletes who moved onto their own successful careers.
 
Hoops excitement is building
Tribe men's basketball is must-see TV! CBS Sports Network certainly thinks so. In partnership with the CAA, the channel pegged William & Mary for five national telecasts this season, the most the team has ever had on the platform.
In addition to those, five other games will be on one of ESPN's streaming networks, including one on the Big Ten Network (at Michigan on Nov. 15) and one on the SEC Network (at Ole Miss on Dec. 7). This is confirmation that interest in our program and head coach Brian Earl's fast-paced style is growing. The following games have been tabbed for national TV by CBS Sports Network.

• Drexel at W&M (Dec. 31, 2 PM)
• W&M at UNCW (Jan. 18, 7 PM)
• UNCW at W&M (Feb. 4, 6 PM)
• Charleston at W&M (Feb. 6, 12 PM)
• Towson at W&M (Feb. 25, 6:30 PM)

For the full schedule and television information, click the link below.
 
Former Tribe baseball players shining in October
It wouldn't be October baseball without a former William & Mary player impacting the proceedings.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the NLCS for the third straight season thanks to a talented cast of players and an administrative staff that includes alumni Will Rhymes, the team's Vice President of Player Development, and his twin brother Jon Rhymes, the Manager of Video Operations and Game Planning.

The Dodgers may be down in the NLCS, but they're not out as they seek to qualify for their third straight World Series, where they could face another Tribe alumnus, Ben Williamson, who has started multiple games in the ALCS for the Tampa Bay Rays.

I turned on my television Tuesday night just in time to see Ben score an insurance run for the Rays in the fourth inning in an eventual 3-1 win. Who else is rooting for a Dodgers-Rays Fall Classic?

Nate Lynn gets the call
The New York Jets gained a host of new fans here at William & Mary when former Tribe pass rusher Nate Lynn was promoted to the active roster last week.

Nate was one of the finest defenders to wear the Green & Gold, and I know he will make a big mark in the NFL. William & Mary now has four former players currently on active NFL rosters: Nate, Raiders OL Charles Grant, Colts long snapper Luke Rhodes and Rams OL Bill Murray.
 
We also have several alumni on NFL coaching staffs and in front offices, including Bills head coach Joe Brady. I'm looking forward to those two Jets-Bills matchups coming up.

What an excellent opportunity to celebrate Tribe football. Congratulations, Nate! The quarterback in me is glad I don't have you chasing after me on Sundays.

Making a difference
William & Mary students are exceptional in so many ways, and it's always rewarding when people outside of our community recognize that.

That happened recently when William & Mary was named the top public university for students seeking to make a difference in the world, according to the Princeton Review's 2027 Best Value Colleges rankings.

In this Year of Civic Leadership at The Alma Mater of the Nation, it's important to recognize all the fantastic work our students do to support their communities. That goes for here in Williamsburg, their hometowns, and a variety of other locations domestically and abroad.

I never get tired of lauding our student-athletes for all the difference-making work they do outside of the classroom and their respective sports. These exceptional students often give their time and energy to initiatives dedicated to enriching the lives of others.

Don't take it from me. Listen to Women's Soccer star Molly Widderich, a Public Policy major, who says, "I really care about making the world a better place in whatever way I can, and I want to be a person that can affect policy behind the scenes to help communities have access to the things that they really need."

Click the photo to watch the feature on Molly and learn more.
   
Investing in our team
The growth of William & Mary Athletics isn't just measured in our many exciting capital projects, the new Mackesy Sports Performance Center and the Kaplan Arena transformation to name a few.

We also invest in our people. One way we do this is by bringing in renowned leaders to meet with our staff, share their knowledge, and provide mentorship.

Peter Roby, a trusted mentor throughout my career, recently visited campus to speak with various groups on the Athletics staff. Peter has served in leadership roles for more than four decades, from coaching men's basketball at Harvard to leading the athletics department at Northeastern. He was recently named interim CEO of USRowing.

It was great to have Peter on campus for a few days, and I am delighted that many of my colleagues gained valuable insight from him. Peter's message is clear: prioritize relationships above all else. He encouraged our staff to embrace their roles as educators, not only coaches, and to act consistently with the values of our university to achieve competitive excellence.

Hall of Fame honors for former Tribe stars
Former William & Mary Women's Basketball stars Kyra Kaylor Smargiasso and Jen Sobota are set to be inducted into the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Women's Hall of Fame on November 7.

The two were among the 15 players in the Legends category for the HOF Class of 2026. Legends, indeed! Kyra is our program's career leader in points (1,873) and rebounds (1,124) and was named CAA Player of the Year in 2006.
 
Jen ranks second in school history in steals (257) and assists (503) and ranks fifth in scoring (1,511). Congratulations to a couple of Tribe all-time greats!
 
Notable
Tribe athletes are pulling in conference awards at an impressive rate. We've had plenty of plaudits since we last spoke.

• Men's Soccer beat Navy 4-0 at home Tuesday to secure its seventh win of the season, its highest total since 2021. The team is thriving thanks to the efforts of players like freshman forward Aidan Gatchell, who this week was named CAA Rookie of the Week and received honorable mention recognition on the TopDrawerSoccer Men's Team of the Week.
• Women's Soccer forward Ava Magnuson earned CAA Offensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week honors recently after scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Campbell. On Thursday, Ava scored the game-winner in a 1-0 road win over Hofstra.
   
  
• Jack Reuter set the tone for the Football team on Saturday, scoring a touchdown on a 10-yard blocked punt return early in the first quarter in the Tribe's hard-fought 17-14 road win over NC Central. He was rewarded for his efforts by earning Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week. Hat tip to Ryan Vail for coming down with the block!
   
  
   
• Field Hockey midfielder Callia Uviedo became the program's first CAA Rookie of the Week in five years, grabbing the honor after scoring the deciding goal in the Tribe's 2-1 CAA win against Towson recently.
• Julie Addison was named CAA Women's Swimmer of the Week after contributing to a quartet of wins in a meet against Navy and UMBC over the weekend, taking individual crowns in the 100 back (55.33), 200 back (1:59.90) and 200 IM (2:08.02) and leading off for the winning 200 medley relay team (1:43.07).
• Last week, Aiden Bond and Flynn Truskett were named Men's and Women's Swimmers of the Week, respectively. Aiden clocked the fastest times in the CAA this season in the 50 free (20.16) and 100 free (44.48) against George Washington last Saturday. Flynn booked a win in the 50 free and anchored a pair of winning relay teams against GW.
• Congratulations to the Men's and Women's Cross Country teams for their runner-up showings at the Firetower Project Run in Boone, N.C. Alex Jordan set a personal best (24:07) on the 8K course to finish in sixth place. Hayes Trapp continued his fantastic start to the season with a third-place showing (23:56.7). He was later named CAA Runner of the Week for the third time this season. Molly Weithman finished ninth (21:25.4) for the Women's team.

Other noteworthy performances included:

• Women's Golfers Abigail Avallone and Reagan Garnsey teamed up to shoot a 4-under-par 67 in the Virginia State Golf Association's USGA Qualifier on October 5 to clinch a spot in the 2027 U.S. Women's Four-Ball Championship, which will be held at Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville next May.
• Women's Tennis players Mira Kernagis, Parker Debnam and Medha Chandana all went 2-0 over the weekend at the Hall of Fame Invite at the Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts and McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
• Men's Tennis standouts Oliver Hague and Connor Kruger put on an impressive display at the ITA Atlantic Region Championships last week in Blacksburg, combining for four straight doubles victories to reach the tournament's semifinal round. Hague also reached the singles round of 16.
• Volleyball pulled off a four-set win over Towson, its first win over the Tigers since 2013. Katherine Arnason (13 kills, 10 digs and four blocks) and Shylah Swope (25 assists and 12 digs) powered the win.

Player features
Our communications team is working diligently to tell the great stories of our fantastic student-athletes. I picked a few to share here, which you can enjoy by clicking the image immediately below the description. I encourage you to regularly check TribeAthletics.com and our social channels for even more great content.

Volleyball captains Audrey Brcka and Arnason were recently featured on the Tribe Unscripted podcast.
 
Deep threat wide receiver Khylil Johnson had a unique journey to W&M.
 
Soccer goalkeeper Diego Garciarena carries home with him.
 
Coming up
We have a home schedule full of exciting events coming up. Click on the link below for the full slate. As always, I hope I see you at the games!
 
Go Tribe!




Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics