For years, the conversation around Rutgers athletics has revolved around football Saturdays and the pressure surrounding men’s basketball. Those programs still mattered this season — and still shaped plenty of the national perception around Rutgers sports — but the real story of the year came from just about everywhere else.
This was a year where non-revenue sports carried the department with consistency, postseason success, program-defining moments, and genuine momentum. From women’s lacrosse making
noise nationally to gymnastics reaching historic heights, Rutgers athletics quietly put together one of its strongest all-around years in recent memory.
Starting in the fall, Rutgers men’s soccer took major strides forward, as did volleyball, which was relatively competitive after suffering an awful record a season before. Women’s soccer took an unfortunate step back this year, snapping its long NCAA Tournament streak, but field hockey turned in another strong showing as one of Rutgers’ premier non-revenue sports.
The biggest breakthrough came from Rutgers women’s lacrosse, which punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament and pushed top programs often this season.
Melissa Lehman’s group didn’t just reach the NCAA Tournament — they looked like a program ready to stay there. Rutgers earned an at-large berth, defeated #17 Princeton in the opening round 12-11, and pushed perennial powerhouse Maryland Terrapins in the second round after falling behind early, bowing out 11-8.
More importantly, the Scarlet Knights established an identity. Caroline Ling became one of the best offensive players in program history, Lily Dixon rewrote the assist record books, and Katie Buck dominated draw controls all season long. Rutgers finished with multiple ranked wins and one of the most successful campaigns the program has ever seen.
And unlike some surprise seasons that feel temporary, this one felt sustainable. Young contributors emerged all year, the culture looked established, and Rutgers increasingly resembled a program capable of competing annually in the brutal Big Ten.
Then there was Rutgers gymnastics, which may have had the most quietly historic season of any team on campus.
Rutgers finished the year ranked No. 26 nationally — the highest final ranking in program history — while qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. At regionals, the Scarlet Knights advanced past Central Michigan and posted a program NCAA-record score of 196.300.
Under newly appointed full-time head coach Anastasia Candia, the program has rapidly transformed from a team fighting for relevance into one with legitimate national respect. Individual standouts like Gabrielle Dildy and Emily Leese helped elevate the ceiling, but the larger story was consistency. Rutgers gymnastics no longer feels like an underdog story — it feels like a program building long-term legitimacy.
Meanwhile, Rutgers women’s basketball endured another difficult season in the standings, finishing dead last in the Big Ten and winning just one conference game, but what happened in the offseason may end up becoming the more important chapter.
After the program parted ways with Coquese Washington, Keli Zinn brought in Gary Redus from LSU to help the Scarlet Knights right the ship on the hardwood. Redus and his newly assembled coaching staff immediately brought in experienced players and New Jersey talent to reshape the roster and restore energy to the program.
Former Purdue Boilermakers guard Tara Daye, Mississippi State guard Jaylah Lampley, and the “Twin Backcourt” duo of Mia and Mya Pauldo headlined a revamped incoming group, part of a broader effort to modernize and rebuild a team searching for traction in one of the deepest conferences in America.
The wins were limited this season, but the direction suddenly feels different. Rutgers women’s basketball finally looks like a program trying to accelerate the rebuild rather than simply survive it.
Other winter sports that posted strong seasons were swimming and diving, which saw its top divers claim All-American status, and #11 Rutgers wrestling, which posted a 14-5 record overall, upset #6 Minnesota at home, and advanced Hunter Catka and Remy Cotton into the Blood Round.
On the revenue side, both football and men’s basketball delivered seasons that were complicated and disappointing to the Scarlet Knights fanbase but still important to the overall picture of Rutgers Athletics.
Although Rutgers football struggled this season, the Knights were on the wrong end of some razor-thin losses against the usual nemeses in Iowa, Minnesota, and Penn State. The schedule remained unforgiving, but the program still showed flashes of competitiveness and continued working to establish depth and recruiting infrastructure in a rapidly changing college football landscape.
Moreover, Greg Schiano hired Travis Johansen from South Dakota as the program’s new defensive coordinator, which prompted a near-complete coaching overhaul to correct the grave wrongdoings of this past season on the gridiron. The Knights have flipped their players on defense as well, bringing in talent such as Mikey Munn at cornerback, while the offense retains two of its biggest playmakers in Antwan Raymond and KJ Duff.
At the same time, men’s basketball remained one of the most discussed teams around the university. The Scarlet Knights struggled mightily this season, but still flashed their prowess in near-upsets of Michigan State (twice), knocking off Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament, and securing multiple big wins at home over Big Ten competition. They ended the season back in Las Vegas with a loss to Creighton in the College Basketball Crown.
The Scarlet Knights have made major changes to their roster, bringing in talented players from around the country, including Central Connecticut State’s Darin Smith, Manhattan’s Will Syndor, and a pair of centers in Christian Gurdak and Dorin Luca to address Rutgers’ rebounding woes this past year.
Meanwhile, Tariq Francis will return after starring for the Knights all season, as well as Lino Mark, Kaden Powers, Jamichael Davis, and Darren Buchanan Jr. Highly rated recruit Imahri Wooten will also suit up for Rutgers in 2026-27, as Steve Pikiell’s squad looks to bounce back in a major way.
And across the spring sports landscape, Rutgers continued stacking competitive performances. Baseball and softball both battled through difficult conference schedules while continuing to develop talent against elite Big Ten competition. Rowing and track & field are heading to the Big Ten Championships after both programs delivered historic seasons both last and this year, with rowing coming off a win at the Henley Royal Regatta.
The overall athletic department increasingly looked deeper, more competitive, and more nationally visible than it has in years. With Keli Zinn leading a comprehensive NIL and revenue generation program, all Scarlet Knights sports, both revenue and non-revenue, have had more money to attract greater talent.
As spring sports near their end and the university prepares to turn the page to next season, Rutgers fans should know that they have a lot more than just football and men’s basketball to look forward to “On The Banks.”
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