Happy New Year, Rutgers fans! As 2025 comes to a close, it is time to look back on the last 12 months and highlight the highs and lows that 2025 had in store for us.
2025 was a tough year for Scarlet Knights fans, where, unfortunately, the lows seem to outweigh the highs. Despite this, there is reason to be hopeful in Piscataway heading into 2026, especially on the administrative side of things.
The Lows
Getting the lows out of the way first so that we can enter 2026 on a positive note.
Men’s Basketball
Men’s basketball has
been tough to watch this year across the board. Aside from Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey representing the Knights well in the NBA, the team has not lived up to the standards that Pikiell himself built earlier in his tenure. From underperforming with two NBA-level talents on the roster at the end of last season to bottoming out with the current roster this season, Rutgers fans are eager to turn the page and see what changes will be made in 2026.
Football Underperforms
Despite having one of the best offenses in the Big Ten, Rutgers football underperformed in the 2025 season, largely due to defensive issues that stemmed from poor construction of the defensive coaching staff. The heartbreaking loss to Penn State in the final game of the year was another gut punch to a fan base that has sustained a lot of gut punches over the years. Now, two questions remain for the start of the new year: Will Antwan Raymond, KJ Duff, and Ian Strong suit up for Rutgers in 2026? And what improvements will be made to the defensive staff during the off-season? Most of the defensive coaching staff have been let go at this point, and signs are pointing positively on the Raymond, Duff, Strong situation, but only 2026 holds the answer to these questions.
The Incredibly Long Wait For A New Athletic Director
The Knights did make a home run hire when they landed Keli Zinn as their new athletic director; however, the fact that the search took almost a full calendar year is tough to swallow as a big-time athletics program. It becomes an even tougher pill to swallow when you realize that Rutgers was already behind the 8-ball in terms of adapting to the changing landscape of college athletics. Now it is up to Zinn to determine if the wait was worth it.
Women’s Basketball Falters in Season With McMiller Situation
Rutgers women’s basketball faltered in the 2024-2025 season, going 13-20. The season also featured a situation involving former five-star Kiyomi McMiller, and head coach Coquese Washington that ended in McMiller being deactivated for a large portion of the season before she left the program. The Knights would limp their way into the Big Ten tournament, where they lost in the first round, before going to the WNIT, where they fell to Buffalo after beating Army and Charleston.
The Highs
President Tate and AD Keli Zinn Get Hired at Rutgers
Perhaps the most positive change that happened for Rutgers athletics during 2025 was the hiring of William Tate to be the University’s president and Keli Zinn to be their new athletic director. For the first time in a while, the Knights have a president who is outspoken in his support for athletics, and they have an athletic director who is a proven professional in her field. Their various initiative’s seem to have already started to pay dividends, but more time is required to see what kind of effect they will have on the field of play. As a result of Zinn’s hire, Rutgers basketball finally has a general manager to help get its finances in order. Again, it will likely be a while before this has any effect, but the building blocks are there.
Non-Revenue Sports Excel
Despite the struggles of the “larger” sports at Rutgers, several non-revenue sports had marquee moments during 2025. Gymnastics returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time in years, despite the team being engulfed in a coaching scandal that went down at the end of 2024. Women’s crew won the Island Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta, which is a very prestigious rowing race in England. Men’s Lacrosse pulled off a stunning upset against No.2 Maryland, 8-6, behind a very strong first-quarter surge that saw the Knights take a 5-1 lead before the first break. Women’s swimming and diving has seen a sharp increase in their times this season as well, partially thanks to their new male practice swimmers.
Rutgers Wrestling Takes Home Team Title at Midlands Championships
On a more recent note, No.17 Rutgers Wrestling took home a team title at the 2025 Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern. The Knights were able to rebound in the tournament after losing two ranked matches against Oklahoma and NC State. Hunter Catka took home first for the Heavyweights, while Shane Cartegna-Walsh did the same for the 184-pounders. Remy Cotton earned second place among the 197-pounders, while Andrew Barbossa did the same for the 165-pounders.
