The finalists for the 2026 MA Sorensen Award have been selected.
With votes from the MA Sorensen Selection Committee, along with votes from the collegiate rugby community—fans, players, and coaches—have whittled the list of nominees down to the finalists.
Here are the finalists, and the winner of the award as the top women's collegiate rugby player in the nation will be selected from these four players:
This hard-running center from Army sparked the Black Knights to a NIRA semifinal performance. She was a massive offensive weapon for West Point but in addition to that she was a defensive powerhouse. She was second on the team in tackles.
The emotional and tactical leader of Harvard, Padilla led the Crimson to their third-straight NIRA title. Whether playing center or flyhalf, Padilla has been brilliant for Harvard over the last four years, serving as their captain, an offensive threat, a playmaker, and a brilliant defender.
Playing flanker or No. 8, Tafuna is also Lindenwood's goalkicker and central to their offensive attack. Tafuna has won the MA Sorensen Award the last two seasons. This year she missed a chunk of the season while she was representing the USA at the Rugby World Cup, where she was Player of the Game against Australia.
A supremely electric back, Uhatafe led Southern Nazarene to a NCR title in the fall. An explosive and elusive runner, she is also capable of setting up her teammates
The winner of this award will be named in the next couple of weeks, and the award will officially be presented at the home of the sponsoring organization, the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle, Wash., at a gala event in June.
De La Salle HS
Saint Mary's (Rudy Scholz Finalist)
USA U20s (Captain)
USA Men's National 15s Team (Debut vs Georgia 2023 at age 20)
As a 17-year-old Spencer Huntley required a waiver to play for the USA U20s, an indication of how he was rated in the USA age-grade pathway. He got that waiver and impressed for the USA U20s, and then moved up to the USA U23s. He led the San Diego Mustangs to a national HS Club championship in 2024.
He also played in the SoCal single-school league for Cathedral Catholic.
Hope Rogers began playing rugby at age 16 in high school and continued to compete during her time at Penn State University. There, she won four National Championships, was crowned MVP on two occasions, was named to the USA Under-20s and earned Collegiate All-American honors for four years. Rogers was also an impressive discus player during her senior year in high school where she broke a school record and won Gold at Districts for the sport.
Mike played for Life College, Philly-Whitemarsh and played for the USA National 7s and 15s teams in the 1980s and 1990s.
He was also part of the Atlantis touring side, playing 7s for the team in several around the world.
