Trust and a Chip on Their Shoulders—Oregon Wins CRAA D1AA 7s

05.14.2026College Men

Oregon vs Iowa State at the 2026 CRAA D1AA 7s. Photo Matthew Dalton.

Author: Alex Goff

With all the D1AA teams coming out of the playoffs and into the CRAA 7s, it was easy to forget about the Oregon Ducks.

This same Ducks team that had impressed the last two years, making the CRAA D1AA 7s final in 2024, wasn't a name you'd see when the 15s playoffs came a-calling. That's because they were in the same conference as Western Washington, but that also didn't mean they would back down from that challenge.

"We play with a chip on our shoulder," said Liam Weir. "In our conference we know Western Washington has more resources, and support, but we're not going to back down."

"Last season Western came down to us early in the season, and maybe they expected to win, but we were ready for them, and we beat them," added Ethan Sherman. "That's how we approach everything."

So going into the 7s the Ducks knew they had a few things going for them. One was experience in the tournament with largely the same roster, and the other was some additional time preparing.

"We were able to work on developing team trust and coordination," said Weir. "And we were doing well, like at the Palouse 7s. But then when we went to the Big 10 7s we ran into Michigan and they were a good team and were physical."

A little different refereeing—officials' interpretations can vary in different parts of the country—shook the Ducks players, too.

So the team refocused on staying composed, not getting caught up in rucks and rucks and rucks when that's the source of penalty.

"What we needed to do was stay focused on the play and what's next, not the score or what else is happening that we can't control," added Sherman.

That lesson proved useful when the D1AA 7s came around. This was a team that played together, understood how not to get into penalty trouble, and trusted each other.

When they weren't getting the called they wanted in the breakdown, they shrugged it off and got down to business.

Overall, it was that team ethos that saw them through. The Ducks played a tense opening match against Iowa State, which hadn't been playing 7s because they were in the 15s finals two weeks before. However, they could play, and the Cyclines took the lead.

It was that experience in the Big Ten that resonated with the Oregon players, and they overcame the deficit and a yellow card to win 33-24.

After that Oregon held off a very tough Wyoming side 33-19, and hit their stride against Nebraska to win their pool.

That was crucial because the win gave Oregon a bye to the semis. There they played Western Washington and won in fairly dominant fashion 28-5.

"We play as a team," said Weir. "And maybe we don't have those X-Factor players, but Cormac O'Flaherty, Ben Winjum, Andrew Prentice, and Tino Mehaffey were all key for us, and we all worked hard to support them."

In the final, it all came together. Iowa State, their first opponent of the weekend, would be Oregon's last, as well. Everyone expected ISU would grow into the tournament because they have talent and rugby understanding.

But the Ducks took control.. O'Flaherty found a gap and was through. Iowa State's Zach English broke through a tackle to answer, but another smart angle from Winjum and then a race down the sideline from Mehaffey made it 21-5. Iowa State mounted a comeback, but Oregon held on 26-21.

Sherman, who really is one of the glue players for this team, hard-working, skilled, and seemingly always there connecting the pieces, had a simple answer as to why Oregon were champions.

It was one word, Ohana. That is Hawai'ian for "Family" but it's a word that had a broader meaning than that.

It's basically about taking the love of family and applying it to a larger group and to how you treat each other.

"Against Western and Iowa State, everyone contributed, and when we needed guys off the bench they came through,"said Sherman. "We have players who make plays, but we also know that every player on the team can score at any moment. We're a brotherhood."

And a brotherhood that is also a bunch of champions.

University of Oregon 7s Roster

(Iain Boyd, Club President)

Sam Becker, Ben Winjum, Chase Parnagian, Jesse Litwin, Owen Bourgeois, Logan Downer, Tino Mehaffey, Colin Sweeney, Cole Rafferty, Liam Weir, Ethen Sherman, Andrew Prentice, Cormac O'Flaherty, Charlie Kelly, Brooks Fisher