The CRCA Coach and Staff of the Year Awards honor the exceptional leaders behind the success of collegiate rowing programs across all NCAA divisions and the lightweight category. These awards recognize those who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, competitive achievement, and a deep commitment to the student-athletes and teams they guide.
Whether through championship performance, transformative program growth, or the cultivation of team culture, these awards celebrate the individuals and staffs who elevate the sport and embody the values of excellence, integrity, and impact. Below are the national winners.
Will Porter, Yale University
“It is the greatest honor to be recognized by my fellow coaches who know firsthand the challenges of coaching at the collegiate level. I enjoy helping young people develop into strong, hard-charging athletes. Building fast crews is awesome but building fast teams where everyone shares the same dream is the real goal. When it works, there is nothing more gratifying. Thank you!” – Coach Will Porter
Grant Maddock, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
“I’m deeply honored to be named Coach of the Year. This recognition reflects the trust and commitment of the incredible student-athletes I have the privilege to coach. I’m grateful for their belief and relentless pursuit of success throughout the season. Coaching at Embry-Riddle is a huge privilege and this award is a reflection of the people I get to work with every day.” – Coach Grant Maddock
Lily Carbeck, Tufts University
“I am incredibly grateful and honored to be named coach of the year. Coaching is truly the best job in the world and I love being able to be out on the water everyday. I have incredible respect for my colleagues and am so excited for the future of D3 rowing!” – Coach Lily Siddall
Paul Rassam, Princeton University
“It’s an honor to coach these athletes. They continue to evolve and produce speeds that surprise me. It’s still a fun process after 20 years.” – Coach Paul Rassam
Stanford University
“Obviously, each of us is fortunate to work with an incredible group of passionate student-athletes that loves to compete. They just make us coaches look good. As a staff, this was the best group effort I have experienced at Stanford. Emily is the backbone of our whole operation. In her first year on the Farm, Milligan made an immediate impact in both leading the 3V8 to an undefeated season and developing athletes to contend for our NCAA squad. Maegan and Antonella crushed the fours group by galvanizing a super talented and competitive group of athletes to prove that anything can happen. And of course, there are no words that will do Molly justice. In addition to coaching the 2V8 (AKA Team Heath) to a gold medal at NCAAs, she is the linchpin of this program and a joy to have on our coaching team. So proud of the daily effort and energy this group brought to the boathouse and so pumped for the year ahead.” – Derek Byrnes, Head Coach
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
“Being named Coaching Staff of the Year is a testament to the collaboration, dedication and shared vision of this entire program. I’m incredibly proud of the way our staff showed up for our athletes and for each other every single day. I have to give a special shoutout to Coach Sami, in particular, who is the heartbeat of our operation—her unwavering presence and deep investment in our team made this season possible. This honor belongs to all of us and I’m proud to be in it together.” – Grant Maddock, Head Coach
Tufts University
“Huge thank you to Ethan Maines and the entire Tufts rowing staff. It truly takes a team. Each coach brought something special to the group this year with the diversity of backgrounds and expertise. Huge thank you to Ethan, Kaity and Emilie for all your hard work, care and love you put into tufts rowing. I couldn’t think of a more deserving group!”- Lily Siddall, Head Coach
Harvard Radcliffe University, co-recipient
“We are so fortunate to have a great staff at Radcliffe Lights and could not have found the success we did this spring without everyone working together. John and Julia and I truly are a team and combine our talents to support our athletes to reach their goals. Working with them has been a true privilege.” – Stacey Apfelbaum, Head Coach
MIT, co-recipient
“We are so incredibly honored to be the co-recipient of this year’s CRCA Staff of the Year. As everyone in the coaching field knows, it truly takes a village, and that includes our amazing athletes.” – MIT Staff
