Men's Rugby

Iona Rugby is a member of the Liberty Rugby Conference. The team was founded in 1977.

Head Coach

Kyle Granby

Kyle Granby began playing rugby during his junior year at Iona University and quickly made a name for himself. After graduating, he won a Division-1 National Championship with the New York Athletic Club and competed in numerous championships with Old Blue of New York. He also represented the USA Hawks in rugby league. Kyle and his wife co-founded ROOTS Rugby Family, a non-profit organization supporting players of the African diaspora. He has served as Captain for Old Blue and the Brooklyn Kings and is now returning to Iona as the new head coach after an impressive first season with our 7s program. Kyle was inducted into the Iona Rugby Hall of Fame in 2018, solidifying his legacy at the university.

Coaching & Support Staff

Connor Buckley

Email: cbuckley@iona.edu

Connor Buckley most recently served as head coach for the Iona Rugby team. The former captain was a USA Collegiate All-American Honorable Mention, played for USA U20s in the World Rugby Trophy qualifiers, and was a D1A Rugby Liberty All-conference first-team selection and a 2020 Scholz Award Finalist. Connor previously played for the New York Ironworkers and is currently a member of Old Glory DC.

Paul Burke

Email: pburke@iona.edu

Paul Burke has been a long-time member of the Iona Rugby program. Paul works primarily with the 15’s A side while holding numerous roles within the program. He has coached current Iona Rugby MLR players including Connor Buckley, Jack Powers and Watson Filikitonga. He has also coached Pat Quinn who is better known for being the co-founder of the ALS Ice Bucket Challange. Paul was a member of the team's most recent championship in 2021.

James Daley

Email: clubsports@iona.edu

Jim Daley primarily works with the 15’s B side. Jim was a member of the team's most recent championship in 2021.

David Flemister

Email: clubsports@iona.edu

Dave is a longtime member of the Iona Rugby and was a member of the teams most recent championship in 2021. He started his rugby career at Connecticut College and was a member of the New York Rugby Club.

Kevin Morgan

Email: clubsports@iona.edu

Kevin joined the Iona Rugby coaching staff during the fall of 2024. The former Co-Captain played all four years during his academic career at Iona University.

Rugby Schedule
Day	Date	Iona vs.	Time
Friday	9/6	@Fordham	7 p.m.
Saturday	9/14	Dartmouth	3 p.m.
Saturday	9/21	Fairfield	3 p.m.
Saturday	9/28	@Brown	2 p.m.
Saturday	10/5	Syracuse*	2:30 p.m.
Saturday	10/12	@Siena	2 p.m.
Saturday	10/19	Harvard	3 p.m.
Saturday	10/26	BYE	TBD
Saturday	11/2	@AIC	TBD

*Iona vs Syracuse game will be played at Glover Field.

Roster
Names	Position	Major	Hometown
Johnny Fitzgerald	Lock	Business	Breezy Point, NY
Araayan Bahl	Wing	Finance	Pelham, NY
George Billups III	Lock/second row	Criminal justice	Central Islip, NY
Sherlon Boothe,	Prop	Accounting	Brooklyn, NY
Tyler Breault	Prop	Finance	Stamford, CT
Archil Buka Kvaratskhelia	Fly Half	Business Entrepreneurship	Stamford, CT / Country of Georgia
Tommy Byrnes	Scrumhalf	Criminal Justice	Marine Park, NY
Ronan Cahill	Front Row/Lock	Marketing	Mount Vernon, NY
Ethan Carpio	Prop	Marketing	New Rochelle, NY
Timothy Carron	Lock	Finance	Elmont, NY
Ryan Charvat	Flanker	MBA Marketing	Patchogue, NY
Blaise Denson	Lock	Computer Science	Rye, NY
Michael Donovan	Prop	Criminal Justice	Queens, NY
Brian Duggan	Wing	Criminal Justice	Breezy Point, NY
Chris Durnan	Back row	Criminal justice	Long Beach, NY
Kaelen Fagan	Flanker/Wing forward	Marketing/ International Business	Glen Cove, NY
Michael Fiocco	Center	Buisness	Lindenhurst, NY
Colman Gately	Second Row	International Business	Fairfield, CT
Hamish Goonan	8	Marketing	Sydney, Australia
Mike Greene	Center	Media Strategic Communication	Harlem, NY
Ken Hayes	Wing	Criminal Justice	Wolcott, CT
Alex Hernandez	Second Row, Flanker	International Business	Bedford Hills, NY
Jack Huscher	Outside Center	Information Systems	Durham, CT
Andrew Kabilian	Prop	Criminal Justice/Philosophy	Quincy, MA
Gerald Lanning	Wing	Business Administration	Flushing, NY
Alex LaRue	Outside Center/Wing	Finance	Lagrange NY
Finbar McClintock	Fly-Half	Finance	Floral Park, NY
Jordan McKenzie	Hooker	Media Strategic Communications	New Rochelle, NY
Jack McRedmond	Wing	Media	Rye, NY
Nicholas Mistretta	Wing	Media and Strategic Communications	Skillman, NJ
Joseph Morano	Inside center	Finance	New Rochelle, NY
Chase Nicolas	Centre/Wing	Marketing	Brooklyn, NY
Joshua Orellana	8 man/ Flanker	Marketing	Uniondale, NY
Arlan Pacholka	Front Rower	Entrepreneurship	Larchmont, NY
Christopher Perrone	Flanker	Undecided	Yonkers, NY
James Phelps	9	Finance/Economics	Guyra, NSW, Australia
Jack Reidy	Fullback	Criminal Justice	Trumbull, Connecticut
Will Robinson	Hooker/flanker	Entrepreneurship	Maspeth, Queens
Nathan Saintvil	Flanker/Lock	Education	Deer Park, NY
Justin Santos	Centres/wing	Arts leadership	New Rochelle, NY
Ben Slade	Hooker	Undecided	Oakham, England
Nicholas Spadafora	Flanker/Second Row	Accounting	Yonkers, NY
Thomas Spillane	Lock/ Second Row	Finance	Farmingdale, NY
Yacouba Traore	Prop	Psychology	Harlem, NY
Bryant Vargas	Wing	Computer science	New York City, NY
Alejandro Velasquez	Prop/3	Criminal justice	Port Chester NY
Anthony Zambrano	Full Back	Nursing	Middle Village, Queens