Isaia Kruse had two options: stay in Fresno to play collegiate rugby or move to southern California to play for the United States national team.

He played for the U.S. in the Pan American Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during the summer of 2018. He was also offered a tenured spot during that time as well. 

But Kruse opted to stay home in order to earn his college degree in kinesiology exercise science before pursuing his professional career. 

He shared with The Collegian how his training in Buenos Aires has helped him on the field at Fresno State. 

“As an 18-year-old, I had already been training with some of the best players in the world. So coming back here and taking everything that I learned out there, [I brought] it back to try and help everybody else here, too,” Kruse said. 

During his time at Fresno State, he has been named an All-American; the MVP in last year’s national championship game; and in his fifth, and final, year with the ‘Dogs, Kruse has been nominated for the 2023 Scholz Award.

This award is given to the best men’s college rugby player in the country. The list is composed of 15 different players and will be narrowed down to a group of four or five finalists this month, with the winner announced in May. 

Kruse is the only player from a D1-AA school who is nominated for the award, while the rest of the players are from D1-A schools.

“To be a D1-AA player and get a recognition like that, it’s a pretty big deal because we don’t get much recognition,” Kruse said. 

His life-long rugby coach, Patrick Quan, has known Kruse since he was 10-years-old. Quan has coached him for most of his high school career and at Fresno State up until last season. 

Quan has seen Kruse develop into the player he is now and shared why he is the best fit for this award. 

“This [nomination] just really shows you the kind of rugby player he is. He’s an excellent rugby player through and through,” Quan said. “He is very strategic and a fast thinker, and that’s what makes him at the next level. That’s where he becomes world class.”

Kruse, who graduated from Buchanan High School, has been playing rugby in the Fresno area since the sixth grade. He’s also represented his country playing at the national level since he was 14. 

Throughout his career, he says that his motivation comes from within the field. 

“It’s just trying to make everybody out there better, all of our guys. I have a lot to teach, and I could help all of them learn a lot. So making them better is helping me make myself be better at the same time,” Kruse said. 

In his final semester at Fresno State, he plans to play 7s with the national team or play with a club in the MLR, the professional rugby league of the U.S.  

Quan compared this nomination to a football player from a mid-major school being nominated for the Heisman trophy, praising not only Kruse but the Fresno State rugby program as well. 

Every season since Kruse’s first year, the ‘Dogs have constantly built up, moving up higher in the conference rankings and ultimately being national champions. Quan said that this is a great opportunity to show what Fresno State can do and the type of players that can be produced in the Valley. 

“Isaia is a local rugby product who had other options to play at other places but stayed here. He was a big part of the growth of Fresno State and the growth of rugby in the community. And I think he’s going to remain that way as his rugby career continues on,” Quan said. 

Voting for the 2023 Scholz Award can be found here.