Ayomideji “Deji” Israel-Akinbo, a junior from Makhanda, Eastern Cape, South Africa, has been named Alfred University’s first-ever All-American in rugby. National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) released its 2025 All-American teams on Feb. 5 and Israel-Akinbo was one of just 23 players nationwide named to the Division III squad.
"I am proud of the hard work, dedication, and leadership Deji showed this year," Head Coach Dale Russell said. "His athletic ability and rugby IQ led to a season where he finished with the most trys scored and second most tackles. Deji is the program's first All-American and that is a great honor and is well deserved."
National Collegiate Rugby press release
Israel-Akinbo finished the fall XVs season with an impressive stat line of 64 tackles, while winning 16.5 turnovers. He paced the Saxons with 17 trys, helping lead the team to a Lake Effect Rugby Conference (LERC) Championship appearance.
"I'd firstly like to give all the glory to God and acknowledge the work he has done in my life," Israel-Akinbo said. "I'd like to thank Coach Dale for his continuous support; if not for his belief in me, I would not have made it this far. And finally, thank you to Alfred Rugby for the love and all we accomplished together."
A mechanical engineering major, Israel-Akinbo has excelled academically at Alfred as well. For the fall 2025 semester, he was named to the Empire 8 Conference President’s List and the Alfred University Dean’s List and was also named a Saxon Scholar Athlete.
