Lilly Blevins didn’t plan on joining the Fresno State women’s rugby team this spring.

It happened organically as the 2024 Ceres High School grad was recruited to play the sport by roommate/eventual teammate Mary Grace O’Brien.

“She’s played rugby since high school,” Blevins stated. “She said I’d be good at playing it. I decided to give it a try. It was very nerve racking starting out. It’s been fun to grow and find my strengths in the sport.”

“She is extremely coachable and confident in who she is, which makes my job a lot easier,” Bulldogs’ head coach Michelle Maldonado said. “We see a lot of drive in her, so we are currently pushing her to play for other teams and coaches in our offseason.”

Blevins, a sophomore, earned a spot in Fresno State’s starting lineup.

“I had to work hard to get my starting position on the team,” she said. “It was a big learning curve playing a physical sport where you’re tackling people left and right.”

Blevins contributed at forward.

“It took me a couple of months to learn the rules,” she said. “We practiced three times a week. We did lots of running and weight lifting. Outside of practice, I’d watch professional games and clips of people that played my position.”

Fresno State capped off the 2026 season with a respectable showing at the College Rugby Association of America Women’s D1 7s (7-on-7) National Championships, staged April 24-26, in Indianapolis.

The Bulldogs placed 12th in the Challenger Division.

Fresno State compiled a 2-3 record.

The Bulldogs suffered a 19-15 loss while battling Western Washington during the 11th-place game.

Fresno State lost 34-15 to UC Santa Cruz during a Seeding Semifinals matchup.

The Bulldogs topped Gonzaga (27-17) in Bottom 10 Seeding play.

Ceres High won one of two games in Pool D.

Fresno State beat McKendree (25-0) and lost to Claremont College (31-5).

The Bulldogs had one of the youngest teams at Nationals.

Fresno State won three of six matches during the 15s (15-on-15) season.

The Bulldogs competed in the Pacific Mountain Rugby Conference, along with Sacramento State, Chico State, Oregon State, Stanford, Cal, Washington, Gonzaga, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly, Central Washington and Western Washington.

Just eight of Fresno State’s 23 players had previous rugby experience.

“I’m proud of us,” Blevins said. “We did really well for having a lot of rookies. We definitely learned and grew a lot.”

Blevins excelled in a sport she never played before.

“I met a lot of people playing rugby,” she said. “Everyone is so welcoming. It was a great opportunity to connect with other people out there. The sport has a wide range of people.”

A criminology major, Blevins leads a busy life as a Division-I student-athlete.

“Being busy makes me focus on everything,” she said. “There were definitely some challenging moments. Our coaches did a great job. They told us school comes first before sports.”

Blevins believes the Fresno State women’s rugby program is headed in the right direction.

“I’m excited to see us continue to grow as a team and really show our skills,” she said. “I’m a lot more confident in my abilities to play.”

“Next year, I expect her to absolutely demolish everyone,” Maldonado stated.

Blevins was a multi-sport standout at Ceres High.

She earned 10 varsity letters, including three in soccer, track and field and water polo, and one in swimming.