Jordan Kamenz is a women’s college rugby flanker who gained national attention during the 2024 season. She played for the Denver Pioneers in the NCR DIII semifinals and was selected as Great Waters #14 at the prestigious NCR Women’s All-Star 7s Tournament in Atlanta in January 2025.
Who Is Jordan Kamenz?
Not every breakout in college sports arrives with fanfare. Some players build quietly, rep by rep, season by season, until one year everything clicks. Jordan Kamenz is one of those players. A flanker for the Denver Pioneers, she turned heads during a 2024 DIII campaign described by national rugby media as a “breakout season.”
If you follow women’s college rugby closely, the name Jordan Kamenz started showing up everywhere toward the end of 2024 and into early 2025. From national semifinal coverage to All-Star rosters, she became a player that coaches, scouts, and fans were watching. This article covers who she is, what she has accomplished, and why her story matters for the future of women’s rugby in America.
This piece will walk you through her athletic background, her breakout college season, her All-Star selection, and the bigger picture of why players like Kamenz are so important to the growth of the sport.
Her Background: From the Pool to the Pitch
Jordan Kamenz’s sporting story did not start with a rugby ball. Before she was making tackles on the flanker line, she was in the water.
Early Sports Roots in Wisconsin
High school records show Jordan Kamenz competing on the junior varsity swim team at Waukesha South in Wisconsin. She was part of the winning 200 freestyle relay team alongside teammates Allison Woznicki, Kenzie Range, and Audrey Banske — an early signal of her comfort competing in team settings under pressure.
That blend of discipline, body awareness, and competitive experience in one sport often translates well to another. Many of the best rugby players in the United States came to the sport after building athletic foundations elsewhere. Kamenz fits that mold precisely.
The Path to College Rugby
Women’s rugby has grown significantly at the collegiate level over the past decade. According to USA Rugby, women’s participation in the sport grew by over 20 percent between 2017 and 2023. Programs across all college divisions have expanded. The Denver Pioneers are one of the more established DIII programs in that landscape, and Kamenz found herself in a competitive environment built for developing serious rugby talent.
The flanker position she plays demands a unique combination of skills. You need physicality for the breakdown. You need pace to cover ground in the loose. And you need the rugby intelligence to read where the ball is going before it gets there. These are not simple qualities to develop. That Kamenz reached a national semifinal level while being described as still in a “breakout” phase tells you something important: her ceiling is high.
The 2024 Season: A Breakout in Real Time
The Denver Pioneers had already established themselves as a quality DIII program heading into 2024. They had reached the national championship game the previous year, losing to St. Bonaventure by a single try. The motivation to go further in 2024 was real.
Denver Pioneers at the DIII Semifinals
The Pioneers’ quest was led by returning All-American captains Selena Bodedein at No. 8 and scrumhalf McKenna Dutton, alongside All-American prop Emma Callaghan. Kamenz had a breakout season at flanker, becoming part of a leadership group with serious national pedigree.
For any college rugby player, reaching the DIII national semifinals is an achievement that few can claim. Denver joined teams including the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers, who were making their first-ever appearance in the DIII semifinals, showing how competitive the national bracket had become. Competing at that level and earning individual recognition within such a strong squad set Kamenz apart from most of her peers.
What Makes a Flanker Stand Out?
Here is a quick look at what rugby scouts look for from a breakout flanker:
| Quality | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Work rate at the breakdown | Controls ball availability for the whole team |
| Tackle count and accuracy | Limits opposition momentum |
| Carrying in tight spaces | Keeps drives alive near the try line |
| Poaching instinct | Creates turnovers that change game momentum |
| Fitness over 80 minutes | Flank is the highest-distance position on the field |
Kamenz’s recognition during the DIII season suggests she was delivering in several of these areas consistently enough to earn national attention.
The NCR Women’s All-Stars: A National Stage
The NCR Women’s All-Star 7s Tournament is one of the most visible showcases in college rugby. The 2025 edition hosted over 650 of the top players across men’s and women’s competitions at Silverbacks Park in Atlanta, with professional scouts and national team coaches watching throughout.
Jordan Kamenz Earns All-Star Selection
Jordan Kamenz was identified as Great Waters #14 at the NCR Women’s All-Star tournament, representing her conference among the nation’s best. For a player whose 2024 campaign was labeled a “breakout season,” reaching an All-Star event so quickly in the calendar is a strong indicator of forward momentum.
NCR scouting staff and the Women’s High Performance program used the Atlanta tournament to identify talent for national tours, including a 7s trip to Portugal and preparation around the Rugby World Cup in England. Being present in that environment, performing in front of those eyes, matters enormously for a player with higher ambitions.
Why All-Star Selection Matters for Career Trajectory
Being picked for an All-Star conference team at the college level is not just an honor. It is visibility. Professional teams and national development squads use these tournaments to identify prospects. The Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) league, which launched its first professional season in 2025, has already shown a direct pipeline from college programs into its rosters.
Women’s rugby is “having a moment” in the United States following the national team’s bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The professional women’s game in America is growing fast. Players who earn All-Star recognition during their college careers are placing themselves in that pipeline early.
The Bigger Picture: Women’s Rugby in America
Jordan Kamenz’s story does not exist in a vacuum. She is one of thousands of college women playing rugby at a time when the sport is undergoing real structural change in the United States.
The Women’s Elite Rugby league named Denver among its first professional markets, citing the city’s strong history and recent success in women’s rugby at the amateur level. That matters for players like Kamenz who are developing their games in Denver right now. A professional opportunity is no longer a distant concept.
How College Rugby Leads to Professional Careers
The pathway from college to professional women’s rugby is becoming clearer each year. Here is how it typically works:
- College program performance builds a player’s base statistics and video record.
- All-Star and national tournament appearances create visibility with coaches and scouts.
- USA Rugby pathway programs can elevate college players into national development squads.
- Domestic professional leagues like WER offer contracts to players ready for the next level.
Kamenz is currently at stages one and two of that path. Her 2024 season and All-Star selection put her in the conversation for what comes next.
What to Watch Next
The NCR All-Stars event annually attracts scouts and coaches from professional and international rugby, meaning every tournament Kamenz participates in is another audition. Her continued development at Denver, combined with the growing national profile of the program, gives her a platform that most college players never access.
The Denver Pioneers themselves remain one of the most competitive programs at the DIII level. Returning players like Kamenz, with real national semifinal experience and an All-Star showing, will anchor a team with championship ambitions in 2025.
Watch for her name in the DIII national brackets this fall. Watch for it in All-Star rosters. And if the growth of Women’s Elite Rugby continues at its current pace, the professional conversation will not be far behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Jordan Kamenz? Jordan Kamenz is a college women’s rugby flanker who plays for the Denver Pioneers. She had a notable breakout season in 2024 and was selected for the NCR Women’s All-Star tournament in January 2025.
What position does Jordan Kamenz play? She plays flanker, one of the most physically demanding positions in rugby, requiring pace, tackling ability, and a strong work rate at the breakdown.
What are the NCR Women’s All-Stars? It is an annual national showcase tournament run by National Collegiate Rugby, featuring the best college women’s rugby players selected from regional conferences across the United States.
Did Jordan Kamenz play other sports? Yes. Before college rugby, Kamenz competed on a high school swimming team in Wisconsin, giving her a strong multi-sport athletic foundation.
Why is Jordan Kamenz getting more attention in 2025? Her breakout 2024 season with the Denver Pioneers in the DIII national semifinals, followed by her All-Star selection in January 2025, significantly raised her national profile in college rugby circles.
A Player Worth Following
Jordan Kamenz represents something specific in women’s college rugby right now: the steady, determined rise of a player who earned everything through performance on the field. She did not arrive with hype. She built it.
Her 2024 season placed her among the best at her level. Her All-Star selection confirmed it with a national audience watching. And her timing could not be better, as the sport she plays continues to grow in the United States at every level, from grassroots programs to brand new professional leagues.
The question now is not whether Kamenz will continue to develop. It is how far that development takes her. If her trajectory through 2024 and into 2025 is any guide, the honest answer is: further than most.
