Christopher Newport University Men's Football

Oda Kilsti became the third head coach in the history of the program on August 28, 2025 and begins her first year at Christopher Newport in 2025-26.    Kilsti has spent the last five years as a member of the community at East Carolina University where she studied and played women’s golf for the Pirates. One of the top players in program history, Kilsti finished her Pirate career with a career scoring average of 74.05 ranking third all-time.   A native of Skodje, Norway, competed with the Norwegian National Team and was a member of the Aalesund Golfklubb that claimed the Norwegian Team Championship. After several marquee performances in Norway, she was recruited to play in the United States by ECU where she put together an outstanding collegiate career.   Despite being limited by the CoVID-19 global pandemic in her first year, Kilsti competed in two events as a freshman and earned All-Academic Team honors. As a sophomore, she competed in five events and repeated as an All-Academic team selection while earning WGCA All-American Scholar honors for the first time. In her first full season as a junior, she led the team in scoring and earned her first collegiate victory with a first place finish in the Pirate Collegiate Classic. She added two more top five finishes and was named the AAC Women’s Golfer of the Month for September.   Over her final two seasons, she continued to lead the way for the Pirates as a starter in 18 tournaments. Her impressive run included adding the fourth-best single season scoring average in program history with a 73.3 over 33 rounds in 2022-23. She competed in 34 career events and logged 32 rounds at par or better including a career-low 67. All the while, she continued her stellar performance in the classroom and became just the eighth ECU player ever to earn WGCA All-American Scholar honors in four consecutive years.   In 2024, she added Academic All-District plaudits from the College Sports Communicators while double majoring in Interpersonal/Organizational Communication and Political Science. Kilsti earned her bachelor’s degrees in 2024 and went on to secure her Master of Arts in Strategic Communication in 2025.

Assistant Football Coach Christopher Newport University Newport News,Va

PAUL CROWLEY has led the Christopher Newport University football program to great success over his first three seasons, and is guiding the Captains in the 25th season of CNU football in 2025. Crowley has compiled a record of 21-10 (.677) overall and 15-3 (.833) in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). Last fall, the 2008 CNU graduate and former All-Conference Offensive Lineman, guided the Captains to their third straight regular season record of  7-3. Christopher Newport finished second in the New Jersey Athletic Conference with its third-straight 5-1 NJAC mark. In 2023, in just his second season at the helm, Crowley led the Captains back to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2014. His 2023 squad captured CNU's first-ever NJAC Championship since joining the league in 2015, and finished the season with a 7-4 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the NJAC. Crowley and his staff were recognized by the NJAC as the Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. Crowley's first team, in 2022, recorded a 7-3 overall record, and finished second in the NJAC with a 5-1 mark in conference play. Crowley’s 2022 squad won six consecutive games en route to its 7-3 final mark.   Crowley was named the third Head Football Coach in Christopher Newport University history on December 8, 2021, after serving as the program's interim coach for just over a month. The former standout Captains offensive lineman is heading into his sixteenth season of college coaching in 2024, and his fourteenth at CNU. In addition to serving as Head Coach, he also mentors the Captains quarterbacks. Crowley served on the staff of Matt Kelchner for eight seasons from 2009-2016, as well as the staff of Art Link for three years from 2019-2021. During his tenure, he rose to the level of recruiting coordinator while also working with multiple position groups, including running backs, wide receivers, tight ends and offensive linemen. The 2024 CNU squad won its final five games of the year, and was led by sophomore quarterback Connor Berry, who averaged 195 yards passing per game and threw for 15 scores. The Captains also featured a dynamic rushing attack, as junior Gunner White (15) and sophomore transfer Jordin Lennon (8) combined for 23 rushing scores and averaged a combined 138 yards per game. The Captains averaged a remarkable 36.9 points per game, while on defense allowing just 20.6.   Crowley's first two CNU squads were led by 2022 NJAC Offensive Player of the Year Matt Dzierski, and 2023 NJAC Offensive Player of the Year Gunner White. Dzierski threw 22 touchdown passes and ran for 16 more over the two-year period. White, meanwhile, rushed for ten scores and caught four TD passes while rushing for 762 yards in 11 games in 2023 as a sophomore. Crowley’s CNU offense averaged nearly 25 points a game in 2022, and scored almost 28 points per game in 2023. The Captains also have shown tremendous improvement on defense, and led the NJAC in 2023 by allowing just 15.9 points per game. Christopher Newport’s primary play-caller during the 2015 and 2016 campaigns, Crowley led the Captains to two of the top four passing seasons in school history. Additionally, the squad ranked among the NJAC’s top two passing offenses both years, as quarterbacks Tyler Quigley and KJ Kearney both earned All-NJAC distinction, while Kearney set the single-season school record for completion percentage in 2016.  In addition to the accolades earned by the Captains’ signal-callers during those two seasons, Crowley also produced an all-conference standout during every season in which he was a full-time coach. Highlighting the list of players who benefited from Crowley’s tutelage were Wide Receivers Taylor Loudan, the 2016 NJAC Offensive Player of the Year, and Rudy Rudolph, a four-time all-conference standout. As the running backs coach in 2014, Crowley helped Daquan Davis record 16 touchdowns en route to earning All-USA South distinction.  The Virginia Beach native left Christopher Newport and spent two seasons coaching the running backs at the College of William and Mary in 2017 and 2018, He returned to the Captains coaching staff in 2019. A First Team All-USA South Center with the Captains, Crowley played for CNU from 2005-08. He was also a first-team All-Virginia selection in Division II-III. Crowley was born in Midland, Texas. He and his wife, Tayler Stanley-Crowley, reside in Toano, VA, with their sons, Jack and Sam.

ALEX SMITH is in his third season on the Christopher Newport coaching staff, and serves in the role of Recruiting Coordinator in addition to working with CNU’s Tight Ends. Smith is a native of Richmond and joined the Christopher Newport football coaching staff for the 2021 season. He previously served as the Wide Receivers coach at Averett University from 2018-20, and has also assisted on the staffs at West Virginia Wesleyan College (2017-2018) and Bridgewater College (2013-2016).   Smith received his bachelor of arts in Communication Studies from Bridgewater in 2016, and his MBA in Leadership from Averett in 2020. He is a native of St. Johnsville, NY and graduated from Mills E. Godwin High School in 2012.    

Following a standout career as a member of the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse program, former All-American Campbell Pozin returned to his Alma mater as an assistant coach in preparation for the 2025 campaign. Pozin, who competed as a graduate student at High Point in the spring of 2024, previously starred at CNU from 2019-23. Solidifying his spot as one of the most decorated competitors in program history, he secured five total All-American citations, including first-team plaudits from USA Lacrosse Magazine and the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association in 2022. He was also celebrated as the 2022 USILA National Short-Stick Defensive Midfielder of the Year. Along with his national accolades, Pozin was also a two-time All-Conference, All-State, and All-Region honoree. Earning universal acclaim for his work on the field, he forced 62 turnovers during his career, which marked the highest total by a short-stick specialist in school history. Meanwhile, his 81 appearances still stand ninth on the all-time charts. Pozin's tenure with the Captains coincided with one of the most successful stretches in program lore. During his five-year run with the squad, the Virginia Beach native helped Christopher Newport compile a 67-19 record, including trips to the Final Four in 2021 and 2023. The squad consistently ranked among the national-leaders in scoring defense, takeaways-per-game, and clearing percentage during his reign. In addition to his work on the field, Pozin was named an Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators in 2023. An Academic All-Conference, All-State, and All-District honoree as well, he received his bachelor's degree in finance in 2022 and a master's in financial analysis in 2023. Following his time at CNU, Pozin completed his collegiate career at High Point this spring. Making a seamless transition to the Panthers, he appeared in 14 games while compiling 14 ground balls, eight caused turnovers, and three points. Among his highlights, he had two takeaways and a pair of assists against VMI on February 16 before securing two ground balls during a victory at No. 15 North Carolina on March 23.

Following a successful five-year playing career with the Captains, Michael Brost rejoined the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse program as an assistant coach in preparation for the 2025 campaign. Before transitioning to the sidelines, Brost was an integral part of the men's lacrosse program at CNU since 2020. During his tenure, he helped lead the Captains to one of the finest stretches in school history, including Final Four appearances in 2021 and 2023. Overall, the team compiled a remarkable 71-18 record during his career with four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. On an individual level, Brost served as a team captain during his final two campaigns while making 66 total appearances over the past five seasons. Making his mark as a faceoff specialist, he finished his tenure ranked sixth in program history with a .513 faceoff percentage and seventh with 175 victories. Playing a pivotal role during the program's postseason runs, Brost won 31 career faceoffs in the NCAA Tournament. That stands as the third-highest total by a Captain in the national playoffs. In addition to helping CNU control possession, Brost also added 90 ground balls and eight caused turnovers while producing five career points, including a fourth-quarter goal against No. 1 Salisbury on April 6, 2024. Equally impressive off the field, Brost was a five-time Academic All-Conference selection. The Richmond, Virginia native was also named to the Academic All-District team by the College Sports Communicators in 2024.

CRAIG SMITH is in his fourth season since returning to Christopher Newport University as the Offensive Coordinator and Wide Receivers coach of the Captains. Smith re-joined the football staff when Paul Crowley took over as Head Coach in 2022, and will be in his sixth season overall at CNU as the Captains celebrate 25 years of football in 2025. Smith has led a powerful CNU offensive attack in recent years, led by quarterbacks Matt Dzierski and Connor Barry; running backs Gunner White and Jordin Lennon; and wide receivers Colin Hart and Trey Hayes. CNU's point production improved from 27.7 per game in 2023 to 36.9 in 2024. The Captains also went from 141.2 to 180.8 yards per game rushing, and 196.9 yards passing per game to 238.6 yards per game in the same time period. His offensive unit in 2023 helped lead the Captains to their first title in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Smith was first a part of the CNU staff in 2013 and 2014, when he was initially safeties coach and then became wide receivers coach, helping the Captains claim a USA South title in 2014. Before returning to CNU, Smith spent time on the staff at his alma mater, Bridgewater College, where he was the Passing Game Coordinator on offense and Co-Special Teams Coordinator. He also held the role of Recruiting Coordinator for the Eagles in the 2019 season. Smith helped Bridgewater football return to the NCAA tournament in 2019, when the Eagles went 10-1 to clinch the ODAC championship.  Smith won four ODAC championships as a student-athlete with the Eagles, from 2002 through 2005. Bridgewater went 50-10 over his time with the program, reaching the NCAA semifinals in 2003 and NCAA quarterfinals in 2002 and 2005. Smith's coaching career includes four years in Rocky Mount at North Carolina Wesleyan, where he was the Special Teams Coordinator, Wide Receivers Coach and Strength & Conditioning Coordinator. Smith has coached two All-American wide receivers, Rudy Rudolph of Christopher Newport, and Malik Adams of North Carolina Wesleyan.. Smith's resume also includes three years at Bluffton University, where he eventually rose to the position of Offensive Coordinator in 2012. He coached quarterbacks, receivers, and special teams while directing strength & conditioning, operations and the passing game. He also was the Special Teams Coordinator and Wide Receivers Coach at John Carroll University in Cleveland Ohio, from 2008 to 09, and coached safeties at Saint Vincent College in 2007. Smith received his bachelor’s degree in Health and Exercise Science from Bridgewater in 2006.

Following a successful stint as an assistant coach at Messiah from 2019-24, Kendra Herbenar was named the assistant head coach of the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse program in preparation for the 2025 campaign.   Herbenar arrived in Newport News with an extensive résumé after spending the past decade at Messiah. Along with her six-year tenure on the sidelines, she also pieced together an All-American playing career with the Falcons.    Serving as an assistant coach during one of the most successful stretches in Messiah history, Herbenar helped lead the Falcons to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Regional Finals in 2021. In her six years on the sidelines, she helped the program compile a 65-35 record, including a remarkable 34-5 ledger in the vaunted MAC Commonwealth Conference.   Headlining her work with the Falcons, Herbenar played an integral role during the school's historic 2021 campaign. During that year, Messiah tied the single-season program record with 18 victories while claiming the league championship. Eventually, the team wrapped up the year slotted fifth in the IWLCA National Coaches Poll while boasting the country's eighth-ranked scoring defense.   Coaching some of the top players in Messiah history, Herbenar helped five Falcons earn All-American accolades, including a pair of first-team honorees.   Prior to her work as an assistant coach, Herbenar was equally successful as a four-year standout at Messiah. During her playing career, she secured a pair of first-team All-Conference plaudits and was named the MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year in 2018. Along with her league laurels, she was a second-team All-American and first-team All-Region selection during her senior campaign. Additionally, she was celebrated as an IWLCA North-South Senior All-Star.   Finishing her tenure as one of the top defensive juggernauts in Messiah history, Herbenar capped off her career ranked third in program lore with 128 caused turnovers, 10th with 134 draw controls, and 12th with 139 ground balls. Her 74 appearances also marked the sixth-most by a Falcon.   Adding a fitting punctuation mark to her collegiate career, Herbenar established a new school record with 57 takeaways as a senior. Meanwhile, her 92 draw controls marked the second-highest total by a Falcon, and her 67 ground balls placed her third on the program's all-time single-season charts. Incredibly versatile, she was one of only five players in the NCAA to register at least 50 caused turnovers, 50 ground balls, and 90 draws in 2018.   During her four-year stint on the field, Herbenar helped Messiah post a 59-18 record, including a pristine 32-0 mark in league action. Along the way, the Falcons claimed four straight conference championships and made four appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2017.