27
Arlington Heights, IL
University of Illinois
Classification: 3.0
Kevin Hamilton grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois, playing wheelchair basketball. At age 16, his coaches told him to try wheelchair rugby, and he was introduced to the sport at nearby Moraine Valley Community College, where his future U.S. men’s wheelchair rugby coach, Joe Delagrave, and teammate, Chuck Aoki, were leaders.
Hamilton graduated from the University of Illinois, where he majored in journalism and spent a couple of years on the Fighting Illini wheelchair basketball team.
After college, Hamilton concentrated on wheelchair rugby, playing for the Ability 360 Heat. He won the sportsmanship award at the 2025 USWRA National Championship while playing with his club team. Hamilton made his first U.S. national wheelchair rugby team in 2025 and was named an alternate for the 2026 world championships.
Bryan Kirkland had always been an athlete. Growing up in Alabama, he was the kind of competitor who couldn’t stay away from a field or a court. Football, basketball, track — if there was a game, he played it. And if it were a contact sport, he thrived ...
PARIS – It wasn’t the fairy tale ending that they had envisioned.Team USA wheelchair rugby bowed to an opportunistic Japanese team in the gold medal contest, 48-41, on Monday night at the Champs-de-Mars Arena. Despite the painful defeat, the U.S. perfo...
PARIS – Double teamed and banged around by aggressive British opponents, Chuck Aoki remained poised, delivering a perfectly timed and well-executed pass downcourt to his streaking teammate Sarah Adam, who cruised home for a pivotal try. It was a dagger...
The 18-year-old helped the U.S. win gold at the 2023 Parapan American Games, which secured the team’s spot in Paris.
Chuck Aoki is on a mission to help bring home a gold medal in Paris.
