Former Davenport University student-athlete, Muskegon native and Grand Haven High School graduate Aaron Cummings will be the first person from DU to compete in the Olympic games when the USA Men’s Rugby Sevens Team travels to Paris, France.

The team is composed of 12 starting athletes, including Cummings who participated in football (2016) and rugby (2016-19) with the Panthers. Cummings and three other athletes will be making their Olympic debut. The USA is looking for a top-level finish in the Games after finishing ninth in Rio 2016 and sixth in Tokyo 2020.

“Seeing Aaron playing and representing the USA at the Paris 2024 Olympics is exciting,” said current men’s rugby head coach Dustin Steedman. “It’s a real testament of what Davenport University rugby represents, which is tenacity, hard work and a never-quit attitude. The fact that Aaron has been playing on the US National team for the past three years and has been a part of the team that qualified for the Olympics really shows his resilience and dedication to being a superior athlete. We couldn’t be more proud to have had the opportunity to be a part of his journey.”

The team will soon head to Paris, where they will train at the High Performance Center ahead of their matches, which begin July 24. The USA is in Group C, and will play host France, Fiji, and Uruguay.

Cummings is the only Michigander on the men’s roster for Paris and got his start playing rugby in high school for the Buccaneers. He later competed with the Davenport Panthers as they finished fourth in the 2016 and 2017 USA College 7s National Championships. He then began his professional career and won the 2021 Club 7s National Championship with the Chicago Lions in Seattle, Washington. He joined the USA Men’s Sevens residency in Chula Vista, California, and he would go on to make his HSBC World Rugby Sevens Debut in Malaga, Spain at the beginning of 2022. He was  later named to the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 squad in Cape Town, South Africa.

“The feeling I have for representing the country is just blessed and grateful,” said Cummings. “I have sacrificed so much of my time, body and well-being to be in this position. All the late nights, prepping for tournaments and practices have brought me to this point. It is a surreal feeling, and I’m grateful to everyone who has helped me on my journey. I can’t wait to show everyone my passion out on the pitch in Paris.”