U.S. Naval Academy croquet team Imperial Wicket’s Liam Wert holds a trophy above his head as he celebrates his team’s win over St. John’s College in the 2025 Annapolis Cup. At left is Annapolis’ mayor, Gavin Buckley, and Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, Vice Adm. Yvette M. Davids.
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The croquet teams from St. John’s College and the neighboring U.S. Naval Academy held their annual matchup on Saturday, April 5.
The competition takes over the front lawn of St. John’s, which was founded in 1696 in Maryland’s capital city. Thousands attended, many in fancy dress, bowler hats and sporting large “Beat Navy” or “Beat the Johnnies” pins.
The St. John’s College croquet team makes their entrance. The Johnnies’ uniforms are a well-kept secret, and this year, they were a recreation of the grass croquet court, complete with mini wickets, balls, mallets and clips.
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The Naval Academy’s Andrew Wilkinson lines up his shot.
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Left: “Bowtie Bob” Nelson has been traveling down to Annapolis for the annual croquet match since “$85 ago” — or since the entrance price was free. Right: Sean Callahan was the captain of the Naval Academy croquet team that competed in the first Annapolis Cup. He is also a member of the Naptown Brass Band that performed at this year’s Annapolis Cup.
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The Johnnies and the Naval Academy teams line up on the field before play starts.
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Before noon, people were twirling to the Naval Academy’s Trident Brass jazz and swing band. When the St. John’s College Freshman Chorus lined up to sing on the steps of one of the red brick academic buildings, the crowds knew the teams would soon be taking the fields.
The midshipmen exited the building single-file, dressed in pristine white uniforms. The Johnnies, notoriously secretive about their uniforms, made their entrance costumed as the tournament’s grass croquet courts, complete with mini wickets, mallets, balls and clips.
The yearly competition between the small liberal arts college lauded for its “great books” curriculum and the famed school for naval officer training began in the early 1980s. Several attendees recounted the legend that a discussion between a St. John’s College student and the Commandant of the Naval Academy led to the latter’s challenge that his midshipmen could beat Johnnies at any sport. The student suggested croquet. The Johnnies won that first match and, except for the years during the COVID pandemic, the tradition has continued ever since.
The 41st annual Annapolis Cup croquet tournament was held on April 5 at St. John’s College between the Johnnies and the neighboring U.S. Naval Academy team. Thousands donned fancy dress to attend the event, which included not only croquet, but swing dancing, a New Orleans-style brass band and choral singing.
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St. John’s Dalton Olsson swings as teammate Angus Preston and members of the Naval Academy’s team look on.
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Brynn Myers and Lindsay Irmiter, juniors at St. John’s College, wiggle their “good luck” fingers as they root for the Johnnies.
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Attendees swing dance as the crowds await the croquet teams’ arrival.
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The Naptown Brass Band gets the crowds dancing at the Annapolis Cup.
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The tournament consisted of five croquet games, plus one exhibition match, and lasted until late in the afternoon. The Naptown Brass Band second-lined their way through the venue, keeping feet moving and energy levels high as the day progressed. The well-coiffed crowd lounged on picnic blankets surrounding the croquet courts.
This year’s tournament came down to the last match, pitting the Johnnies’ Imperial Wicket, or captain, Magnus Oberg and teammate Ben Dahlgren against the Navy’s Grant Bartuska and Andrew Wilkinson. Spectators crowded the sidelines, cheering intensely for their team with each thwack of the croquet mallet.
When the midshipmen scored for the win, Navy players and fans rushed the field in a frenzy of white-uniformed jubilation. The Navy’s Imperial Wicket, Liam Wert, lifted the trophy cup above his head. The midshipmen poured water into the cup, taking turns drinking from it in a victory celebration.
Citlali McDowell dons a floral hat topped with a hummingbird for the match.
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Members of the Naval Academy team wait to make their entrance onto the field.
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In the deciding match, supporters for the Naval Academy (top) and St. John’s College (bottom) shouted and cheered for their teams.
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Linda Stilwell Larson, a resident of Annapolis, greets one of the Naval Academy’s mascots at the match.
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St. John’s Caden Marshall swings the mallet as teammate Leo Schumwinger looks on.
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Alumni of the St. John’s College croquet team, “Rusty Wickets” Elizabeth Meade (left), Mia Kobylski (a former Imperial Wicket) and Thomas Balding (right) volunteer at the 2025 Annapolis Cup.
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As the emotions of the games calmed and the crowds thinned, a group of Johnnies formed a circle on the lawn to sing Palestrina‘s “Sicut Cervus.” St. John’s student Lainey Rendelman explained that the song was from Psalm 42 and translated the words as, “As my heart panteth for you, like a deer for water, so does my soul for you, God.”
“Somehow, it became our unofficial school anthem,” she added.
Reflecting on how unique the Annapolis Cup is in the world of croquet, Johnnie croquet alum Elizabeth Meade said the tournament is “not like playing croquet anywhere else in the world.” One reason is that, unlike other manicured and level courts, the front lawn at St. John’s is bumpy, throwing in a measure of unpredictability. Meade said the joke among players is that, “The lawn giveth and the lawn taketh away.”
Citlali McDowell and her son, Michael McDowell, 12, look out over the crowd gathered for the day’s festivities.
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The St. John’s College Freshman Chorus performs before the start of the Annapolis Cup.
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A red colored “clip” on a wicket. Clips signify the next wicket that a player needs to go through. A clip positioned on the side of the wicket means that a player has gone through all of the wickets in one direction, has hit the stake on the far end and is heading back toward their starting stake.
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Naval Academy’s Walker French swings the mallet as St. John’s Caden Marshall watches.
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Tyrone Turner is a visual storyteller and editor with WAMU in Washington, D.C. Follow him on Instagram at @tyronefoto.
