Jameson Croall is entering his 14th year at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 2025-26 and was named the head coach of the football team in August 2022, after he had assumed all duties for the program at the conclusion of the 2021 season. He succeeded Mike Toop ’77, USMMA’s all-time winningest coach (70 victories), who retired after leading the Mariners for the previous 17 seasons (2005-2021).
In his first two seasons at the helm, Croall has extended KP’s Academy-best streak of winning seasons to eight-straight years after the Mariners finished the 2022 campaign with a 6-3 record and the 2023 season 7-3, including an appearance in the ECAC James Lynah Bowl. USMMA has had a total of 14 players earn All-NEWMAC honors, including defensive lineman C.J. Mustain ’23, who was named the NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Year in 2022. Furthermore, seven Mariners went on to earn All-Region accolades, including Mustain being selected as the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Off the field, Merchant Marine had 21 student-athletes represented on the NEWMAC All-Academic Team and 12 have landed on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team.
During Croall’s first 10 years at Kings Point he served as the Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach, helping lead the Mariner offense to numerous top-25 national statistical rankings in recent years, including finishing the 2021 season ranked 16th or better among all Division III programs in seven key offensive categories – first in Rushing Offense, fourth in Third Down Offense, seventh in Scoring and Fourth Down Offense, eighth in Total Offense, 14th in First Down Offense and 16th in Red Zone Offense.
The Mariners ended the 2021 campaign with a 9-1 record, with the nine wins being the most in a single season in academy history. They also received 28 votes in the final National Top-25 Coaches Poll of the year.
Under Croall’s tutelage, quarterback Ian Blankenship ’21 was named a semifinalist for the 2021 Gagliardi Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division III. Croall also produced an All-American in offensive lineman Randy Ruple ’24 (2021 D3football.com Fourth Team) and has had a total of nine offensive players selected to various All-Region Teams in nine full seasons, including two major award winners in 2021 – Blankenship, who was named the Region 1 Offensive Player of the Year for D3football.com and wide receiver Talsen Smith ’25, who was named the ECAC Offensive Rookie of the Year.
In terms of All-Conference accolades as offensive coordinator since 2012, Croall has manufactured three major award winners in fullback Wiley Martin ’19 (Liberty League Rookie of the Year in 2015), Smith (NEWMAC Rookie of the Year in 2021) and Blankenship (NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2021). There have been a total of 28 Mariners who earned All-Conference
recognition during Croall’s tenure as O.C. (13 First Team, 20 Second Team and five All-Liberty League Honorable Mentions).
In addition to his coaching duties, Croall contributes to the academy in multiple facets including weight room management, teaching courses in self-defense, chairing the curriculum committee and working event management.
No stranger to the Mariners’ offensive scheme, the triple option, Croall both played in it and coached it at his alma mater Springfield College. He served as a graduate assistant coach at Springfield for two seasons (2010-11), where he coached an All-American at the quarterback position, competed in the postseason and had the opportunity to coach in the “DIII Senior Classic,” an All-Star Game in Salem, Va.
Prior to that, Croall spent a year working as the Offensive Line Coach at Maine Maritime Academy. While there, the Mariners had their best season in school history – leading the nation in rushing yards per game, winning the NEFC Conference Championship, receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and having three offensive lineman named to the All-Conference Team.
A 2009 graduate of Springfield, Croall played for four years as an offensive lineman for the Pride while earning his bachelor’s degree in physical education. He graduated with his master’s degree from Springfield in 2020. Croall is a native of East Longmeadow, Mass., Croall is responsible for recruiting from the Southeast United States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
