Todd Thornley was named the Wildcats head coach in July 2016.
Thornley, a Blenheim, New Zealand native, spent two seasons as the graduate assistant for the Wildcats before being named the head coach. Following the conclusion of the 2024 season, Thornley owns an overall record of 77-35-2. In his time at CWU, he has developed 5 USA National Team players. He has had 12 players graduate from CWU and move on to the professional ranks of Major League Rugby and one into the Japanese Top League. He has produced over 20 All-Americans while leading the Crimson and Black. An astounding 90% of his student-athletes who declared for the MLR Draft have been drafted as Thornley continues to demonstrate that both international and domestic student-athletes can develop into professional athletes from their time here at CWU.
The 2024 season was another successful campaign with Thornley at the helm, as he put his Wildcats through arguably the most competitive schedule in the country. A close one-point loss to eventual national champions Saint Mary’s was followed by a historic win against BYU, earning the teams second highest ranking in program history (#3). Thornley’s team was the #2 seed in the West Region of the D1A National Championships beating Arizona at home in the first round before losing to BYU in the national quarterfinals.
The 2023 season was a historical campaign for Thornley's Wildcats. The team jumped out to a 7-0 start, earning the team's highest ranking in program history (#2). The Wildcats captured program-defining wins at #3 Saint Mary's and vs. #8 Army, among two more ranked victories. The team suffered only one loss in the regular season, and Thornley led the Wildcats to the top-seed in the West Region of the D1A National Championships for the first time in school history, before being upset by BYU. The Wildcats also finished seventh in the CRAA 7's National Championships.
After a shortened 2021 season, Thornley led the Wildcats to a 9-6-1 record in 2022, including signature victories over Arizona and Cal Poly. After earning a home 62-17 victory over Cal Poly in the opening round of the D1A Postseason, the Wildcats fell to top-seeded Cal.
In 2021, Thornley was named USA Rugby’s U23 Head Coach, working in the USA Rugby High Performance pathway in identifying and developing the next generation of international players. Thornley was also an assistant coach for the USA Selects when they competed in the World Rugby Americas Challenge in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The 2020 campaign for Thornley and the Wildcats is arguably the best in school history despite it being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His squad was out to an 8-0 start, ranked in the top-10 in D1A Rugby, and they picked up the first win in program history over BYU with a 51-7 home win on February 29, 2020. Thornley was also the only collegiate coach invited to World Rugby North America Coaching Conference in 2020.
Thornley's 2020 team also won the CWU Athletics Excellence Award for demonstrating the value of excellence both on and off the field. Along with an 8-0 season, his squad produced a 3.27 cumulative GPA for this work in the classroom. His leadership helped him win the CWU Head Coach of the Year honor.
In 2019, Thornley's team posted a 12-5 overall record. His team went on to place fourth overall at the USA Rugby Sevens National Championship.
His 2017-18 squad has the most wins for a single season going 17-8 overall, and 14-2 in sevens competition in his second year of leading the Wildcats. That team went on to win the West Coast Sevens Tournament and the Silicon Valley Sevens Tournament. They were also invited to the Collegiate Rugby Championships, picking up a pair of wins, including a nationally televised win against Army on ESPN2. His team also won the CWU Athletics Service Award for their engagement and work with the community.
In his first season leading CWU, Thornley and the Wildcats posted an 11-5 overall record.
Prior to coaching at Central Washington, Thornley was an assistant coach for Dartmouth College. Dartmouth finished third in the 2013 7's National Collegiate Championship and made the quarterfinals of the Varsity Cup.
Thornley worked under the tutelage of current Navy Director of Rugby Gavin Hickie and current New England Freejacks CEO Alex Magleby. He also coached former Eagles 7's captain Madison Hughes.
Thornley played and coached for the Calgary Saints during their 2015 Alberta Cup run. He resides in Ellensburg and has a daughter, Rori, and a son, Reagan.
