Katherine Zackary (born July 26, 1989) is an American

rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

player. She debuted for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 2016 and for the sevens team in 2014. She won a silver medal at the

2015 Pan American Games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

as a member of the United States women's national rugby sevens team.

Early career

Zackary attended Salina South High School and

Benedictine College Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for ...

where she initially played soccer. She attended college on a soccer scholarship and it was there that she saw rugby. She played rugby for the Benedictine Saints.

Rugby career

In 2014 she quit her job working in a gym to train full-time with the women's Eagles sevens team. Zackary joined Exeter Chiefs Women's team in 2020, but left to join Trailfinders Women in 2023. Trailfinders compete in the Premiership Women's Rugby, the top tier of women's professional rugby in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 2022, she was named in the Eagles squad for the Pacific Four Series in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She was named in the Eagles fifteens squad to the

2021 Rugby World Cup The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the ninth staging of the Rugby World Cup (women), women's Rugby World Cup, as organised by World Rugby. It was held from 8 October to 12 November 2022 in Auckland and Whangārei, New Zealand. It was originally sche ...

. Zackary was named in the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

traveling squad for their

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and for the

2023 Pacific Four Series The 2023 Pacific Four Series was the third edition of the Pacific Four Series, an international women's rugby union tournament that served as one of the principal qualification routes for the top two tiers of WXV. The tournament was hosted by Sp ...

. She was in the starting line-up when her side beat Spain 20–14. She led the Eagles in a closely contested test match against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on 26 April 2025, her side lost 33–39.

References

External links

Kate Zackary
at

USA Rugby USA Rugby (formally the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby ...

archive June 5, 2022
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zackary, Kate 1989 births Living people United States international rugby sevens players American female rugby sevens players Rugby sevens players at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in rugby sevens United States women's international rugby union players American female rugby union players Sportspeople from Garden City, Kansas Rugby union players from Kansas Benedictine College alumni Rugby union flankers American expatriate rugby union players in England Exeter Chiefs Women players Ealing Trailfinders Women players 21st-century American sportswomen