As a longtime fan of service academy athletics, I’ve always found something uniquely compelling about Navy basketball. Maybe it’s the contrast—the disciplined, structured world of the Naval Academy meeting the free-flowing, unpredictable energy of a college basketball game. Every season, I make it a point to follow the Midshipmen, and over the years, I’ve figured out a pretty good system for catching every game and staying connected to the team’s journey. Let me walk you through how you can do the same, because trust me, it’s a season worth following.
First things first, let’s talk about watching live. Gone are the days when you had to rely solely on patchy radio broadcasts or hoping for a regional TV spot. Now, streaming is your best friend. The primary home for Navy sports broadcasts is ESPN+. I’ve spent many a winter evening logged in there, watching games from the cozy Annapolis atmosphere of Alumni Hall. A subscription gives you access to most of the non-televised games, and the production quality is usually solid. For the bigger matchups, especially against rivals like Army or American University, you might find games on the CBS Sports Network or even ESPN’s main channels. My advice? Bookmark the Navy Athletics official website. Their schedule page is my go-to; it’s always updated with the correct broadcast information and links. I’ve learned the hard way that assuming a game is on one platform can lead to frantic last-minute searches. For audio, the Navy Sports Network via the Varsity Network app is a fantastic, old-school companion. I’ll often sync the radio call with the TV stream on mute—the passion of the Navy announcers just adds a whole other layer to the experience.
Following the season, however, is about so much more than just watching the games. It’s about understanding the narrative, the ups and downs. This is where that bit about standards comes in, something I was reminded of recently while reading about another team’s struggles. There was a piece about a women’s volleyball coach with over 300 career wins, stressing that her team needed to “get back to the standard” to escape the middle of the pack. That phrase stuck with me. It’s the perfect lens through which to view any team’s season, including Navy basketball. Success isn’t just about raw talent; it’s about a consistent, demanding standard of play, effort, and mentality. For Navy, that standard is intertwined with the Academy’s core values: honor, courage, commitment. You see it on the court in their defensive tenacity and their unselfish ball movement. When they play to that standard, they can beat anyone. When they drift from it, games can slip away. So, as I follow along, I’m not just watching the scoreboard. I’m watching to see if they’re meeting that internal benchmark. Are they forcing turnovers with their pressure? Are they moving without the ball? That’s the real story of the season.
To stay plugged into that story, I lean heavily on social media, particularly Twitter. Following accounts like @NavyAthletics and beat reporters provides instant updates, behind-the-scenes photos, and post-game quotes you won’t get anywhere else. After a tough loss to a conference foe like Loyola Maryland, seeing a player’s tweet about getting back to work the next morning tells you everything about the team’s character. I also make a habit of reading the post-game recaps in The Capital and The Baltimore Sun. They offer analysis that goes beyond the basic stats, often highlighting a player you might have overlooked. For instance, last season, watching sophomore guard Austin Inge develop from a sporadic contributor into a reliable floor general was one of the most rewarding subplots. The numbers might show he averaged 7.2 points per game, but the articles highlighted his assist-to-turnover ratio and defensive stops—the gritty stuff that defines the Navy standard.
Now, here’s my personal take: the most rewarding part of following Navy basketball isn’t necessarily the championship years—though the 1998 team that won the Patriot League was magical. For me, it’s the growth you witness in the players. These are student-athletes carrying a 4-2 academic load and a military commitment. Seeing a player struggle as a freshman and then blossom into a leader by his senior year is a narrative you just don’t get with most programs. I have a soft spot for the big men who set brutal screens and dive for every loose ball, the guys whose stats (maybe 4.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game) never jump off the page but whose impact is immense. My favorite recent memory isn’t a buzzer-beater; it’s from a game two seasons ago where Navy, down by 12, clawed back with a 17-4 run built entirely on defensive stops and patient offense. They lost that game by three points in the end, but the way they fought, the way they embodied that standard, was a victory in itself. That’s the heartbeat of the season.
So, whether you’re an alum, a local Annapolis resident, or just a fan of hard-nosed, team-first basketball, diving into a Navy season is deeply satisfying. Set up your ESPN+ subscription, follow the right accounts, and start paying attention. Watch not just for the three-pointers, but for the defensive rotations. Listen not just for the final score, but for the talk of effort and discipline. You’re not just following a win-loss record, which might hover around a respectable 16-14 in a good year; you’re following a process, a culture. You’re watching young men learn lessons on the court that will prepare them for far greater challenges ahead. In a sports landscape often dominated by individual highlights, that’s a story I find myself drawn back to, season after season.