There's no doubt that the Hillsdale College shotgun team is one of the nation's elite.

The Chargers have proven themselves time and time again on a variety of stages, and have a trophy case that's bulging at the seams as testament to that fact.

With that status comes expectations, and once again entering the 2025-26 campaign Hillsdale will be aiming for the very top spot in every event it enters -- including the ACUI/SCTP Collegiate Clay Target Championship. 

The 2024 ACUI/SCTP Division II champions, Hillsdale made the podium and took third in the nation in its title defense in 2025, falling just a few targets short of a repeat title. While the Chargers didn't capture a second-straight ACUI/SCTP High Overall title, Hillsdale did defend its championships in international trap and international skeet through ACUI/SCTP in the fall, and was the top team in American Skeet and Team Skeet doubles at the national championships in March.

As the page turns to the 2025-26 campaign, the goal for the Chargers is to continue their excellent overall performance, and do the difficult work of refining execution to more consistently hit those few additional targets that make the difference between being on the podium, and being atop the podium.

To make it to the top, Hillsdale will have to replace some excellent shooters it lost to graduation, including three previous All-Americans headlined by four-time first team All-American Joshua Corbin.

Even without those top competitors though, there's not shortage of elite talent on Hillsdale's roster. Joshua's younger sister, Madeline, is a returning two-time All-American and top competitor for USA Shooting, and senior Jordan Sapp is a two-time All-American and decorated international competitor as well. Luke Johnson also has two All-American honors under his belt and was the gold medalist in international skeet at the ACUI/SCTP Championships, and Davis Hay, Leif Andersen and Ava Downs all have earned All-American honors in the past as well for the Chargers.

In addition to those six past All-Americans, Hillsdale also returns 2025 international skeet gold medalist Kyle Fleck, 2025 international trap women's gold medalist Taylor Dale, and women's skeet doubles national champion Marin McKinney, who teamed with Madeline Corbin to win the title. Also back for the Chargers is senior Sophia Bultema, one of the top Para Trap competitors in the USA regardless of age. Several more talented shooters will make their mark for Hillsdale as well.

To add to a strong core and help make up for some of those graduated shooters, Hillsdale is bringing in another decorated freshman class of five shooters, including high school All-Americans David Texas Ardis, Roman Barrett and Max Versluys, and Nebraska state champion Zach Hinze.

Taking advantage of the Halter Shooting Sports Center's status as one of the premier shooting centers in the world, Hillsdale will have a busy slate of home events in 2025-26, with five home shoots scheduled, beginning with the Charger Classic NSCA on Sept. 12-14. The Chargers also will contest the Upper Midwest and Central Midwest Conference championships in October, and host the annual Michigan College State Shoot on Nov. 1. For the Chargers, everything builds to the 2026 ACUI/SCTP Collegiate Clay Target Championship and the competition for the national title, scheduled for March 16-21 in San Antonio, Texas.

Along with collegiate competition, several of Hillsdale's shooters will compete individually in USA Shooting competitions throughout the year, both for national honors and for the opportunity to represent Team USA internationally.

You can find Hillsdale's full schedule here. The Chargers open the 2025-26 campaign on August 24 with the Lieske Signature Series Caesar Guerini Finale NSCA event at Bald Mountain Shooting Range in Lake Orion, Michigan.