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President Donald Trump attended the US Coast Guard Academy’s graduation ceremony on Wednesday and honored two senior athletes.
Speaking at the graduation in New London, Connecticut, Trump said the graduating class was “blessed with many great athletes” and invited two in particular to join him on stage.
First, Trump introduced Broock Desta, the academy’s all-time leader in receptions, yards and touchdowns.
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Cadet Savannah Riera, president of the US Coast Guard Academy Class of 2026, presents a football helmet to President Donald Trump during the commencement ceremony at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, on May 20, 2026. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Do we have a little NFL future here? Maybe? I don’t know, usually that can happen when you lead that much,” Trump said of Desta.
Desta also played for the academy basketball team in his senior season, but he was a true star on the court. In 36 career games, Desta caught 29 touchdowns while also rushing for one and throwing for another. He amassed 3,487 receiving yards on 234 catches.
Next to the stage was women’s lacrosse star Abby McAllister, the women’s lacrosse program’s leader in assists and points.
“Are you that good?” Trump asked jokingly before adding, “That’s a great record.”
“We kind of throw them off timing when I do this, but what the hell? We have time. Right? It’s your day. And when someone accomplishes what these people did, we should give them a little extra credit, right?” Trump continued.
President Donald Trump arrives at the 145th U.S. Coast Guard Commencement Ceremony at the Cadet Memorial Field at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., on May 20, 2026. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Between introducing the athletes, Trump mentioned his 2019 executive order allowing graduates of the US military academies to play professional sports before fulfilling their active duty requirements.
“We’ve made it possible for people like Broock who really have a great ability in sports and in some cases will be drafted by the NFL or have a chance to get into the NFL, or baseball or basketball or whatever. The problem is they had a service,” Trump said. “You know, they had to serve five years. And it’s not exactly conducive to being appointed very high if you had to leave…
“It’s made such a big difference. It’s also made a big difference in terms of recruiting. It’s the reason your teams are better today than they used to be … it made your recruiting a lot better because now you’re able to recruit the top of the best people, people who really have a chance to get into professional sports, and one of the reasons you have such good teams.”
Trump was also presented with a Coast Guard football helmet.
President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address to the United States Coast Guard Academy’s graduating class of 2026 in New London, Connecticut, on May 20, 2026. (Kent Nishimura/AFP)
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As the NIL has run rampant in college sports, Trump signed an executive order to “preserve the uniquely American institution of college athletics by restoring order, fairness and stability” last month.
The order “directs federal agencies to strengthen the effectiveness of key college sports rules on transfer, eligibility and pay-for-play by evaluating whether violations of such rules make a university ineligible for federal scholarships and contracts.”
