The Carlstad Crusaders have announced that Canadian defensive back Rory Kelly is returning for his fourth straight Swedish Superserien season.
The 6-3, 198 pound native of Moncton, New Brunswick, was a key to the Crusaders run to the 2024 Swedish championship. He finished the season with 24.5 tackles including one tackle for loss and an interception. Since arriving in 2022, he has racked up 65.5 tackles from his safety spot.
Crusaders head coach Christian Forsman:
“Rory is entering his fourth season with the Crusaders. Together with Mattias Eriksson, he is one of our captains on defense and a veteran in the group. An important cog in the defense and a true team player who will handle any role if it can help the team.”
Photo: Håkan Bylund
Kelly arrived in Sweden in 2022 following a successful college career in Canada which saw him win the Vanier Cup (Canadian college championship) in 2021 with the University of Western Ontario Western Mustangs. He had spent the previous four years with the Acadia Axemen during which time the team won the Atlantic University Sport Football Conference championship in both 2019 and 2017. He was a first team, all conference selection in 2018 and 2019.
Kelly is excited to be returning to Sweden and the Crusaders:
“I am back for another season with the Crusaders. Karlstad is a place that has become my home. Extremely excited to see where we can take the 2025 team this year. Management has put in tremendous amount of work to create the best roster possible for this upcoming season.”