Counting Down Cal's Top-50 Transfer Athletes: No. 5 Blaine Scully

We rank the mid-career arrivals in Berkeley who have had the greatest impact on the Golden Bears

Blaine Scully | Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

The transfer portal era in college athletics seems like it’s been with us forever. Likewise, most fans can recall less turbulent times when transfers happened, they simply didn’t look like a stampede to the 1849 California Gold Rush.

We thought it was time to rank the best transfers Cal teams have attracted, most of them in recent seasons but also including a few OGs from yesteryear. 

We limited our ranking to transfers from four-year colleges.

Here is the next athlete in our countdown: 

5. Blaine Scully

Sport: Rugby

Arrival year at Cal: 2009-2010

Previous schools: UCLA

Contributions at Cal: 

--- Scully was one of the best rugby players ever to play at Cal, not far behind Loren Hawley and Mike MacDonald.

— Scully spent two seasons at Cal as a standout wing and fullback and probably could have played any position. His versatility may have been his biggest asset.

--- He led Cal to a national championship in both his seasons at Cal (2010, 2011).

--- Scully was a key player for the 2010 Cal team that went 26-0, its first unbeaten season in eight years, and he was a co-captain of the Cal team that went unbeaten again in 2011.

---Scully scored 16 tries for Cal’s rugby 15 team in 2010 team and tacked on 19 tries for the Bears in 2011. He also had five tries in his two seasons on Cal sevens sides.

--- Not only did Scully score a lot of tries, but he was also an excellent defensive player and was outstanding on getting the high ball..

---He was a four-time All-America selection, including 2010 and 2011 at Cal

---After Cal, Scully represented the USA national team for almost decade. He earned 54 caps for USA Rugby and was the USA national team captain 23 times, including at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He played rugby professionally in the United Kingdom.

Standout performance: Scully scored two tries in the Bears’ 41-10 road victory over University of British Columbia in 2010, and he scored four tries in a 76-0 victory over UCLA, his former school. While playing for the USA national team, he scored three tries against Japan and two against Canada.

Impact on his team: A versatile two-position player and one of Cal’s most skilled rugby players ever, Scully was a major factor in Cal’s two unbeaten national championship seasons in 2010 and 2011.

Previously on our list: 

No. 6: Michael Wolger

No. 7: Charlie Wi

No. 8: Davis Webb