NFF National Scholar-Athletes
LB - 3.73 GPA – Marine Engineering
Head Coach: Mike Toop | Athletics Director: Kristofer Schnatz
Faculty Athletics Representative: Michael Ales
Planning to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard following graduation, Joshua King has excelled at facing the rigors of balancing academics and athletics while attending a service academy. The Haymarket, Virginia, native becomes USMMA's first NFF National Scholar-Athlete.
Maintaining an outstanding 3.73 GPA, King will graduate in June 2022 with a degree in marine engineering and shipyard management. He has earned high honors on the Dean's List every trimester of college. King was named to the NEWMAC Academic All-Conference team in 2021.
A Second Team All-NEWMAC selection in 2021, King finished the season second on the Mariners with 66 tackles, including 5.5 tackles and 2.5 sacks, while also recording an interception and a forced fumble. The team captain guided USMMA to a 9-1 record, the most single-season wins in school history. The highlight of the season came in a dominant 49-14 victory over rival Coast Guard (CT) in the Secretaries' Cup for the Mariners' third-straight win in the series. The team concluded the season with a 63-35 win over Western New England (MA) to capture the 2021 New England Bowl, with King leading the team with 12 tackles.
In 2018, King led the Mariners to an 8-2 record and a win in the New England Bowl. In 2020, he recorded seven tackles in USMMA's only game of the season, the Mariners second straight win in the Secretaries' Cup over rival U.S. Coast Guard Academy (CT).
After serving as a Company Fitness Officer during First Rotation within the Regiment of Midshipmen, he took over as the Regimental Commander, the top position in the Regiment, on Thanksgiving. He has completed a number of deployments and internships, including a four-month deployment working in the engine room aboard the USCGC Polar Star sailing to the Arctic; a two-week internship with the U.S. Coast Guard in Florida; and a five-week internship with Naval Sea Systems Command at General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego and Washington, D.C.
In June 2020, King organized and led a peaceful Black Lives Matter event in his hometown featuring activists, law enforcement, religious leaders and a voter registration. A year later, he participated in the Brunch of Hope anti-racism event in Haymarket. The vice president of both the Coast Guard Club and the Cultural Diversity Club, King is active with the Cultural Diversity & Inclusion Committee. He is the solo-appointed midshipman representative for the USMMA Historical Review Panel, and he served as a platoon commander for the training of incoming Academy plebe candidates in July. Upon graduation, King plans to commission as an ensign in the U.S. Coast Guard.
