Put ‘em in, coach. They’re ready to sail.

More than 1,000 soon-to-be Navy officers found out their future jobs Thursday at the U.S. Naval Academy with a unique reveal: a baseball jersey customized for the Navy or Marine Corps ‘team’ each senior was headed toward after graduation.

Future pilots got a blue button-up with “Navy Pilot” in gold — the colors of the Blue Angels. Surface Warfare Officers got blue-on-blue unis that read “SWO” while future Silent Service sailors wore under-the-sea themed aqua marine “Submarines” jerseys.

And the quarter of Annapolis seniors headed to the Marine Corps? Scarlet and gold, of course.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Three U.S. Naval Academy seniors celebrate their selection as future Marine Corps officers. Senior midshipmen learned on Nov. 20 what job they’ll be in after graduation by receiving a customized ‘team jersey’ for that field. Photo from Naval Academy Flickr page.</figcaption></figure>

The jerseys put a new twist on a long-running tradition of seniors at the three major service academies learning what job they are headed toward on the same day. The U.S Military Academy will hold its all-at-once event at Branch Night in early December, while the Air Force Academy’s assignment day is known as Job Drop. At Annapolis, midshipmen hold Service Selection ceremonies within their company, and senior classes often create their own memorabilia for the event. The last two classes, for example, passed out custom t-shirts.

But the Class of 2026 may have permanently raised the bar, with customized baseball jerseys ready for all 1,063 midshipmen as they learned what career field they’ll serve in.

<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Members of the Navy volleyball team in jerseys indicating their post-graduation careerfields. Photo from Navy volleyball Facebook page.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A Naval Academy senior selected for Marine Corps service. Photo from Navy Football Facebook page.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Naval Academy seniors in jersies for pilot, surface warfare officer, or SWO, and submarines. Navy photo by Kenneth D. Aston Jr.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Three Naval Academy seniors with the school’s Superintendent, Marine Lt. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte. Photo from Navy Football Facebook page.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Two Naval Academy seniors celebrate their selection as Navy Pilots. Photo from U.S Naval Academy Flickr page.</figcaption></figure>
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According to statistics released by the Academy, close to three-quarters of the class ended up in one of three tracks: aviation (237 pilots and 64 naval flight officers), surface warfare (260), or into the Marines (267, with 178 headed to ground jobs, 81 pilots, and eight into Marine cyber forces).

Among smaller jobs, according to the school, 30 students will train in Naval Special Warfare, which includes SEALs, and 18 in Explosive Ordnance Disposal — two jobs considered among the most competitive to land at the school (notably, in several dozen photos released by the school of hundreds of celebrating students, none show students in jerseys for either job).

Seven students will join the civil engineer corps, while 14 will be assigned to cyber or cryptological warfare. Four seniors will next go to medical school to join the medical corps, three will be in oceanography, and one student will be an Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer. 

Academy officials said 79% percent of the seniors got their first choice for a job.

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