Club McNaughton joined the
Ruarí Óg senior team as a sixteen-year-old in 1981. He won his first
championship medal that year following a one-point defeat of
Ballycastle in a replay of the decider. It was the club's first championship title. McNaughton later added an
Ulster medal to his collection following a 4–17 to 0–9 trouncing of
Portaferry. Four years later Cushendall were back in another county decider.
Loughgiel Shamrocks provided the opposition, however, a 4–13 to 1–12 victory gave McNaughton a second championship medal. He later won a second Ulster medal following a 0–19 to 0–10 victory over
Ballycran. Cushendall failed to retain the title once again, however, McNaughton collected a third championship medal in 1987 following a defeat of
O'Donovan Rossa. He later won a third Ulster title following a 3–10 to 1–6 defeat of Ballycran. After a few years out of the limelight Cushendall bounced back in 1991 to become the dominant force in Antrim hurling once again. Three successive championship decider victories over St. John's (1991) and Ballycastle (1992 and 1993) brought McNaughton's medal tally to six. He also won back-to-back Ulster medals in the first two years following defeat of Portaferry and
Ballygalget respectively. 1996 saw McNaughton win a seventh championship as Ballycastle were bested once again. He later collected a sixth Ulster medal as Portaferry were beaten by 3–9 to 2–8. Three years later McNaughton was in the twilight of his career when he captured his eighth championship medal following a defeat of
Dunloy. He finished off his club career by winning a seventh Ulster title following a 1–12 to 1–8 defeat of Ballygalget.
Inter-county McNaughton was just sixteen when he joined the Antrim senior team in 1981. It was a successful debut year as he secured an
All-Ireland medal in the "B" grade as Antrim narrowly defeated
London by 3–17 to 3–14. Antrim retained their All-Ireland title in 1982, with McNaughton collecting a second winners' medal following another narrow 2–16 to 2–14 defeat of London. In 1989 the Ulster championship was revived after a forty-five-year absence. Antrim and
Down contested the decider, with McNaughton collecting his first provincial medal following a 2–16 to 0–9 victory. Antrim later defeated
Kildare in the All-Ireland quarter-final before lining out against
Offaly in the penultimate game of the championship. Offaly were the red hot favourites going into the game, however, McNaughton's side shocked their opponents and won the game by 4–15 to 1–15 courtesy of a brace of goals from
Olcan McFetridge and another brace from
Aidan McCarry. Offaly, in spite of losing, recognised the historic nature of the victory and applauded Antrim while lining up in a guard of honour as the team left the field. On 3 September 1989 Antrim faced
Tipperary in a unique All-Ireland final. It was the Glensmen's first championship decider in forty-six years. The game was a one-sided affair from start to finish, with Tipp's
Nicky English setting a new scoring record by bagging 2–12 in the 4–24 to 3–9 victory. In 1990 McNaughton added a second Ulster medal to his collection following a 4–11 to 2–11 defeat of Down. Antrim made it three-in-a-row in Ulster in 1991 with McNaughton collecting his third provincial medal following a 3–14 to 3–10 defeat of Down once again. In spite of a narrow defeat by
Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final, McNaughton was subsequently presented with an
All-Star. Four-in-a-row proved beyond Antrim, however, a 0–24 to 0–11 drubbing of reigning champions Down in 1993 gave McNaughton a fourth Ulster medal. McNaughton added a fifth to his collection in 1994 following a 1–19 to 1–13 defeat of Down in the sixth successive meeting between these two sides in the provincial decider. Antrim lost their provincial crown in 1995, however, McNaughton won a sixth and final Ulster medal in 1996 as Down were defeated once again by 1–20 to 2–12. An Ulster final defeat by
Derry in 1997 brought the curtain down on McNaughton's inter-county career. ==Managerial career==