The 2026 Major League Rugby Collegiate Draft is the 7th draft in MLR history, held on 27th August, 2026. The purpose of this draft is to provide a pathway for players from US and Canadian based colleges into professional rugby.
The 2026 MLR Draft followed the same structure as previous drafts. The draft order was determined by the reverse finishing order during the 2026 season, including placements earned during the 2026 Championship Series. In situations where teams are eliminated at the same stage of the Championship Series, the lower ranked team during the regular season will pick before the higher ranked. Unlike the 2025 draft that also allowed college athletes from other sports to declare, the 2026 draft required aspiring draftees to have competed in College or University Rugby during the 2025-2026 academic year.
Although Major League Rugby had removed the ‘Domestic Player’ status from Canadian players for the 2026 season, Canadian college athletes were still eligible to declare for the 2026 Draft. However, as draftees already struggle for game time in MLR during their rookie seasons and Canadian draftees would take up a valuable international player spot, the chances of Canadians being drafted in 2026 is very low unless they are also eligible to represent the USA.
As mentioned above, the 2026 MLR Collegiate Draft took place on 27th August 2026 following the conclusion of the 2026 season in late June. The deadline for player declaration for the draft was August 24th, 2026. The below table highlights the current draft picks that each MLR team has for the 2026 Draft:
Current Draft Pick Landscape – 2026 MLR Collegiate Draft
| Team | 1st Rd | 2nd Rd | 3rd Rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthem RC |   | | |
| California Legion |  | | |
| Chicago Hounds |  | | |
| New England Free Jacks | – | | |
| Old Glory DC |  | | |
| Seattle Seawolves |  | | |
The 2026 MLR Collegiate Draft Class
Once the 2026 Draft has happened, the below table will show the complete 2026 MLR Collegiate Draft Class. With the removal of the Trade Wire following the 2025 season, it is currently unknown if teams are able to trade draft picks but an explanation of any pick movement will be found in the ‘Notes’ column below.
| Rd | Overall Pick # | Team | Player Name | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | | ||||
| 1 | 2 | | Acquired from NE Free Jacks | |||
| 1 | 3 | | ||||
| 1 | 4 | | ||||
| 1 | 5 | | ||||
| 1 | 6 | | ||||
| 2 | 7 | | ||||
| 2 | 8 | | ||||
| 2 | 9 | | ||||
| 2 | 10 | | ||||
| 2 | 11 | | ||||
| 2 | 12 | | ||||
| 3 | 13 | | ||||
| 3 | 14 | | ||||
| 3 | 15 | | ||||
| 3 | 16 | | ||||
| 3 | 17 | | ||||
| 3 | 18 | |
The below tables show how many picks each MLR team had during the 2025 draft, and which Colleges had the most draftees selected: