League: Major League Rugby

Founded in 2017 with it’s inaugural season played in 2018, Major League Rugby (MLR) is the highest level of professional rugby in North America.

Zach Bastres

Colorado Native Zach Bastres played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2026. He represented the New England Free Jacks (2022-2024, 2026), and the Miami Sharks (2025).

A native of Erie, CO, Bastres played football and tennis up until his sophomore year at Monarch High School when he began playing rugby. The team won the D1 State Championship in 2017, his senior year. Bastres attended the University of Northern Colorado between 2017-2021, playing rugby throughout where he was selected to the D2 Rocky Mountain All-Conference Team in 2019, and earning multiple MVP titles at UNC. Bastres declared for the 2021 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected in the 3rd Round, 34th overall, by the New England Free Jacks, who he signed with for the 2022 season.

Bastres would represent the Free Jacks for three MLR seasons, earning 5 starts in 13 games and scoring 2 tries. The Free Jacks would claim back-to-back MLR Shields in 2023-2024 with Bastres a depth member of the squad. He completed a career high 30 tackles in 2024, averaging 10 tackles a game in a very deep Free Jacks squad. On 26th December 2024, the Miami Sharks announced the signing of Zach Bastres as a free agent for the 2025 season, his 4th in MLR and first not on the Free Jacks. He did not appear for the Sharks at MLR level, however.

With the Miami Sharks withdrawing from MLR in August 2025, Zach Bastres found himself without an MLR contract to begin the 2026 season. However, on 6th May 2026 he was included on the New England Free Jacks Availability Report ahead of Round 7, suggesting that the Colorado native had re-signed with the team that drafted him.

Achievements

Isaac Olson

Canadian utility back Isaac Olson played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2025. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

A native of Vernon, British Columbia, Olson played rugby through high school at Fulton Secondary School where he also played gridiron football and basketball. Following his graduation in 2018, Olson began playing club rugby with Coldstream Rugby Club and Okanagan RFC, and was selected for the Canada U20 side that played an exhibition series against Portugal. He joined the Pacific Pride high performance pathway in 2020, and earned his international test debut for Canada in November 2021 against Belgium.

Olson has played with the New England Free Jacks since 2022, earning 13 MLR appearances as the Free Jacks have dominated the Eastern Conference. He scored his only try to date in 2023 when the Free Jacks lifted their first shield, and earned his first MLR start in 2024, when they won their second. On November 6th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the return of Isaac Olson for the 2025 MLR season.

achievements
  • 2024 MLR Champion: New England Free Jacks
  • 2023 MLR Champion: New England Free Jacks

Jesse Parete

Kiwi back row Jesse Parete represented the New England Free Jacks in Major League Rugby during the 2022 & 2023 seasons. A part of the Free Jacks team that finished with the best record in MLR history at the time (13-3), the 29yo former Highlanders man earned 8 MLR caps (5 starts) during the 2022 season, scoring 1 try.

He gained 274m on 52 ball carries and made 43 tackles for a success rate of 71.67%. He earned the nickname ‘The Pest’ from Free Jacks fans.

On October 12, 2022, an ARN report concerning the Free Jacks signing of Mitch Jacobson confirmed that Jesse Parete would not be returning for MLR’s 2023 season, but circumstances change and in March 2023 the Free Jacks announced that Parete would return for the remainder of the 2023 season. Parete’s 2023 season was a mixed bag. Although the Free Jacks did capture their first MLR Shield, he earned a further 6 MLR caps but also received 2 red cards (both for cumulative yellows) and earned a number of sanctions that came along with it, placing him on the sidelines more regularly than the pitch.

He was included on the Taranaki Bulls roster when they announced it for their 2023 NPC roster, and it is unknown if Jesse Parete will return for the 2024 MLR season.

MLR Achievements:

  • 2023 MLR Champion – NE Free Jacks
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Week 8
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Week 13

Terrell Peita

New Zealand back rower Terrell Peita played in Major League Rugby during the 2022 season. He reprensented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

Although only 21 when he joined New England, Peita had already featured for Auckland in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship a number of times as well as representing their U19 side. He plays his club rugby with Ponsonby, and has already been selected for the Blues U20 and All Blacks U20 squads in his young career.

The New England Free Jacks announced the signing of Peita in November 2021 ahead of the 2022 season. The young back row started 8 of his 10 appearances for the Free Jacks in his debut season, scoring 1 try and runniong for over 300m gained in possession while completing 65 tackles. Peita was initially signed on a 3yr deal through the 2024 MLR season, but headed back to New Zealand after the 2022 campaign to rejoin Auckland, scoring 4 tries in 5 games during the 2022 NPC. Although he has represented Auckland, Manawatu, and Northland in the NPC since leaving the Free Jacks, he has not returned to MLR.

Tevita Sole

Tongan prop Tevita Sole played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2026. He represented the New England Free Jacks (2022-2023, 2025-2026) and the Miami Sharks on loan in 2024.

Born and raised in Tonga, Sole moved to New Zealand in 2019 and played with the Bay of Plenty U19s under former Free Jacks Assistant coach Mike Brown. He appeared in 1 game for the China Lions in the short-lived Global Rapid Rugby competition, before returning to NZ during the COVID-19 pandemic and playing with Bay of Plenty once again.

Sole joined the New England Free Jacks ahead of the 2022 season, playing primarily as a reserve front row in his debut season in MLR, earning 2 starts and 11 caps total. He scored his first MLR try the following year, scoring once in 7 games (2 starts) as the Free Jacks lifted their first ever Shield, defeating the San Diego Legion 24-25 in Chicago. Sole spent the first half of the 2024 season on loan to Miami Sharks, earning 6 appearances and a career best 3 MLR starts before returning to the Free Jacks Lineup on May 13th, 2024, coming off the bench in the MLR Championship game for the Free Jacks as they defeated the Seattle Seawolves 11-20 in San Diego.

On November 13th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the return of Tevita Sole for the 2025 MLR season, where he continued his upward trajectory with career highs in appearances (12) and starts (5), and passing 200 career tackles with 60 on the season during the Free Jacks’ successful threepeat, earning both their, and his, third successive MLR Shield. On 24th November, the New England Free Jacks announced the return of Tevita Sole for his 5th MLR season in 2026, where he should become US-eligible.

achievements

Foster DeWitt

Canadian front row Foster DeWitt played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2025. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

a native of Courtenay, British Columbia, DeWitt played rugby with the Comox Valley Kickers while attending G.P Vanier Secondary, before enrolling at the University of British Columbia, representing the UBC Thunderbirds between 2014-2016. He joined the Pacific Pride high performance pathway team in 2020 after playing with Westshore RFC. DeWitt was included in the Canada squad for their 2021 summer tour of the UK but did not feature, and instead made his test debut against Belgium in November 2021.

DeWitt has represented the New England Free Jacks since they began to dominate the Eastern Conference in 2022, and earned 35 MLR appearances (9 starts) across 3 seasons, scoring 1 try per season. He has completed 195 tackles and came off the bench during the 2024 MLR Championship Game, which the Free Jacks won. On November 6th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the return of Foster DeWitt for the 2025 season. DeWitt earned another 11 appearances for the Free Jacks in 2025, taking his career total to 46 games, all for New England. He added 55 tackles to reach an even 250 in his careers, with 3 tries scored on 494m gained in possession. With Major League Rugby considering Canadian players as non-domestic for 2026, the Free Jacks had to shift from their reliance on Canadians, and 3x Champion DeWitt could not return to MLR. Instead, he signed with Uruguayan club Peñarol, the reigning Super Rugby Americas Champions

achievements

Jack Reeves

English centre/wing Jack Reeves played in Major League Rugby in 2022, and again in 2025. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

Born in Bristol, Reeves began playing rugby at the age of 5 with Dursley RFC in Gloucestershire, before entering the Gloucester rugby program in 2014 and representing England at both U18 and U20 level, playing in the U20 Six Nations Championship and World Rugby U20 Championship in 2019. He continued to play in the Gloucester system, earning two Premiership Rugby Cup appearances in 2021/22 before joining the New England Free Jacks on loan, earning 12 appearances and 6 starts in the 2022 seasons the Free Jacks finished the regular season with the best record in MLR, 13-3, before falling to Rugby New York in the Eastern Conference Final, where Reeves came off the bench.

Following the 2022 season Reeves returned to Gloucester and earned his first Premiership appearance in November 2022 against the Sale Sharks. Between 2022-2024 he split his playing time between the premiership and the Championship, representing Hartpury in the Championship, and Gloucester in the Premiership Rugby Cup, Premiership, and even a handful of games in the Champions Cup. During the 2024/25 season he again represented Gloucester in the Premiership Rugby Cup, and earned his Challenge Cup debut for the club. On December 13th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the return of Jack Reeves for their 2025 MLR season.

A talented athlete with four British Championship medals in Judo, Jack’s father Ross Reeves played with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL and represented Canada in bobsleigh. With his father having been Canadian by birth, this makes Jack Reeves Canada-eligible and deemed a domestic player for MLR.

achievements
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 9

Cam Davidowicz

Massachusetts native Cam Davidowicz played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2025. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

A Haverhill, MA native, Cam Davidowicz began playing rugby during high school, playing with the Essex County Bulldogs before continuing the sport at Plymouth State University. He represented Mystic River at amateur level where he caught the eye of the Free Jacks organization. He played with the New England Independents development program in 2020 and earned a spot on the Free Jacks roster as a training player in 2021. Following an impressive season with the Free Jacks Squad, Davidowicz earned a full-time MLR contract in 2022 and was a regular part of the New England roster during their back-to-back Championships, starting 7 of his 27 appearances and scoring 7 tries including a high of 5 in 2023.

At the start of 2025, Cam Davidowicz announced that he was stepping back from rugby to help on his families farm, but on 21st May 2025, the Free Jacks announced that they had signed Davidowicz just before the 2025 trade/signing deadline for the remainder of the season.

achievements