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.

Tommy Madaras

Mike Matarazzo

New York native Mike Matarazzo played in Major League Rugby between 2021-2024. He represented Rugby ATL (2021), Dallas Jackals (2022), and the Chicago Hounds (2023-2024).

A University of Notre Dame alum, Matarazzo was drafted 8th overall in MLR’s inaugural Collegiate Draft in 2020, by Rugby ATL (now part of the California Legion). He earned his MLR debut for the RATLers, starting in the final week of the 2021 regular season. Matarazzo spent his sophomore season with the Dallas Jackals for their inaugural MLR season in 2022, starting 13 of his career-best 14 games for the Texas club and scoring his first (and to date, only) MLR try.

In December 2022, the Chicago Hounds announced that they had signed Mike Matarazzo for their inaugural MLR season in 2023. Matarazzo earned a further 13 caps for the Hounds and completed over 100 tackles, earning his first MLR Team of the Week selection in Round 9. Through his first 3 seasons in MLR, he has earned 28 caps and 25 starts across 3 franchises, scoring 1 try. On 30th November 2023, the Hounds announced the return of Matarazzo for the 2024 season where he scored the 2nd try of his career, earning a 26th career start and 2 further appearances to take his career total to 30 in 4 MLR seasons.

Achievements:

MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Round 9
MLR Draftee: 2020 – 1st Round (8th Overall) – Rugby ATL

Ryan Bower

Bronson Teles

US-Eligible Danish forward Bronson Teles played in Major League Rugby between 2021-2022. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2021) and the Dallas Jackals (2022).

Born in Denmark but raised in Texas, Teles was a standout at the University of Arizona. His performances for the Wildcats earned him a Rudy Scholz Award nomination in 2020, the same year that he was drafted 21st overall by the Dallas Jackals in the inaugural MLR Collegiate Draft in 2020. Upon the Jackals’ deferring entry to 2022, Bronson Teles signed with the Houston SaberCats for the 2021 season. He started 2 of his 11 appearances for the ‘Cats mainly in a reserve role.

When the Dallas Jackals finally did enter the league ahead of the 2022 season, Teles returned to the club that drafted him. He started 11 of his 15 games for the Jackals in 2021, completing a huge 169 tackles and gained 230m in possession.

Achievements

MLR Draftee: 2020 – 2nd Round (21st Overall) – Dallas Jackals

Tom Brusati

Ryan James

California native Ryan James played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2022, and again between 2024-2026. He represented the Colorado Raptors (2020), the LA Giltinis (2021-2022), the San Diego Legion (2024-2025), and California Legion (2026).

The San Diego native played with the San Diego Legion academy side in 2019 before being picked up by the Colorado Raptors in November 2019 ahead of the 2020 MLR season in which he made his debut before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. following the 2020 season, the Colorado Raptors pulled out of MLR and the league held a dispersal draft in which James was selected by the Dallas Jackals ahead of their inaugural MLR season in 2021. However, due to uncertainties raised by the ongoing pandemic, the Dallas Jackals delayed their entry into MLR until the 2022 season, and James was picked up by the LA Giltinis in a second dispersal draft for players signed with the Jackals.

James earned 15 appearances for LA in their inaugural season, 13 in the regular season (6 starts) and 2 in the Championship Series, scoring 5 tries total including a brace in the Giltinis‘ 17-13 Semifinal victory over the Utah Warriors, en route to lifting the MLR Shield in their first season. James followed up this impressive season with another 10 caps (6 starts) in 2022, scoring 1 try before the Giltinis was disqualified from the 2022 season just before the Championship Series, along with the Austin Gilgronis. After the Giltinis ceased operations James signed with his old club, rebranded as the American Raptors, ahead of their inaugural season in the Super Rugby Americas competition.

On 23rd October 2023, the San Diego Legion announced that they had signed Ryan James for the 2024 MLR season, where finally got a chance to represent his local team at MLR level, scoring 1 try in 12 games (all starts) for the Legion and racking up over 800m in possession as San Diego finished the regular season with a strong 11-5 record. James did not feature in the Legion’s 2024 playoffs. On November 14th, 2024, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Ryan James for their 2025 season, James’ 5th in MLR. Although the San Diego Legion missed out on the postseason by a single point, Ryan James enjoyed a stand-out season. He matched his career high of 5 tries, and set a new career high by starting all 15 of his games. He was 1 tackle off matching his career high there, and only 8 behind his career high of 821m gained. For his considerable efforts, James was named as the San Diego Legion’s 2025 Back of the Year.

On January 22nd, 2026 following the merging of the San Diego Legion with Rugby FC LA to form the California Legion shortly after the conclusion of the 2025 MLR season, the California Legion announced that they had signed Ryan James for their inaugural 2026 season.