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.

Ryan Louwrens

South African scrum-half Ryan Louwrens represented the Austin Gilgronis in Major League Rugby’s 2022 season.

One of the stand-out scrum-halves of the 2022 season, Louwrens earned 14 caps for the AGs (12 starts), recording 633 passes for a success rate of 88.78% and earning 2 Team of the Week nods.

On 30th June, 2022 it was announced that Louwrens had signed with the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby, on a 2yr deal.

MLR Honours:

2022 Team of the Week – Round 5
2022 Team of the Week – Round 17
2022 Honourable Mention XV

Marcel Brache

California born utility back Marcel Brache played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2025. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2022) and the San Diego Legion (2023-2025).

At test level, Marcel Brache earned his debut for the USA in November 2016, and is Eagle #503. He represented the USA at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, and played with the Eagles through their qualifying campaign for the 2023 RWC in France. Raised in South Africa, Brache attended the University of Cape Town and played in the 2010-2011 Varsity Cup. He played with Western Province between 2010-2013 in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup, and made his Super Rugby debut with the Stormers in 2012. Brache moved to Australia and played with the Perth Spirit in the Western Force system between 2014-2017, and the Western Force itself between 2014-2021.

Following his time with the Western Force, Brache signed with the Austin Gilgronis ahead of the 2022 MLR season. He appeared in 13 regular season games for the AGs, starting 12 and scoring 1 try. The Gilgronis finished the regular season as the #1 team in the Western Conference, but prior to the Championship Series, both the Gilgronis and their sister team, the LA Giltinis, were disqualified due to alleged Salary Cap violations. Following these announcements and the subsequent folding of both franchises, Brache signed with the San Diego Legion ahead of the 2023 MLR season. He earned a career high 14 appearances (all starts) in the Legion’s record 15-1 season as they advanced to the Championship Final, where they fell 24-25 to the New England Free Jacks.

On 23rd December 2023, the San Diego Legion announced the return of then-36yo Marcel Brache for the 2024 MLR season where he added another 2 tries in 14 games (13 starts) and recorded over 750m gained to take his career total over 2,300m. On November 13th, 2024, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Marcel Brache for his 4th MLR season in 2025, his 3rd with the Legion. Brache earned his 50th MLR appearance during the 2025 season, starting 5 of his 12 appearances and adding 2pts with his first successful MLR place kick. The Legion fell short of playoff qualification that season by a single point, finishing with an 8-8 record.

Following the Legion’s elimination from the 2025 season, the San Diego Legion and Brache announced his retirement from rugby. The USA Eagle finished with 5 tries scored and 33pts, starting 44 of his 53 MLR appearances. He completed over 300 tackles and gained just shy of 2,500m in possession in his MLR career.

achievements

2023 MLR Runner-Up: San Diego Legion
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 2

Mark O’Keeffe

Irish centre/wing Mark O’Keeffe played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2026. He represented Rugby United New York (2019-2020), Rugby ATL (2021), the Austin Gilgronis (2022), and the Chicago Hounds (2023-2026).

Prior to MLR, O’Keeffe played with Lansdowne FC in Division 1A of the Ulster Bank All-Ireland League. He had also played with the Leinster U19s and Connacht U20s in his youth. His initial move stateside was announced by Rugby United New York in January 2019 ahead of their inaugural season in MLR that year. He earned 14 caps in his debut season (13 starts), scoring 4 tries as the Roosters made the playoffs in their first season. O’Keeffe remained in New York for the 2020 season, earning 3 more caps (all starts) and another try before COVID-19 shut the season down after only 5 rounds.

O’Keeffe has been a stalwart in the starting lineups of every team he has been in, earning a total of 67 caps (61 starts) across 4 MLR franchises through the 2024 regular season, and has played in the inaugural seasons of 2 of those clubs, Rugby United New York in 2019, and the Chicago Hounds in 2023. While representing Rugby ATL in the 2021 season, O’Keeffe earned 4 MLR Team of the Week selections, only NY’s Nate Brakeley received more (5). For his performance in 2021, he was awarded an All-MLR 2nd XV selection. O’Keeffe has scored over 5 tries in 2 seasons, with a high of 8 in 14 games (all starts) for the Austin Gilgronis in 2022 when he finished T-7th league-wide in try scoring and 9th league-wide for Meters Gained, with 1,215m, bettering his effort from 2021 earning an All-MLR 1st XV selection. As of the conclusion of the 2024 season, O’Keeffe had scored 25 tries in MLR, placing him T-9th All-Time.

Along with his 2021 All-MLR 2nd XV and 2022 All-MLR 1st XV selections O’Keeffe has earned 11 Team of the Week selections, at least two for every team he has represented. On 22nd November 2023, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of Mark O’Keeffe for the 2024 MLR season, just before the start of which it came out that World Rugby had granted O’Keeffe US-eligibility along with fellow Irishman and former New York and ATL teammate Will Leonard. This means that for matchday rosters, O’Keeffe will count as a domestic player rather than against the team’s international count. On November 16th, 2024, O’Keeffe earned his international debut for the USA as Eagle #584 in a dominant 36-17 victory over Tonga in France.

On January 9th, 2025, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of Mark O’Keeffe for a third season with the team, and 7th in Major League Rugby. That year, he added a 26th career MLR try, starting 7 of his 12 appearances after suffering an injury early in the year. He passed 400 career tackles completed and added 231m gained for 4770m in his career, the 6th highest MGained total in MLR history. On 28th October 2025, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of O’Keeffe for a 4th season as a Hound, and 8th in MLR.

Achievements:

MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 3
MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 5
MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 1
T-7th in MLR Try Scoring: 2022 (8)
9th in MLR Meters Gained: 2022 (1,215m)
2022 All-MLR 1st XV Selection: 2022 Austin Gilgronis
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 11
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 3
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 1
2021 MLR Runner-Up: Rugby ATL
2021 All-MLR 2nd XV Selection: Rugby ATL
MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 9
MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 8
MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 5
MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 3
MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Rd 9
MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Rd 7

Sidney Shoop

Indiana native Sidney Shoop played in MLR between 2021-2024. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2021-2022) and the Chicago Hounds (2023-2024).

Shoop went to AC Reynolds High School in North Carolina, playing football to the school while also travelling to South Carolina to play rugby with South Greenville RFC. Between 2017-2018 he attended 2 Eagle Impact Rugby Academy, before being recruited by the University of Arizona in 2018 and attending a Rugby Americas North Combine in 2019 in Glendale, Colorado. Later that year, Shoop headed to the PNW to play with Seattle RFC in the BC Premier League for the 2019/20 season. In the fall of 2020 he played with Rugby ATL’s academy side, Pathway 404.

Shoop earned a MLR contract with the Austin Gilgronis ahead of the 2021 season, earning 4 appearances for the AGs in his debut season, followed up by another 6 appearances for Austin in 2022, scoring his 1^st MLR try. The Gilgronis finished as the #1 seed in the Western Conference but were disqualified from the 2022 season (along with their sister team, the LA Giltinis) for alleged salary cap violations. Following the 2022 season, both the Gilgronis and the Giltinis folded and in the subsequent dispersal/expansion draft, Shoop was selected 39^th overall by the Chicago Hounds expansion side. Shoop signed with the Hounds for their inaugural MLR season in 2023, adding 7 appearances to his resume including his first 5 MLR starts.

On 17^th January 2024, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of Sid Shoop for his 4^th MLR season, and his 2^nd with the Hounds.

Lui Sitama

Samoa-born utility back Lui Sitama played in Major League Rugby between 2021-2023. He represented the Austin Gilronis (2021), Rugby ATL (2022), and the Dallas Jackals (2022-2023).

A product of American International College, US-eligible Samoan Lui Sitama was selected 4th overall by the Austin Gilgronis in the inaugural MLR Collegiate Draft in 2020. He earned his MLR debut in his rookie season with 1 appearance off the bench, gaining 40m in possession. Sitama signed with Rugby ATL ahead of the 2022 season, and earned 6 appearances with the RATLers including his first 3 MLR starts, scoring 2 tries before being traded to the Dallas Jackals on 3rd May 2022 along with Jalen Tatum in exchange for Salary Cap Considerations. Sitama would score a 3rd try for the Jackals in 3 games (all starts) in 2022.

Sitama stayed with the Dallas Jackals for their 2023 campaign, scoring a 4th career try and starting 7 of his career high 12 appearances, completing over 50 tackles for the second season in a row.

achievements

MLR Draftee: 2020 – 1st Round (4th overall) – Austin Gilgronis

David Still

Reegan O’Gorman

Vancouver native Reegan O’Gorman played in Major League Rugby between 2021-2025. He represented the Austin Gilgronis in 2021, before moving to the New England Free Jacks (2021-2023), and Rugby FC LA (2024-2025).

O’Gorman earned 5 appearances for the Austin Gilgronis in his debut season in MLR, following 2 season ending injuries in the 3 years prior to his debut. In December of 2021, the New England Free Jacks announced the signing of O’Gorman for the 2022 season. He played in New England for 2 seasons, earning a total of 21 caps with the Free Jacks including 9 in their 2023 Shield Winning season (6 starts including 1 in the Championship Series, a personal best), emerging as 24-25 victors over the San Diego Legion in Chicago.

On 16th October 2023, Rugby ATL (now LA) acquired Reegan O’Gorman from the New England Free Jacks in exchange for 2024 Salary Cap Considerations (unknown) and Rugby FC LA’s 2nd Rd Pick in the 2024 MLR Collegiate Draft (Matt Carrion). O’Gorman appeared in 12 games for RFCLA in their inaugural season, starting 11 times and completing over 100 tackles, earning a MLR Team of the Week selection for his performance in Round 12. On December 24th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the return of Reegan O’Gorman for his 2nd season with LA and 5th in MLR in 2025.