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.

Le’Donn Mathis

Ohio native Le’Donn Mathis played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 MLR season. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

A native of Cincinnati, OH, Mathis began playing rugby while attending Withrow University High School, thanks to coach Nathan Myers. He played at Withrow for two years before graduating and enrolling at Iowa Central Community College. He played rugby at ICCC for 3 years before switching to rugby powerhouse Lindenwood University, earning CRAA All-American 2nd team honours with the Lions in 2022 & 2024, and helping the team to the 2024 Midwest Rugby Conference title.

Thanks to his play at Lindenwood, Mathis was chosen as one of 50 players to attend MLR Rising, a high performance combine prior to the 2024 MLR Collegiate Draft where he was selected in the 2nd Round, 24th Overall, by Anthem RC. His signing was confirmed when Anthem RC revealed their complete 2025 roster on January 21st, 2025.

NARDB Player #1,378

Ishma-eel Safodien

US-Eligible South African scrum-half Ishma-eel Safodien played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

A native of Cape Town, Safodien attended Rondebosch Boys’ High School, the same school as Anthem RC teammate Graeme Pedegana. He represented his school during the 2019 Craven Week before graduating and enrolling at Life University in the United States. Safodien played for the Running Eagles from 2020 until his graduation in 2024, captaining the team for the 2023/24 season and earning a Rudy Scholz nomination that same year.

Following his graduation from Life U, Anthem RC signed Ishma-eel Safodien to a Homegrown Player Contract for the 2025 MLR season, during which he will become US-eligible on residency. This signing was confirmed when Anthem RC announced their complete 2025 roster on January 21st, 2025. In his debut MLR season, Safodien scored 2 tries in 13 appearances, starting 3 times and gaining over 150m in possession as a 9, completing 38 tackles. On December 9th, 2026, Anthem RC announced the return of Ishma-eel Safodien for his 2nd MLR season in 2026.

NARDB Player #1,377

Ethan Howard

Californian back row Ethan Howard played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

A native of Huntington Beach, CA, Howard attended Orange Lutheran High School while also playing rugby with the San Clemente Rhinos, where he played from 2013-2018 before joining the Back Bay Sharks youth team from 2019-2020. Howard attended Davenport University between 2020-2024 alongside fellow Anthem player Colin Turner. While playing with the Panthers, Howard was selected to represent the USA U18 and U23 teams, and was named a Collegiate All-American.

Following his graduation, Anthem RC signed Howard to a Homegrown Player Contract for the 2025 season. Ethan Howard’s signing was confirmed when Anthem RC revealed their full 2025 roster on January 21st, 2025.

NARDB Player #1,376

EJ Freeman

Georgia native Ernest ‘EJ’ Freeman played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

Born in Marietta, GA to Liberian parents, EJ Freeman moved to Frankfurt, Germany when he was 13 where he discovered rugby in the non-traditional rugby nation. Freeman picked up German quickly and progressed through the German age-grade sides, playing with the German U18 Sevens team as well as the German U18 & U20 XV sides. After a number of years in Germany, Freeman headed to England, attending Sedbergh Boarding School in Cumbria where he was moved from the center to the back row. Following his time in England, Freeman headed back to the United States, enrolling at the University of Arizona where he represented the Wildcats from 2020-2024.

While at UofA, Freeman was selected for the USA U20 side and was nominated for the Rudy Scholz award twice. He declared for the 2024 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected with the 1st pick of the 2nd Round, 13th Overall by Anthem RC. His signing was confirmed by Anthem when they revealed their full roster for 2025. In his debut professional season, Freeman started 7 of his 13 appearances and scored his first professional try, racking up over 125m gained in possession and completing 72 tackles on defence. On 29th November 2025, Anthem RC announced the return of EJ Freeman for their 2026 campaign, alongside Alejandro Martinez Tapia.

achievements

2024 MLR Draftee: 13th Overall (2nd Rd) – Anthem RC

Colin Turner

Californian flanker Colin Turner played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

A native of Irvine, CA, Turner attended Woodbridge High School before enrolling with Davenport University, where he played with the Panthers between 2020-2024. While at Davenport, Turner was included in the USA Selects squad for the 2021 Americas Pacific Challenge competition. Following his graduation from Davenport, Anthem RC signed Colin Turner to a Homegrown Player contract, and included him when they released their full roster for 2025 on January 21st, 2025.

NARDB Player #1,374

Ashawnty Staples-Flowers

Ohio native Ashawnty Staples-Flowers played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

A native of Toledo, OH, Staples-Flowers attended Calvin M. Woodward High School, playing club rugby with the Toledo Junior Celtics. He was named Mr. Rugby Ohio in 2019 before enrolling at Notre Dame College, which he attended from 2019-2024. He helped the Falcons to a 2023 NCR D1 Championship and was included on the Goff Report’s D1 Hot 100 list in 2024. Staples-Flowers delcared for the 2024 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected with the 1st pick of the 3rd Round (25th Overall) by Anthem RC, becoming just the 3rd player to have been drafted out of Notre Dame College.

On January 21st, 2025, Anthem RC included Ashawnty Staples-Flowers when their revealed their full roster for 2025.

achievements

2024 MLR Draftee: 25th Overall (3rd Rd) – Anthem RC

NARDB Player #1,373

Alejandro Martinez Tapia

Ohio native Alejandro Martinez ‘Alex’ Tapia played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

A native of Hilliard, OH, Tapia attended Davidson High School where he first started playing rugby before attending rugby powerhouse Lindenwood University between 2020-2024. He was invited to a USA Sevens team camp in 2023, and earned First Team All-American honours in 2024. He plays his club rugby with Charlotte Rugby Club’s ARP side, and was signed by Anthem RC on a homegrown player contract. Tapia was included when Anthem revealed their full roster for the 2025 season on January 21st, 2025. In his debut MLR season, Martinez Tapia started 9 of his 12 appearances for the Rising Stars, completing 90 tackles and running for 178m gained in possession.

On November 29th, 2025, Anthem RC announced the return of Alejandro Martinez Tapia for the 2026 season, along with EJ Freeman.

NARDB Player #1,372

Neil Trainor

US-born Canadian hooker Neil Trainor played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

Trainor was born in Columbia, MD and moved to Stratford, Ontario at a young age. He began playing rugby while at Stratford Northwest Secondary School between 2015-2019, also playing with Stratford Blackswans RFC U18s from 2016-2018, and continues to play with the Blackswans senior side at club level (2019- present). Trainor played with the Onatio U18 side before attending Queen’s University in the fall of 2019, playing with the Golden Gaels 2nd XV from 2019-2020, and the 1st XV from 2021-2023. He finished as an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) silver medallist twice with the Gaels, in 2021 & 2023, and played with the Toronto Arrows senior academy in the summer of 2023, lifting the Coast-to-Coast Cup.

Neil Trainor declared for the 2024 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected 2nd overall by Anthem RC, becoming the highest drafted Canadian in MLR history. Following his graduation from Queen’s, Trainor joined Rugby Canada’s Development Academy, the Pacific Pride, and played there until the MLR Pre-season camps opened, when he reported to Anthem RC, who included him on their full 2025 roster on January 21st, 2025. Having been born in the US and therefore eligible to play for the USA, Anthem’s signing of Trainor have led many to speculate that he may be in Scott Lawrence’s sights for the USA Eagles, rather than the Maple Leaf.

Trainor earned his MLR debut for Anthem RC off of the bench in their Round 11 clash with the Seattle Seawolves. This was his only MLR action during his rookie season

Achievements

2024 MLR Draftee: 1st Round (2nd Overall) – Anthem RC

NARDB Player #1,371

Erich Storti

Californian centre Erich Storti played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

A native of Concord, CA, Storti was a stand-out at high school level at De La Salle HS, and followed in the footsteps of his father Marty by attending St. Mary’s College. Storti played rugby for the Gaels and helped them to a D1A National Championship in the spring of 2024, earning MVP honours in the final. Storti has already had a sniff with the USA National Team when he was called up to the squad in the summer of 2024, but had to wait a few months for his test debut. He became Eagle #582 in November 2024 against Portugal.

Storti declared for the 2024 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected 1st overall by Anthem RC, who confirmed the signing of Erich Storti when they revealed their full 2025 roster on January 21st, 2025. He was one of six draftees selected from St. Mary’s College in 2024. Storti started the season strongly, scoring two tries in his first 3 games and earning his first MLR Team of the Week selection in Round 3, where Anthem fell to the Miami Sharks in a knife-edge 31-32 game. In his rookie season, Storti started 11 of his 12 appearances and gained over 350m in possession, recording 76 tackles in defence. On 7th November 2025 while Storti was on tour with the USA national team for their November tests, Anthem RC announced the return of Erich Storti for his 2nd MLR campaign in 2026.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 7
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 3
2024 MLR Draftee: 1st Overall Pick – Anthem RC

NARDB Player #1,370

Lone Ika

Utah native Amulone ‘Lone’ Ika played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the Utah Warriors for his entire MLR career.

Born in Spanish Fork, UT, and raised in Tonga, Ika attended Liahona high school in Tonga, and represented the Tonga U20 side in the 2014 World Rugby U20 Trophy, where he played on the wing. In 2016, Ika headed to Australia and joined the Western Sydney Two Blues for the 2016 Shute Shield season. Following this, he dipped his toe into rugby league, playing with the Avondale Wombats in New South Wales between 2017-2018, before heading back to Utah and joining the Provo Steelers as player/coach in 2019. Following the COVID-19 pandemic he returned to Australia, representing the Western Sydney Two Blues once again, for the 2024 Shute Shield season.

Ika returned to Utah following the Shute Shield season in 2024, where he took up a position as Assistant Coach with the Utah Valley University (UVU) rugby team, in the Rocky Mountain Conference D1A. On January 20th, 2025, the Utah Warriors announced the signing of Lone Ika for their 2025 MLR campaign, his first in the competition. His signing was announced alongside 2023 MLR draftee Ronnie McElligott.

NARDB Player #1,369