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.

Shay Kerry

English-born New Zealander Shay Kerry played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2024. He represented the Toronto Arrows for his entire MLR career.

Kerry began his professional rugby career in NZ with Bay of Plenty, but has spent the vast majority of it flipping between England and France. He moved back to England to player with the Worcester Warriors in the Premiership for the 2013/14 season., then moved to France to play with Oyonnax in between the Top14 and ProD2, before moving to Narbonne in the Federale 1. Kerry returned to England for the 2019/20 season, representing Ampthill in the Championship, before moving to the Jersey Reds for 2020/21 then back to France with Rouen Normandie in the ProD2.

The Toronto Arrows announced the signing of Kerry in April 2023, part-way through the MLR season for that year. He earned 6 MLR caps (5 starts), racking up over 150m gained and 51 successful tackles in an injury-riddled season. On 17th November 2023, the Toronto Arrows announced the return of Shay Kerry for the 2024 MLR season. Unfortunately, the Arrows withdrew from MLR in late November 2023, and Kerry has not returned to MLR.

Mika Felix

USA-Eligible New Zealand prop Mika Felix played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2024. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2022) the Chicago Hounds (2023), and Anthem RD (2024).

Felix played with the USA U20 team in 2020, and toured with the USA Falcons to Montevideo, Uruguay in 2022. He spent the 2022 MLR season with the Austin Gilgronis but did not appear in a MLR game for the AGs prior to their disqualification and subsequent cessation of operations in August 2022.

Mika Felix earned his MLR debut during the 2023 season after signing with the Chicago Hounds for their inaugural campaign in the competition. He earned 5 appearances in total including his first start, and on 10th November 2023, the Chicago Hounds announced the re-signing of Mika Felix for 2024.

 

Conor Young

Canada-Eligible Australian prop Conor Young played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2025. He represented the New England Free Jacks (2023) and Rugby FC LA (2024-2025).

The NSW native represented Canada at U20 level in 2015, the same year he started playing for the Southern Districts in New South Wales’ Shute Shield competition. He also appeared a handful of times for the Greater Sydney Rams in the NRC. Young has played in Scotland’s Super 6 competition, representing the Southern Knights. In September 2022, the New England Free Jacks announced the signing of Conor Young ahead of the 2023 MLR season. He earned 4 MLR caps for the Free Jacks during their Championship-Winning 2023 season, and was chosen to represent Canada, which he did 5 times in 2023.

In early December of 2023, the Free Jacks announced that they had re-signed Conor Young for the 2024 MLR season, however on December 19th, the New England Free Jacks traded Conor Young to Rugby FC LA in exchange for 2024 Cap Considerations (Unknown). Young’s signing with LA was confirmed when they revealed their entire roster on 21st December 2023. Young earned his first MLR start for RFCLA in 2024, totalling 8 starts and 15 appearances for LA in their first season following relocation from Atlanta. He earned a MLR Team of the Week selection for his performance in Round 9.

On November 28th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the re-signing of Conor Young for the 2025 MLR season alongside fellow Canadian international, Andrew Coe, although Young did not feature for LA in 2025.

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Isaac Bales

Iowa native Isaac Bales played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2025. He represented Rugby ATL (2022-2023) and the Miami Sharks (2024-2025).

Bales attended Glenwood Community School and captained the Full Armor Glenwood Rams. He attended the University of Louisville, playing rugby throughout and graduating in 2021. He declared for the 2021 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected 12th Overall by Rugby ATL. Following his successful draft, he captained the USA Rugby South team in 2022.

Bales has had awful luck with injuries. a knee injury sidelined him for his rookie MLR season in 2022, but he returned to play for the Rugby ATL academy team, Pathway 404, during their Fall season that year. He earned his MLR debut the following season in 2023, earning 3 appearances for the RATLers off the bench. Later in 2023 Bales was selected to tour South America with the USA Hawks, and play for the USA Academy. Injury struck again while playing for the academy, however. This second injury ruled him out of the entire 2024 season, for which he had signed with the Miami Sharks.

Bales has been working his way back from injury again in preparation for the 2025 season, and on December 11th, 2024, the Miami Sharks confirmed the signing of Isaac Bales for the 2025 Season. Bales managed to earn his Sharks debut off of the bench during the 2025 season, helping them to qualify for the post-season for the first time in team history. With the Sharks withdrawing from the 2026 MLR campaign, Bales’ future is currently unknown.

achievements
  • MLR Draftee: 2021 – 1st Round (12th Overall) – Rugby ATL