KoiKoi Nelligan

Washington DC Native KoiKoi Nelligan played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2026. He represented Old Glory DC for his entire MLR career.

A native of Bethesda, MD, KoiKoi Nelligan swam and captained both the lacrosse and football teams at Severn School, winning MVP honours in both Lacrosse and Football. Nelligan enrolled at Army West Point and turned his athleticism towards rugby, playing with the Army team. Following his graduation from West Point, Nelligan declared for the 2022 MLR Collegiate Draft where he was selected in the 3rd Round, 34th overall by the San Diego Legion. On 7th December 2022 before he had a chance to suit up for the Legion, Nelligan was traded to his hometown Old Glory DC in exchange for DC’s 1st Round Draft pick in 2023 (10th overall, used to select James Rivers).

Having been signed by Old Glory DC ahead of the 2023 season, Nelligan earned his MLR debut and first MLR start for the Flags during the 2023 season, earning a pair of appearances in his rookie season. On 12th December 2023, Old Glory DC announced the return of Koikoi Nelligan for the 2024 MLR season and although he didn’t start a game in 2024, he earned 13 appearances for Old Glory DC and scored his first two MLR tries that year to help the Flags back to the postseason.

On December 2nd, 2024, Old Glory DC announced the return of Koi Koi Nelligan for his 3rd MLR season in 2025 where he took another step forward. In 2025, Nelligan scored 3 tries and started 5 of his 16 appearances to help the Flags back to the postseason for the 3rd year in a row. He completed over 100 tackles for the first time in his career (114) and gained 127m in possession, setting career highs across the board and earning a pair of MLR Team of the Week nominations for his performances. On 2nd December 2025, Old Glory DC announced the return of KoiKoi Nelligan for the 2026 season, his 4th in the competition

achievements
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 5
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 4
  • 2022 MLR Draftee: 3rd Round (34th Overall) – San Diego Legion

Jason Tidwell

Texas Native Jason Tidwell played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2026. He represented the Dallas Jackals (2023-2024), Anthem RC (2025), and the Chicago Hounds (2026).

Tidwell began playing with Alliance Rugby at the age of 10, and founded the Gorilla Rugby invitational side that competes at a number of Sevens tournaments across the US. Tidwell has a gorilla tattoo on his left thigh. He attended Texas A&M University, captaining the rugby team while there and was drafted in the 3rd round, 36th overall, by the Dallas Jackals in the 2022 MLR Collegiate Draft.

Tidwell earned limited game time in 2022, earning 3 appearances off the bench as the Jackals began to turn things around after a dreadful inaugural season. Tidwell’s sophomore season was a standout however, earning a further 16 appearances and starting 7 times, scoring 3 tries and racking up over 600m gained. One of Tidwell’s tries came in the Dallas Jackals‘ first ever MLR Playoff game, as they stunned the 14-2 Houston SaberCats by a score of 22-34 in the Western Conference Semifinal, advancing to the Western Conference Final against the Seattle Seawolves, where they fell 25-28.

For his efforts in his 2nd MLR season, Tidwell was named as the Dallas Jackals Most Improved Player for 2024. Following the withdrawal of the Dallas Jackals from MLR shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 season, Jason Tidwell declared for the subsequent dispersal draft and was selected 9th by Anthem RC. His signing was confirmed on 21st January, 2025 when Anthem RC unveiled their complete roster for the 2025 MLR season. Tidwell started all 10 of his games for Anthem RC in 2025, scoring another 3 tries and gaining over 300m in possession for the Rising Stars. Having made the most of limited game time early in his pro career and earning a regular starting spot with Anthem RC, Jason Tidwell headed northwest and signed with the Chicago Hounds ahead of their 2026 MLR campaign.

achievements

Tinashe Muchena

US-eligible Zimbabwean back row Tinashe Muchena played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2025, representing the Houston SaberCats (2022, 2025), and the Chicago Hounds (2023-2024).

Muchena became the first Zimbabwean ever selected in the MLR Collegiate draft when he was picked 15th overall by the Houston SaberCats in the 2021 Draft. The 2021 Rudy Scholtz Award nominee was not considered US-eligible during the 2022 MLR season and with international slots a commodity in MLR, he played with Houston‘s academy team Rugby HTX. The Lindenwood product signed with the Chicago Hounds expansion side in February 2023 and earned 5 MLR caps during the 2023 season, earning 2 starts and a Team of the Week selection in Round 17.

On October 30th 2023, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of Tinashe Muchena for the 2024 MLR season where he earned an additional 2 MLR appearances including 1 start. On March 11th, 2025, 4 rounds into the 2025 MLR season, the Houston SaberCats announced the signing of Tinashe Muchena for the remainder of the 2025 season, returning full circle to the team that drafted him. In his second stint with the ‘Cats, Muchena earned a 4th career MLR start and 4 further appearances to take his career total to 11 in 3 seasons. He also completed 27 tackles to help the SaberCats secure a post-season spot, eventually advancing to the 2025 MLR Championship game, where they fell to the New England Free Jacks.

Achievements:

Chris Hilsenbeck

California born test capped German fly-half Chris Hilsenbeck played in Major League Rugby in 2023, and again in 2025-2026. He represented Rugby ATL (2023) and the Chicago Hounds (2025-2026).

Prior to his move to MLR, Hilsenbeck had spent his entire professional career playing in France in the Pro D2, mainly with Vannes where he had over well over 100 appearances, and over 800pts. Rugby ATL announced the signing of then-31yo Hilsenbeck on May 17th, 2023 for the remainder of the season, joining from US Carcassonne. Hilsenbeck started all 4 of his appearances for Rugby ATL in 2023, kicking 11pts and going 5/7 from the tee. Following the 2023 season, and news that Rugby ATL had changed ownership and would be relocating, Hilsenbeck returned to Europe and the ProD2, where he joined Biarritz.

On February 9th, 2025, 1 week before the MLR season kicked off, the agency representing Chris Hilsenbeck, KHAOS Sports, announced that US-eligible Hilsenbeck had signed with the Chicago Hounds for the 2025 MLR season. Hilsenbeck stepped up in a huge way for the Hounds in the 2025 season, starting 12 of his 15 games and scoring 1 try and 109pts in total. He started both of Chicago’s postseason games including their Eastern Conference Final clash with the New England Free Jacks, were he had an opportunity to win the game in the final minute, but his penalty kick rang off the upright in Quincy, and the Free Jacks knocked the Chicago Hounds out by a score of 21-20. Hilsenbeck earned two Team of the Week selections in 2025 and finished as the Top Scorer of the 2025 MLR season and was the only player to finish with over 100pts scored. For his performance in 2025, Hilsenbeck was named to the All-MLR 1st XV.

Although capped for Germany, US-born Hilsenbeck was included in the USA Eagles squad for their 2025 July tests, and earned his debut as Eagle #590 when he came off the bench in a 36-17 victory over Belgium on July 5th, 2025. 4 months later to the day on 5th November 2025, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of Hilsenbeck for their 2026 MLR campaign.

achievements

James Hilterbrand

Australian-born USA Eagle James Hilterbrand featured in Major League Rugby during the 2022 & 2023 seasons.

The Front row signed with San Diego Legion head of the 2022 MLR season and earned 3 caps (all starts) including their one playoff game in 2022.

Following his stint with the Legion, Hilterbrand played with the Manly Marlins in the Shute Shield competition in Australia, but on May 17th, 2023 the New England Free Jacks announce the signing of Hilterbrand for the remainder of the 2023 Major League Rugby season.

Stephan Bernal-Wendt

Crossover Athlete Stephan Bernal-Wendt played Major league Rugby between 2023-2025. He represented the Utah Warriors (2023) and Anthem RC (2024-2025).

Hawaiian native Stephan Bernal-Wendt played gridiron football through high school, as well as four years of rugby through high school. He stuck with his football career into university, playing as an Offensive Linesman with the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, from 2017-2022.

Following university, Bernal-Wendt turned his attention to rugby full time, and toured with the USA Hawks to South America before signing with the Utah Warriors on May 12th, 2023 for the back end of the 2023 MLR season, although he did not see game time. Following the inception of Anthem RC just prior to the 2024 season, Bernal-Wendt joined the MLR, USA Rugby and World Rugby partnership team for the 2024 MLR season where he earned his debut, starting two of his 12 appearances in Anthem’s inaugural season, that saw them deliver improving performances despite their 0-16 record. Listed at 300lbs, the prop is one of the heaviest players in MLR history.

Stephan Bernal-Wendt was included in the Anthem RC squad for 2025 when they revealed their full roster on January 21st, 2025.

Liam Bowman

Ontario native Liam Bowman joined Major League Rugby between 2023 & 2024 representing his local MLR team, the Toronto Arrows.

Bowman’s signing by the Arrows was announced on May 9th, 2023, towards the end of the 2023 Regular season. The former Canada u20 Captain returned to Toronto having spend 2 years with Academy of Pro D2 side US Montauban in France. The 21yo (at time of signing) had also represented the Pacific Pride, Canada’s high-performance development side and Captained the Canada u18 side.

In his debut MLR season, Bowman scored 2 tries in 5 caps (3 starts), racking up 231m gained. A strong showing from the young back resulted in an extension with the Toronto Arrows, which was announced on 4th October, 2023. With the Arrows withdrawing from MLR in November 2023, Bowman has not returned to MLR.

John Dupree

California native John DuPree played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2024. He represented the Utah Warriors for his entire MLR career.

A native of Lincoln, CA, John DuPree attended the Central Washington University, representing the CWU Men’s Rugby side while there. Following his graduation, DuPree declared for the 2022 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected in the 3rd Rd (33rd overall) by the Utah Warriors, who signed him ahead of the 2023 MLR season.

He earned 2 MLR appearances off the bench for the Warriors in his rookie season, completing 6 tackles and gaining 14m. On 1st November 2023, the Utah Warriors announced the re-signing of John DuPree for the 2024 season where his numbers jumped hugely. He earned his first MLR start, starting 3 of his 5 games for the Warriors and scored his 1st career MLR try with 35m gained and 22 tackles completed.

Following the 2024 MLR season, DuPree represented the Serengeti Elephants in the 2024 Rugby Tens Championship and in 2025, DuPree had returned to Washington State and was playing with the Washington Athletics Club 7s team.

Achievements:

 

Niko Jones

New Zealand back row Niko Jones played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2024. He represented Old Glory DC for his entire MLR career.

The son of former All Blacks flanker Sir Michael Jones, Niko played for the first XV during high school and signed with the New Zealand Sevens team after his graduation in 2018, although injury prevented his playing. Jones has played with Auckland in NZ’s National Provincial Championship (NPC) since 2020 and earned his Super Rugby debut for the Moana Pasifika in 2022.

Jones joined Old Glory DC in April 2023, mid-way through that year’s MLR season, He earned 6 appearances (all starts) for the Flags during the regular season and started both of DC’s games in the 2023 Championship Series as they made it to the Eastern Conference Final before falling 25-7 to the eventual champions, the New England Free Jacks. Jones racked up over 450m gained with ball in hand and completed 78 tackles in just 8 games. Jones returned to the NPC with Auckland following the 2023 MLR season, but on 23rd January 2024, Old Glory DC announced the return of Niko Jones for their 2024 campaign, his second in Major League Rugby.

Sam Faoagali

American Samoan born, New Zealand raised hooker Sam Faoagali played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2024. He represented the Utah Warriors (2023) and the Chicago Hounds (2024).

Although raised in New Zealand, Faoagali played for Perth Bayswater in Australia alongside his 3 brothers Falaniko, Joseph, and Mathew Faoagali (who represented the Houston SaberCats in 2019). Faoagali played with the Utah Warriors academy for part of 2023, before being selected for the USA Hawks Development team for their tour of South America. Upon his return, he joined the Chicago Hounds Academy for their fall 2023 season, starting against both San Diego and Toronto.

Due to his previous relationship with the USA Hawks, Faoagali could have been a prime candidate for the next evolution of the Hawks, a full MLR side purely focused on developing US talent, Anthem RC. However, on 17th January 2024, the Utah Warriors (who still held his rights) formally traded Faoagali to the Chicago Hounds in exchange for 2024 Salary Cap Considerations (unknown). The Hounds confirmed Faoagali’s signing on 19 January 2024.