California native Alex ‘Ale’ Lopeti played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2026. He represented the NOLA Gold (2022-2025) and the California Legion (2026).

The younger brother of Seattle Seawolves player Tavite Lopeti, Ale had been playing with the Austin Gilgronis academy side (the Outlaws) in the fall of 2021 before signing with the Gold ahead of the 2022 MLR season. He earned his MLR debut and a total of 4 caps during his debut season. The Gold re-signed him ahead of the 2023 season, where Lopeti added another 6 caps to his resume including his first MLR start and first MLR try. On the back of his performances through his sophomore seaosn, Lopeti was selected as the Gold’s Most Improved Player for the 2023 season.

On 24th December 2023 (Christmas Eve), the NOLA Gold announced the return of Ale Lopeti for the 2024 MLR season, where he more than doubled his career highs for appearances (from 6 to 14) and tackles completed (38 to 88) while also scoring two tries to bring his career total to 3. He came off the bench during the Gold’s first ever playoff game in 2024, a defeat to the Chicago Hounds in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. On December 26th, 2024, the NOLA Gold announced the return of Ale Lopeti for the 2025 season. Lopeti enjoyed a career year despite a disappointing year for the NOLA Gold in 2025. He earned 11 of his 13 career starts, and earned a career high 15 appearances to take his career total to 39 appearances, all for the Gold. Lopeti scored 4 tries (another career high) on 126m gained, and recorded over 100 tackles made for the first time in his career. Unfortunately, the NOLA Gold missed out on the postseason, and withdrew from MLR completely during the 2025/26 offseason.

Following this withdrawal, Alex Lopeti returned to his home state of California, and on 24th February 2026 he was announced by the California Legion ahead of their inaugural season.

Achievements

• 2023 NOLA Gold Most Improved Player