Californian wing/center Mateo Gadsden played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2020 season and again between 2024-2025. He represented the Colorado Raptors (2019-2020) and Anthem RC (2024-2025).

Born in Oceanside, CA, Gadsden played rugby and basketball while at Long Beach Polytechnic High School for two years before transferring to Newport Harbor High School. His rugby career continued, playing with the Back Bay Rugby U18s and the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy (EIRA), touring Ireland with EIRA, and France and Ontario on separate tours with the USA Rugby High School All-Americans. He played with the USA U18 7s team alongside Mika Kruse in 2017, before joining the Glendale Rugby Academy in 2018, playing with the Raptors during their Fall season that year.

Gadsden’s first toe dip into MLR came when he signed an Associate Player contract with the Glendale Raptors for the 2019 season, but didn’t see MLR action, instead playing with the Glendale Merlins. He stayed in the Raptors system for the 2020 season but did not see action before the MLR season was cancelled after only 5 rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He played with the USA U20s in 2020, as well as Queen City RFC and Tennessee Elite Rugby in 2023, and returned to MLR in early 2024 with Anthem RC, an expansion team announced 6 weeks before the season started as a partnership between MLR, USA Rugby, and World Rugby.

Gadsden scored 1 try and started 5 of his 9 games for Anthem RC in their inaugural 2024 season, completing 76 tackles as the team’s performances improved despite the 0-16 record. On January 21st, 2025, Anthem RC confirmed the return of Mateo Gadsden for a second season when included him on their full 2025 roster.