Season: MLR 2026

The 9th season of Major League Rugby saw the merging of the San Diego Legion and Rugby FC LA to form the California Legion, as well as the withdrawal of multiple teams to take the league from 11 sides in 2025, to 6 in 2026.

Alex Maughan

Charlotte native Alex Maughan played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2026. He represented the NOLA Gold (2019), Rugby ATL (2020-2023), Rugby FC LA (2024), and Anthem RC (2025-2026).

Maughan attended Life University between 2014-2018, playing in the formidable Running Eagles rugby team and captaining the two-time D1A National Champions in 2016 & 2018. While there, he earned his first test cap (of 5 to date) for the USA Eagles against Uruguay in the 2017 ARC. He is Eagle #508.

Maughan signed with the NOLA Gold in the back half of the 2019 season, earning 3 appearances and 2 starts in his debut MLR season. He then signed with Rugby ATL (who had close links with Life University) ahead of 2020, and started all 5 games before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, scoring 3 tries and finishing as T-6th in league try scoring at the point the season paused. Maughan played with the RATLers for 4 seasons, earning 53 caps (36 starts) with Rugby ATL through 2023, scoring all 18 of his tries to date.

When the league and Rugby ATL announced that a new ownership group had been found for the club, Alex Maughan moved with the team to LA, where it would become Rugby FC LA for the 2024 season, and Maughan was a big part of their inaugural season in LA and was named in the USA’s Extended Player Squad for their July tests. He was also included in the USA Eagles squad for their November tour, where he was listed as an Anthem RC player. This was confirmed when the MLR, USA Rugby, and World Rugby partnership team revealed their full 2025 roster on January 21st, 2025. Maughan started 8 of his 9 appearances for Anthem RC in his first season in Charlotte, racking up 73 tackles to pass 500 in his career, and sits just shy of 1000m gained as a front row.

On October 31st, 2025, Anthem RC announced the return of Alex Maughan for his 2nd season with the Rising Stars in 2026, and 8th in MLR.

Achievements
  • 2021 MLR Runner-Up: Rugby ATL
  • T-6th in League Try Scoring: 2020 (3)

John Lefevre

Virginia native John LeFevre played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2023 and again between 2025-2026. He represented Old Glory DC for his entire MLR career.

LeFevre attended Old Dominion University between 2016-2020, playing rugby throughout. Post his graduation, LeFevre played with NOVA Rugby and attended a USA U23 Pathway Camp in Glendale in the summer of 2021, and also represented the Old Glory DC U23 side. He joined the MLR squad for the 2022 season and earned 5 caps in his debut MLR season, and followed it up with a career high 11 appearances in 2023, earning his first start and scoring 2 tries for the Flags as they earned their first playoff berth in club history, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

On 11th January 2024, John LeFevre was included on the American Raptors roster for their 2024 Super Rugby Americas season. After spending 2024 with the Raptors and following the announcement that the Raptors would not play pro rugby in 2025, Old Glory DC announced the return of John LeFevre for the 2025 MLR season where he served a limited role with 2 appearances off the bench. On 9th January 2026, the Flags announced the return of John Lefevre for his 4th season with the team that year.

 

John Rizzo

Indiana native John Rizzo played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2026. He represented Old Glory DC for his entire MLR career.

The wing/fullback attended Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis between 2017 and 2021 with one semester at West Point, where he played D1A rugby for Army-West Point, and has played for Washington Irish RFC in the DC area outside of the MLR. Across his first 2 seasons in MLR, Rizzo earned 13 caps for Old Glory DC (4 starts), scoring 2 tries in the 2023 season when he racked up 239m gained. On 21st November 2023, Old Glory DC announced the return of John Rizzo for the 2024 MLR season.

In 2024, Rizzo had a statement season. He improved in almost every category, scoring 3 tries in 11 games (10 starts), racking up over 400m gained and completing over 60 tackles, all of which are PBs in MLR. He was named to the MLR Team of the Week in Round 5, and started Old Glory DC’s only playoff game that season, running the New England Free jacks close but ultimately falling 29-33 to the eventual Champions.

On December 13th, 2024, Old Glory DC announced the return of John Rizzo for his 4th MLR season in 2025, where he scored 5 tries in 12 games on 490m gained, all of which were career highs for Rizzo. He started 9 of his games and completed over 50 tackles (57) for the second season in a row. On 11th December 2025, Old Glory DC announced the return of John Rizzo for his 5th Major League Rugby season in 2026.

Achievements

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 7
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 4
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 8
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 5

Owen Sheehy

Maryland native Owen Sheehy played in Major League Rugby between 2021-2023, and again from 2025-2026. He represented Old Glory DC for his entire MLR career.

Born and raised in Bethesda, MD, Sheehy attended Gonzaga College High School between 2015-2018, playing rugby while there and helping the school to back-to-back national titles in 2017 & 2018. He was named a high school All-American in 2017. Following high school, Sheehy attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison between 2018-2022, and was selected for the USA U19 team in his freshman year.

Sheehy signed with Old Glory DC (co-founded by his father, former USA Eagle Paul Sheehy) ahead of the 2021 season, where he earned 3 MLR appearances off the bench. Sheehy returned for the 2022 season and over the next two years he earned 10 starts in 17 games for DC, and scored his first MLR try in 2023. He took a year away from MLR in 2024 but on January 8th, 2025, Old Glory DC announced the return of Owen Sheehy for his 4th MLR season in 2025. Sheehy scored a career high 4 tries during the 2025 season, recording just shy of 300m gained in possession to take his career total to 980m in 31 games played for Old Glory DC, starting 14 times. On 9th December 2025, Old Glory DC announced the return of Owen Sheehy for his 5th MLR campaign in 2026.

 

Cory Daniel

Maryland native Cory Daniel played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2025. He has represented his local MLR side, Old Glory DC for his entire MLR career, signing with them ahead of their inaugural season in 2020 but he did not appear at MLR level before the season was cancelled after 5 games due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Daniel earned his MLR debut in 2021, and finished the season with 8 caps (5 starts) and 3 tries. His impressive debut season and stand-out defensive work resulted in his selection to a 9-week development academy for the USA Men’s High-Performance Pathways program after which he was selected for the USA Eagles’ American Pacific Challenge in Uruguay. Daniel is a regular in the USA Eagles squad, featuring in both the 2024 PNC and 2025 July Tests

Daniel’s 2022 season was even more impressive than his debut season. He appeared in 15 of DC’s 16 games, starting 13 and scoring an additional 4 tries. On defence, he finished as the highest tackler in MLR during the regular season, with 255 completed tackles. A high school and university level wrestler, Daniel’s reputation as a fearsome tackler was warranted. He only appeared in 4 games (all starts) during 2023 before being sidelined with injury, but still contributed another try and 61 tackles in those 4 games, as DC made the post-season for the first time in club history, making it to the Eastern Conference Final before being defeated 25-7 by the eventual Champions, the New England Free Jacks.

On September 26th, 2023, Old Glory DC announced the re-signing of Cory Daniel for the 2024 MLR season, where he would earn a personal best 15 starts in 15 games, adding 4 tries to his total and finishing as the league’s highest tackler for the 2nd time in his MLR career, with an enormous 276 (a new PB), over 50 ahead of 2nd place (Utah’s Frank Lochore on 221). Old Glory DC qualified for the post-season for the 2nd year in a row, where they ran the eventual champions (again) New England Free Jacks close in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but fell 33-29 on the road. Daniel was named to the All-MLR First XV team for his outstanding season. On December 24th, 2024, Old Glory DC confirmed the return of Cory Daniel for the 2025 season where he continued his excellent form, putting together two great seasons in a row for the first time in his career. Daniel scored 3 tries and started all 15 of his appearances in 2025, helping Old Glory DC to qualify for the postseason for the 3rd season in a row, where they fell to the Chicago Hounds in the Eastern Conference Semifinal. Daniel continued his incredible tackling that season, recording his 3rd 225+ tackle season and finishing with 237 in total. This put him 2nd league-wide behind Utah’s Frank Lochore on an incredible 301, setting a new MLR record previous held by Daniel (276 in 2024).

Mid way through the 2025 season, on April 22nd, 2025, Old Glory DC announced that Cory Daniel had signed a contract extension with the team and would continue for Old Glory DC for 2026 ‘and beyond’. While it unclear what ‘and beyond’ entails, NARDB takes this to mean that it is a multi-year contract through at least 2027. This was confirmed on 21st October 2025, when Old Glory DC announced the return of Cory Daniel for their 2026 campaign. Daniel enjoyed another solid season with the Flags in 2026, starting all 11 of DC’s games that year and scoring 3 tries, beating 17 defenders on over 325m gained in possession and recording 1 try assist. On defence, his specialty, Daniel averaged a massive 15 tackles per game, completing an impressive 165 tackles to finish 2nd league-wide in this category behind Seattle’s Paddy Ryan on 181. In late May, Cory Daniel passed 1,000 career tackles in MLR, doing so in just 65 games. This surpassed Lucas Rumball’s 77 games to become the fastest player in MLR history to pass 1,000 tackles. For another great season, Daniel was named as Old Glory DC’s Most Valuable Player, and Man of Steel.

Achievements

  • 2026 Old Glory DC Man of Steel
  • 2026 Old Glory DC Most Valuable Player
  • 2nd in MLR Tackling: 2026 (165 Tackles)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 9
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 8
  • MLR Player of the Week: 2026 – Rd 3
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 3
  • 2nd in MLR Tackling: 2025 (237 Tackles)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 14
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 4
  • 2024 All-MLR First XV Selection: Old Glory DC
  • 1st in MLR Tackling: 2024 (276 Tackles)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 17
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 16
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 15
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 11
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 6
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 4
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 3
  • 1st in MLR Tackling: 2022 (255 Tackles)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 18
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 10

Jason Robertson

New Zealander Jason Robertson played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2021, and again between 2024-2026. He represented Old Glory DC for his entire MLR career.

Born in Zimbabwe but raised in New Zealand, Jason Robertson’s signing was announced by DC in November of 2019 ahead of the 2020 MLR season, joining from Bay of Plenty in New Zealand’s Mitre 10 (now the Bunning’s NPC) competition. Robertson’s debut MLR season was cut short due to the global COVID-19 pandemic after only 5 rounds. At the shutdown, Robertson was one of only 3 players to feature in the First XV 3 times that season, and was MLR’s leading scorer with 67pts in just 5 games and a success rate from the tee of 72.41%. That season he also finished T-7th in Meters Gained with 360m.

In his first full MLR season in 2021, he delivered a 108pt season with a success rate from the tee of 66.13% to finish 3rd in the league on scoring, behind Dan Hollinshead (111pts) and Sam Windsor (112pts). With 175pts in only 19 MLR games, Robertson was one of the most effective points scorers in the league. Following the 2022 MLR season, Robertson joined RC Narbonne in the French Pro D2, spending a season there before moving to Aviron Bayonnaise in the French top flight, the Top 14.

On September 7, 2023, Old Glory DC announced that Robertson would be returning to the nation’s capital for the 2024 MLR season where he continued his prolific scoring from the tee right where he left off. Robertson earned a career high 17 appearances and 15 starts (another career high), scoring 2 tries and a personal best 138pts, setting a new Old Glory DC record for points scored in a single season, and finishing 3rd in MLR scoring and one of only 4 players to pass 100pts in 2024. Old Glory DC qualified for the playoffs for the second season in a row but came up against a formidable New England Free Jacks side in the Eastern Conference Semifinal and although the Flags ran them close, they fell 29-33 as the Free Jacks would go on to lift the Shield that year. Robertson scored 7pts from the tee in that game, and his performances in 2024 earned him a spot on the 2024 All-MLR Honorable Mention XV.

On December 14th, 2024, Old Glory DC announced the return of Jason Robertson for the 2025 MLR season where he was a standout from the tee yet again. He kicked a game-winning conversion in the first game of the season, and kicked his 5th drop goal in Round 6 to become MLR’s all-time leading drop goal scorer with 5. Unfortunately for Robertson and DC, he suffered a season ending injury towards the middle of the campaign, and was sidelined for the rest of the year but not after adding 54pts to his career total. With 367pts scored through the end of the 2025 season, Jason Robertson was MLR’s 5th highest points scorer, and was the highest active scorer in MLR when Old Glory DC announced his return on 17th November 2025. He started all 10 regular season games for DC in an injury-free campaign, scoring a career high 3 tries and 88pts with 72.09% success from the tee. Along with 83 tackles made and 20 defenders beaten on over 200m gained, Robertson also contributed a massive 9 try assists to help the Flags finish 4th in the regular season and squeak into the MLR playoffs. Robertson did not feature in the postseason for DC as he returned to New Zealand to welcome his first child with his partner, but was named as the 2026 Old Glory DC Players’ Player of the Year for his consistently excellent performance that year. He was also named to the All-MLR First XV and was named the first MLR Comeback Player of the Year. At the conclusion of the 2026 season, Robertson was MLR’s 4th highest scorer ever with 455pts scored in 53 games (51 starts) for Old Glory DC including 10 tries and a 71.67% success rate from the tee in his MLR career.

While back in New Zealand, Robertson was included in the Bay of Plenty squad for their 2026 NPC season. Robertson has previously played with the Steamers between 2018-2019, and has also represented the Counties Manukau and Southland in the NPC. While playing with the Steamers on 1st October 2026, it was announced that Robertson was joining the Yakult Levins Toda in Division 3 of the Japanese Rugby League One for the 2026/27 season. With the JRLO campaign running from December 2026 to late May 2027, this rules Robertson out of the vast majority of the 2027 MLR campaign.

Achievements:
  • 2026 MLR Comeback Player of the Year
  • 2026 All-MLR First XV Selection
  • 2026 Old Glory DC Players’ Player of the Year
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 11
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 10
  • MLR Player of the Week: 2026 – Rd 8
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 8
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 3
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 8
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 1
  • 2024 All-MLR Honorable Mention XV: Old Glory DC
  • Old Glory DC Single Season Points Record (138pts) – 2024
  • 3rd in MLR Scoring: 2024 (138pts)
  • 100pt+ MLR Season – 2021 (108pts)
  • 3rd in MLR Scoring: 2021 (108pts)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 18
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 1
  • 1st in MLR Scoring: 2020 (67pts)
  • T-7th in MLR Meters Gained: 2020 (360)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Rd 5
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Rd 3
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Rd 2

Tevita Naqali

Fijian lock Tevita Naqali played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2025, representing Old Glory DC since their inaugural season in 2020.

Naqali started all 5 games of DC’s shortened 2020 campaign, followed by a personal best (at the time) of 14 in 2021 including 13 starts. As of the conclusion of the 2023 MLR season, Naqali had earned 42 MLR appearances and was one of only 3 OGDC players over 40 appearances for the club, and scored 5 tries for the Flags in his first 4 seasons in the Capital. Naqali started both of Old Glory’s Championship Series games in their 2023 playoff run, the first post-season appearance in club history. Naqali has been selected for the MLR Team of the Week a total of 5 times. 3 selections in 2022 and another 2 selections in 2023.

On 24th July 2023, Tevita Naqali was included on a travelling roster for White Plains RFC in New York, implying that he was plying his trade with the War Pigs during the MLR offseason. On 14th November 2023, Old Glory DC announced the return of Tevita Naqali for the 2024 MLR season, where he scored 2 tries in 12 games (10 starts) and gained over 500m in possession for the 3rd season in a row, earning his 6th Team of the Week selection in Round 10. The Flags qualified for the post-season again in 2024, and Naqali started their Eastern Conference Semifinal match where they pushed the New England Free Jacks all the way, falling just short in a 29-33 defeat to the eventual Champions.

On December 5th, 2024, Old Glory DC announced the return of Tevita Naqali for his 6th season with the Flags in 2025. That season, Naqali appeared in all 17 games for Old Glory DC, setting a new career high. He started 13 times (tying his career high) and scored 2 tries. He completed 132 tackles, recording over 115 tackles made for the 5th season in a row, and passed 2,500m gained in his MLR career. The Flags qualified for the postseason for the 3rd season in a row, where they fell to the Chicago Hounds in the Eastern Conference Semifinal. For his efforts in the 2025 season, the newly US-eligible Naqali was included in the Eagles squad for their 2025 July tests. Following the 2025 season, Naqali earned his test debut as Eagle #591 off the bench in a 36-17 victory over Belgium on July 5th, 2025, and was confirmed as returning for his 7th season in MLR and with Old Glory DC on October 23rd, 2025.

Achievements:

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 18
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 5
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 18
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 12
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 11

Zach Bastres

Colorado Native Zach Bastres played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2026. He represented the New England Free Jacks (2022-2024, 2026), and the Miami Sharks (2025).

A native of Erie, CO, Bastres played football and tennis up until his sophomore year at Monarch High School when he began playing rugby. The team won the D1 State Championship in 2017, his senior year. Bastres attended the University of Northern Colorado between 2017-2021, playing rugby throughout where he was selected to the D2 Rocky Mountain All-Conference Team in 2019, and earning multiple MVP titles at UNC. Bastres declared for the 2021 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected in the 3rd Round, 34th overall, by the New England Free Jacks, who he signed with for the 2022 season.

Bastres would represent the Free Jacks for three MLR seasons, earning 5 starts in 13 games and scoring 2 tries. The Free Jacks would claim back-to-back MLR Shields in 2023-2024 with Bastres a depth member of the squad. He completed a career high 30 tackles in 2024, averaging 10 tackles a game in a very deep Free Jacks squad. On 26th December 2024, the Miami Sharks announced the signing of Zach Bastres as a free agent for the 2025 season, his 4th in MLR and first not on the Free Jacks. He did not appear for the Sharks at MLR level, however.

With the Miami Sharks withdrawing from MLR in August 2025, Zach Bastres found himself without an MLR contract to begin the 2026 season. However, on 6th May 2026 he was included on the New England Free Jacks Availability Report ahead of Round 7, suggesting that the Colorado native had re-signed with the team that drafted him.

Achievements

Tevita Sole

Tongan prop Tevita Sole played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2026. He represented the New England Free Jacks (2022-2023, 2025-2026) and the Miami Sharks on loan in 2024.

Born and raised in Tonga, Sole moved to New Zealand in 2019 and played with the Bay of Plenty U19s under former Free Jacks Assistant coach Mike Brown. He appeared in 1 game for the China Lions in the short-lived Global Rapid Rugby competition, before returning to NZ during the COVID-19 pandemic and playing with Bay of Plenty once again.

Sole joined the New England Free Jacks ahead of the 2022 season, playing primarily as a reserve front row in his debut season in MLR, earning 2 starts and 11 caps total. He scored his first MLR try the following year, scoring once in 7 games (2 starts) as the Free Jacks lifted their first ever Shield, defeating the San Diego Legion 24-25 in Chicago. Sole spent the first half of the 2024 season on loan to Miami Sharks, earning 6 appearances and a career best 3 MLR starts before returning to the Free Jacks Lineup on May 13th, 2024, coming off the bench in the MLR Championship game for the Free Jacks as they defeated the Seattle Seawolves 11-20 in San Diego.

On November 13th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the return of Tevita Sole for the 2025 MLR season, where he continued his upward trajectory with career highs in appearances (12) and starts (5), and passing 200 career tackles with 60 on the season during the Free Jacks’ successful threepeat, earning both their, and his, third successive MLR Shield. On 24th November, the New England Free Jacks announced the return of Tevita Sole for his 5th MLR season in 2026, where he should become US-eligible.

achievements

Wayne van der Bank

South African centre Wayne van der Bank played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2026. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

Hailing from Pretoria, van der Bank started his rugby career with the Golden Lions XV in the Rugby Challenge between 2017-2019, and moving to the Currie Cup side later in 2019 before moving to play with the Pumas between 2020-2021.

Van der Bank joined the New England Free Jacks ahead of their 2022 season, scoring 3 tries in 16 games (14 starts) and gaining exactly 1,000m with ball in hand in his debut season in North America. He has played with the New England Free Jacks for 3 seasons in total including their Shield-Winning 2023 season. He’s earned 40 MLR appearances and scored 15 tries in MLR, 10 of which came in his standout 2024 season where he finished T-5th in MLR Try scoring and gained a PB of 1,068m and was named as Free Jacks Player’s Player of the Year, Free Jacks Player of the Year, and 1st Regiment Player of the Year (awarded by Free Jacks fans). Van der Bank also finished 6th in MLR tackling with 187 completed in 2024. That season, the Free Jacks successfully defended their title by defeating the Seattle Seawolves in San Diego by a score of 11-20 to earn back-to-back MLR titles, a game in which van der Bank started. The MLR also recognized van der Bank’s extraordinary 2024 season, selecting him for the All-MLR First XV and as the deserving winner of MLR Player of the Year for 2024.

On October 29th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced that van der Bank would return for the 2025 season, where he unsurprisingly took a step back from his spectacular 2024 season. He started 8 of his 14 appearances in 2025, scoring his 16th career MLR try and recording 85 tackles to pass 550 in his 57 game MLR career, as well as 3,000m gained thanks to 315m gained in possession to help the Free Jacks secure their, and van der Banks’, third successive MLR Shield. On 24th November 2025 the New England Free Jacks announced that they had re-signed Wayne van der Bank for the 2026 Major League Rugby season, where he should become US-eligible based on 5yrs of residence in the US.

achievements