Tag: Chicago Hounds

MLR Player Moves Summary: December 1 – December 7, 2025

NARDatabase

James Deeley

December has arrived and the 6 remaining Major League Rugby teams are getting deep into their Christmas shopping ahead of the 2026 season. The schedule for next year’s campaign has been made public, it’s just over 100 days until MLR rugby returns! Between re-signing known quantities, and picking up standouts from the fallen teams after what has been (and continues to be) a frenetic and defining off-season for the League.

Welcome back to NARDB’s Player Move Summary Article series! Every week, these articles aim to keep fans up to date on every single player announcement to, from, and all around Major League Rugby ahead of the 2026 season. This series only covers the players announced by the teams themselves, but that doesn’t mean that NARDB isn’t listening to any rumours that are out there. As always, the summary graphic for Player Moves between December 1st to 7th, 2025, followed by the re-signings section:

The 2-page Summary Graphic for all Player Moves around Major League Rugby last week: December 1-7, 2025

Re-Signings

On 2nd December, Old Glory DC announced the return of DMV native and West Point grad KoiKoi Nelligan for his 4th Major League Rugby season in 2026. The 26yo hooker was selected in the 3rd Round of the 2022 MLR Draft, 34th overall by the San Diego Legion, and was traded to his hometown Old Glory DC shortly afterwards in exchange for a pick that was eventually used to draft James Rivers 10th overall in 2023. Since moving to the Flags, Nelligan has scored 5 tries in 31 appearances, and set career highs across the board in 2025 when he started 5 of his 16 games, scoring 3 tries and recorded 127m gained in possession and 114 tackles completed, more than doubling his career total in both categories and earning a pair of Team of the Week selections for his efforts last season. Nelligan is the first hooker announced by Old Glory DC for their 2026 campaign, and only the 2nd front row player after Bart Vermeulen.

A couple of days later, Old Glory DC also announced the return of Californian lock and MLR draftee Bill Whiteside for his 3rd season with the team in 2026. The Lindenwood alum declared for the 2022 MLR Draft and was selected in the 3rd Round, 29th Overall by New York and spent the 2023 season with the Ironworkers but did not feature at MLR level. Following the Ironworkers’ withdrawal from Major League Rugby in November 2023, Bill Whiteside was named in the Old Glory DC ‘greater training squad’ ahead of the 2024 season, where he earned his pro debut for the Flags. He earned 12 appearances (4 starts) for Old Glory that year, gaining just shy of 50m in possession and completing 58 tackles. Whiteside returned for the 2025 season, matching his 4 starts from the season before in 1 additional appearance to take him to 25 in his career. He also completed a career high 64 tackles to help the Flags qualify for their 3rd straight postseason. Bill Whiteside will join the likes of Tevita Naqali and 2023 1st overall pick Rick Rose in the Old Glory DC second row in 2026.

Kicking off the week in the PNW came the announcement that the Seattle Seawolves had re-signed Major League Rugby veteran scrumhalf JP Smith for his 8th season with Seattle in 2026. Since entering MLR ahead of the 2019 season, Smith has earned a plethora of achievements: A MLR Champion and Finals MVP in 2019, 2x Runner-up in 2022 & 2024, 3x All-MLR Selection including a 1st XV nod in 2022, and an 2024 MLR Ironman (appeared in every game) to just kick things off. Smith is one of only 4 players to earn over 100 appearances in Major League Rugby, and is currently tied for 2nd with former Utah Warrior Angus MacLellan on 106. He was the first player in League history to reach 100 appearances with a single club (closely followed by MacLellan) and has the 2nd most starts in League history with 96, behind Dylan Fawsitt on 101. The Seawolves stalwart has recorded over 1,700m gained in possession and has completed 711 tackles, more than any scrumhalf in League history (4th among backs, behind 3 centres)! Internationally, the South African earned his test debut for the USA (for whom he is eligible on residency) as Eagle #572 in July 2024 against Romania in Chicago, and has earned 9 caps for the Eagles since. JP Smith is the only scrumhalf announced for the Seattle Seawolves so far but with buckets of League and test experience, will be an invaluable addition right in the middle of things for the Seawolves.

Source: @seawolvesrugby via Instagram

On 3rd December, the New England Free Jacks announced a pair of returning halfbacks for their 2026 title defence. The Free Jacks confirmed the return of US-eligible scrumhalf Oscar Lennon for his 3rd season, having scored 3 tries and 33pts across 21 games since 2024, including a pair of tries and 28pts total in 16 games in 2025 alone. He set career highs with 215m gained and 60 tackles completed to more than triple his career totals in both categories. A 2x Champion, Lennon will be part of a scrum-half tandem with Ethan McVeigh and may enjoy a jump in game time now that long time Free Jacks scrumhalf John Poland has moved on. Announced alongside Oscar Lennon was Boston born Harrison Boyle who is returning for a 4th MLR season in 2026. Capable of playing fly-half or fullback, Boyle first played with the Free Jacks between 2021-2022 before returning to New Zealand to complete his education. He has started 24 of his 41 MLR appearances for New England across 3 seasons, scoring 3 tries including a pair in 2025 where he recorded a career high 315m gained to help the Free Jacks secure their 3rd successive MLR Shield, the first of Boyle’s career. With Joel Hodgson signed at fly-half and Mitch Wilson returning as likely fullback, Boyle is likely to serve as a very capable back-up both those positions in 2026.

Intra-League Signings

The Seattle Seawolves kicked off their Player Moves for last week with the announcement that they had added capped USA Eagle Paddy Ryan for their 2026 campaign. Born and raised in County Kildare in Ireland, Ryan earned his international debut for the USA as Eagle #560 in 2023 while playing in the English Championship for Coventry, having previously played for the Bedford Blues as well as Prem side Northampton, with whom he won the Premiership Rugby Cup in 2019. Ryan entered MLR with the San Diego Legion late in the 2024 season, and represented the Legion through the 2025 campaign, earning 15 appearances (6 starts) and completed over 100 tackles in 2025 alone, averaging 13.5 tackles in his 8 appearances during an injury-hit season. With San Diego merging with RFCLA to form the California Legion, Paddy Ryan became a free agent and it’s the Seattle Seawolves who won the sweepstakes to sign him. Interesting tidbit, he is the 3rd ‘Paddy Ryan’ to have played in Major League Rugby, and all 3 have played for the San Diego Legion at some point in their careers.

Shortly after the Seattle Seawolves got the ball rolling, Anthem RC jumped in with a new acquisition of their own: Julian Roberts. A Life University graduate in 2023, Roberts declared for that year’s MLR Draft and was selected 6th overall by the NOLA Gold, where he played from 2024-2025. He was named as NOLA Gold’s Rookie of the Year for 2024, scoring 2 tries in 11 games (4 starts) and racking up over 350m gained in possession. Despite the Gold’s struggles the following year, Roberts enjoyed a breakout season. He started all 10 of his appearances, scoring 4 tries and gained more than double the metres of his rookie season, up to 740m while also doubling his tackle count from 18 to 36 in 1 fewer appearance (albeit far more minutes). He also earned a MLR Team of the Week selection for his performance in Round 9. This is a good move for Anthem RC, who now have the likes of Conner Mooneyham, Malacchi Esdale, and Julian Roberts in the back three. Two of which are already capped USA Eagles and if his performances keep improving, 25yo Julian Roberts may well earn a cap of his own.

Roberts wasn’t the only former-NOLA player heading to Charlotte. On 3rd December Anthem RC announced the addition of former Gold Captain, Major League Rugby veteran and capped USA Eagle Moni Tonga’uiha for their 2026 season. An MLR original, Tonga’uiha is one of only 4 players to have passed 100 games in the competition, earning all 102 of his appearances with the NOLA Gold between 2018-2025. He has scored 16 tries to date including a career high of 5 in 14 games in 2025, when he also recorded over 120 tackles completed for the 5th successive season. This pushed Tonga’uiha’s career tackle total over 900, and he is currently sat 7th all-time with 911. This goes along with the 2nd most metres gained of any forward in League history, 4,317m. With the likes of Makeen Alikhan, Sam Golla, and Johan Momsen already signed to the Anthem RC back row, there is going to be a lot of competition – and power – at the back of the Anthem scrum in 2026!

Source: @anthemrugby via Instagram

Anthem RC weren’t quite finished there, however. On 5th December they announced the signing of 28yo Tennesseean prop Oli Kane to add to their 2026 pack. Kane attended the University of San Diego and declared for the 2022 MLR Draft where he was selected in the 2nd Round, 21st Overall, by the San Diego Legion. He earned his Pro debut in the final round of the 2023 regular season against the Seattle Seawolves, and earned 13 appearances for the Legion in total including 9 in 2025 alone, and will be hoping to make his first professional start for the Rising Stars in 2026. Kane joins capped USA Eagles props Payton Telea-Ilalio and Alex Maughan at Anthem RC, with likely a few more props yet to be announced.

Over to Chicago where the Hounds announced they they had added another big addition to their stacked roster for 2026: 2025 Championship MVP Brock Webster! The Ontario native has been capped for Canada at both 7s and 15s level, and started his MLR journey with the Toronto Arrows back in 2022, earning 5 appearances before joining the Canadian Sevens program. Webster returned to MLR with the New England Free Jacks in 2025, scoring 2 tries and 20pts in total in 16 games (15 starts) during 2025. He was a menace in the 2025 Championship Final, tearing up the Houston SaberCats defence to assist on two of New England’s tries en route to their 3rd successive Shield, the first of Brock Webster’s career. Webster was deservingly named Man of the Match for the Final, capping off his stellar 2025 season with an All-MLR Honorable Mention. Following a dramatic change in Major League Rugby and a shift in the League’s attitude towards Canadian players, Webster becomes the 3rd Canadian signed for the Chicago Hounds, joining fellow test capped Ontario natives Mason Flesch, and Hounds & Canada Captain Lucas Rumball in the Windy City.

Source: @chicagohoundsrugby via Instagram

To round out last week’s intra-league signings, on Sunday evening Old Glory DC announced the addition of test capped Eagles prop and MLR veteran Paul Mullen for the 2026 season. Born and raised on the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland, Mullen represented Munster age grade sides as well as the Ireland U19s before moving to Texas in 2011, studying at Texas A&M University. When professional rugby returned to Texas in 2018, Mullen signed with the Houston SaberCats and earned 7 starts in 10 games for the ‘Cats between 2018-2019, also earning his test debut for the USA as Eagle #525 in 2018. Mullen had a short stint with the San Diego Legion in 2020, starting (and winning) all 5 games before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When Major League Rugby returned in 2021, Mullen had joined the Utah Warriors, playing there between 2021-2024 and earning 57 appearance (37 starts) and recording his first 100+ tackle season in 2023. Last season Mullen played with the NOLA Gold, appearing in all 16 games in New Orleans, starting 11 times and completing a career high 115 tackles to take his career total well over 500. In total, Mullen sits on 60 starts in 88 MLR games, with 541 tackles completed and 793m gained, as well as 39 appearances for the Eagles. Paul Mullen will join the likes of Cali Martinez and fellow NOLA Gold refugee Bart Vermeulen in the Old Glory DC front row, and his level of experience will prove invaluable during the 2026 campaign. Old Glory DC will be the 5th MLR team that Mullen has represented.

Departures

On 2nd December 2025, French side Nissa Rugby in the Nationale (3rd Tier) announced the signing of former NOLA Gold Captain and test capped Samoan back row Jonah Mau’u for their 2025/26 season. Born in Australia and raised in New Zealand to a Samoan father and Croatian mother, Mau’u entered Major League Rugby ahead of the 2024 season, signing with the NOLA Gold. He made an immediate impact, scoring 6 tries in 12 games (all starts) and gaining over 800m in possession while completing 134 tackles in defence. Mau’u was named 2024 NOLA Gold Forward of the Year for his efforts. He returned for the 2025 season where he served as NOLA Gold Captain and was a rare bright spot in a forgettable season for the team. He scored a further 8 tries in 15 games (14 starts) and set a career high with over 180 tackles completed. Jonah Mau’u was the only Gold player that earned an All-MLR selection during the 2025 season, and finished his MLR career with 14 tries in 27 games (26 starts), gaining just under 1,500m in possession and completing 315 tackles. With the NOLA Gold withdrawing from the competition and only 6 teams competing in 2026 and spots for international players very hard to come by, it’s unfortunate that a player of Jonah Mau’u’s calibre could not find a home in MLR for next season. Regardless, we wish him the very best of luck in France!

Source: @nissarugby via Instagram

Also headed overseas is 2023 MLR Draftee James Rivers, who signed with Hong Kong Scottish for their 2025/26 Hong Kong Premiership season. Born in England, Rivers moved to Hong Kong with his family during High School and has represented their U20 side before moving to the US to attend the University of Arizona, earning 2 MVP nods while there and captaining the Wildcats rugby side in his senior year. Rivers declared for the 2023 MLR Draft and was selected 12th overall by the San Diego Legion before being loaned to Anthem RC for the 2024 MLR season. Rivers started 11 of his 13 games for the Rising Stars that year, gaining over 150m in possession and completing 132 tackles, before returning to the San Diego Legion for their 2025 season. He earned a further 3 appearances for San Diego that season, but following their merger with Rugby FC LA to create the California Legion, he became a free agent. With Hong Kong qualifying for their first ever Rugby World Cup in 2027, and as a former U20 player, it’s very possible that James Rivers is headed back to Hong Kong to position himself for the national team for that tournament and we wish him the very best of luck with that!

New Additions

On the 5th December 2025, the New England Free Jacks announced a trio of new faces would be joining the reigning champions for their title defence in 2026. The Free Jacks announced that New Zealanders Nathan Salmon, Reuben Palmer, and Tayne Hemopo will be heading to Quincy next season. 20yo winger Nathan Salmon joins from Northland in the NPC, where he earned 17 appearances over the last two seasons playing under Free Jacks Head Coach Ryan Martin, who he now follows to Major League Rugby. Reuben Palmer has been playing Premier Grade rugby with the Dunedin Sharks for the past two season, developing in the Otago and Highlanders system after playing with the Highlanders U20 side. At 6’7, the 21yo lock will certainly stand out in the New England pack. Finally, soon to be 21yo back row/lock Tayne Hemopo joins the Free Jacks from the Tasman Mako, where he earned 5 starts in 8 appearances during the 2025 NPC season, having joined them on a development contract in 2024 after coming through the Crusaders pathway. The New England Free Jacks are certainly making the most of their international connections in order to rebuild their roster for 2026!

Wrapping Up

That does it for probably the busiest week of the 2025/26 off-season so far! Besides Major League Rugby revealing the full 2026 schedule as well as Sunday Night Rugby matchups, last week saw 6 intra-league moves including the 2025 Championship MVP heading to Chicago, 4 re-signings, 3 new additions, and two departures for 15 player announcements in total across 5 of MLR’s 2026 teams! For yet another week, the California Legion remain silent on player moves. NARDB can confirm that the Legion are signing players but have not announced any yet, and likely plan to unveil their entire roster in one go, rather than dedicate time to announcing each player in turn to build hype with their (very delicate) fanbase. To each, their own.

Thank you very much for reading this week’s Player Moves Article! These article are posted on the site and on social media every Monday, so keep an eye out for this week’s summary at the same time on the 15th! If there are any Player Moves that you notice, or just to say what you think about these articles or the site, you can let NARDB/James know on social media: @MLRStats on Instagram/Threads, JamDelay & @NARugbyDB on Twitter/X, and @JamDelay & @NARDB on Bluesky! Alternatively, you can reach out to NARDB via the ‘Contact’ tab on this site. Finally, if you’re looking to jump into the offseason sales or pick up some discounted merch, visit shopmlr.com and use code ‘MLRSTATS’ at checkout for 15% off of your order!

MLR Player Moves Summary: November 24 – November 30, 2025

NARDatabase

James Deeley

Autumn turns to Winter as Major League Rugby’s tumultuous 2025/26 offseason trundles on and of course, Happy Thanksgiving to all! Let’s be thankful that there was no bad MLR news last week, and we still have a professional men’s league in the United States. Continuing the pattern of the last few weeks, five of the 6 teams stayed busy over the last 7 days and this article will dive into every single Player Move from around the league last week, with the California Legion remaining quiet yet again.

Welcome back to NARDB’s Player Move Summary Article series! Every week, these articles aim to keep fans up to date on every single player announcement to, from, and all around Major League Rugby ahead of the 2026 season, which we are hoping to more details about very soon. Although NARDB does keep one ear to the ground for rumours, this series only covers moves that have been officially announced by teams. As always, the summary graphic for Player Moves between November 24th to 30th, 2025, followed by the re-signings section:

A Summary of all Player Moves around Major League Rugby from November 24-30, 2025

Re-Signings

The New England Free Jacks appear to be announcing their 2026 roster in batches, and kicked off last week’s re-signings with another trio of US-eligible returnees starting with 2024 MLR Player of the Year, Wayne van der Bank. the South African centre returns for a 5th season with the Free Jacks and will be classed as a domestic player in 2026 having met the 5yr residency threshold for US-eligibility. Van der Bank has scored 16 tries in his 57 game MLR career (48 starts) since 2022, including 10 tries in 16 games during his spectacular 2024 season when he also set career highs in metres gained (1,333m) and tackles (187). Unsurprisingly, he took a step back in 2025 with 1 try and 8 starts in 14 games, but he did pass both 3,000m gained and 550 tackles in his MLR career and helped the Free Jacks to their, and his, 3rd successive MLR Shield as he came off the bench in the Championship Final to secure a 28-22 victory over the Houston SaberCats. Already a key player for the Free Jacks, Wayne van der Bank’s value has only gone up now that he is US-eligible on residency. Will we see him in a USA jersey in 2026?

Source: @nefreejacks via Instagram

Along with the return of Wayne van der Bank, the New England Free Jacks also announced the return of Tongan prop Tevita Sole, who is also playing in his 5th Major League Rugby season in 2026. Like van der Bank, this would make the 26yo US-eligible based on residency and therefore classed as a domestic player next season. A 3x MLR Champion, Sole has 37 MLR appearances including 6 for the Miami Sharks on loan in 2024, before returning to the Free Jacks to come off the bench in the 2024 Championship Final. He set career highs in appearances (12) and starts (5) in 2025, completing 60 tackles to pass 200 in his career (222) and scoring his 2nd career MLR try. Joining van der Bank and Tevita Sole on the New England Free Jacks roster for 2026 is Boston-born winger Killian Coghlan, returning for his 3rd MLR season. Raised in Ireland, Coghlan started more games in 2025 (5) than he appeared in the year before (4), recording 200 of his 210m gained and 23 of his 29 career tackles in a solid year to help lift his 2nd successive Shield in 2025.

On November 25th, Anthem RC once again got involved in re-signings, announcing the return of 2024 MLR Rookie of the Year and All-MLR Honorable Mention, Junior Gafa. The 24yo former Brown University football player was drafted 23rd overall by the New England Free Jacks in the 2023 MLR Collegiate Draft before being loaned, then permanently acquired, by Anthem RC. Gafa already has 6 tries and over 1,500m gained in his 25 game MLR career (all starts), averaging 111 tackles per season through his first two years in the competition. He started all 12 of his games in 2025, scoring 2 tries with over 400m gained and just shy of 100 tackles completed. Junior Gafa is a really promising US centre so it’s superb for Anthem RC to lock him up for the 2026 season where he is currently the only out-and-out centre. He was included in the USA’s Extended Player Squad for 2025, but has yet to make his test debut for the Eagles.

Anthem RC weren’t quite finished with their Player Moves for the week with Junior Gafa, however. On 29th November the Rising Stars announced the return of a pair of young US talents for their 2nd MLR seasons in 2026, starting with Charlotte native Alejandro Martinez Tapia. The 23yo back row is a Lindenwood University alum, where he earned All-American First Team honours in 2024. Signed to a homegrown player contract for the 2025 season, Alejandro Martinez Tapia started 9 of his 12 appearances for the Rising Stars, completing 90 tackles and gaining over 175m in possession. Also returning to Anthem RC for their 2026 campaign is 23yo Georgia-born centre EJ Freeman, who was drafted 12th overall by Anthem in the 2024 MLR Draft out of the University of Arizona. Freeman started 7 of his 13 appearances in 2025 and had a decent case for Rookie of the Year votes early in the season. He scored 1 try and completed over 70 tackles for Anthem in his debut season. With both Alejandro Martinez Tapia and EJ Freeman only 23 years old, they have plenty of time to build on already solid talents. They are exactly the kind of players that Anthem RC is looking for.

Moving North to Washington, DC, on November 26th Old Glory DC announced their first player of the week when they confirmed that English back three player Perry Humphreys would be returning for his 3rd year with the Flags in 2026. Although Humphreys signed a 2yr contract extention part way through the 2025 season, Major League Rugby’s shift towards more of a focus on domestic players, coupled with a chaotic off-season, may have interfered with that. However, that doesn’t look to be the case and the Worcester Warriors centurion is back in the nation’s capital. Humphreys has started all 23 of his MLR games for Old Glory DC so far, with over 1,100m gained and an even 100 tackles completed. He scored 6 of his 8 MLR tries in 2025, where he set a career high with 594m gained and earned 3 MLR Team of the Week selections.

Source: @oldglorydc via Instagram

The Flags weren’t quite finished there though. On 28th November, the day after US Thanksgiving, Old Glory DC announced the return of capped Scotland international Damien Hoyland for his 3rd season in Major League Rugby. The former Edinburgh centurion has started each of his 25 MLR games for Old Glory DC since entering MLR in 2024, averaging 83m per game so far for over 2,000m gained in his career already. Wing/Full-back Hoyland set a career high with 1,073m gained in 2025 and was one of only 3 players league-wide to record over 1,000m during the 2025 season. His return to MLR in 2026 comes as something of a surprise, as earlier in the off-season the Scottish Rugby Union announced that Damien Hoyland was one of 6 centrally contracted players for their Sevens program, which many fans figured would rule him out of the MLR season, but thankfully for Old Glory DC fans, that’s not the case.

Intra-League Moves

The Seattle Seawolves announced the first new addition from within MLR last week on 25th November when they announced the addition of former Houston SaberCats lock and capped USA Eagle Marno Redelinghuys for their 2026 campaign! Born and raised in South Africa, the 32yo lock/back row entered Major League Rugby in 2020 with Rugby ATL, earning 17 starts in 19 games for the RATLers between 2020-2021 and finishing as MLR Runners-Up in 2021, with Redelinghuys starting in the 2021 Championship Final against the LA Giltinis. Following the 2021 season, Marno Redelinghuys moved to the South-African heavy Houston SaberCats where he played between 2022-2025. While with the ‘Cats, Redelinghuys started 46 of his 51 appearances in black & yellow, recording over 100 tackles in his last 3 successive MLR seasons and tying his career high in appearances (17) and starts (15) in 2025 to help the Houston SaberCats earn their first two postseason victories as they advanced to the 2025 Championship Final where they fell to the New England Free Jacks. Redelinghuys also started in this final, becoming a 2x MLR Runner-Up. He became US-eligible on residency in 2025, and a stellar 2025 season led to his inclusion in the USA’s squad for their July tests, where he earned his test debut as Eagle #588 against Belgium on 5th July.

Redelinghuys wasn’t the only Houston SaberCats forward to find a home for 2026 last week, however. On 26th November Anthem RC announced their first international player of the off-season, 2021 Major League Rugby Forward of the Year, Johan Momsen! Although not classified as a domestic player, Momsen is no stranger to MLR. He signed with Rugby ATL ahead of their inaugural season in 2020, and was superb for the RATLers the following season when they finished as MLR Runners-Up to the LA Giltinis, with 5 tries in 17 games along with 500m gained and over 200 tackles. The South African lock/back row represented Rugby ATL until their relocation to LA in 2023, and signed with the South African-heavy Houston SaberCats. He represented the ‘Cats for two seasons, starting 29 of his 32 games in black & yellow, and recorded a career high 220 tackles in 2025 when he appeared in all 19 of Houston’s games as they secured their first ever playoff victory and advanced to the 2025 Championship Final. In his 6 seasons in MLR so far, Johan Momsen is a 2x Runner-Up and 4x All-MLR selection. In total, Momsen has 16 tries in 85 MLR appearances (78 starts) since 2020 and has racked up just under 2,500m gained in possession as a forward. He currently sits as MLR’s 3rd highest tackler ever with a whopping 961 tackles completed, averaging 11.3 per game. His experience will be invaluable to a young Anthem RC pack in 2026, a brilliant pick-up for the Rising Stars.

Source: @anthemrugby via Instagram

Later on the 26th, the New England Free Jacks made a big splash with the announcement that they had signed two stand-out MLR veterans for their 2026 campaign, starting with long time Old Glory DC back row Jama Fa’anana-Schultz! A month ago, DC announced that ‘JFS‘ would be leaving the team after spending 6 seasons there between 2020-2025, and now we know his destination for next season: Quincy. Fa’anana-Schultz has 70 MLR appearances to date (67 starts) between his time in DC and his debut MLR season with the Houston SaberCats in 2019. He’s scored 16 tries including a high of 4 in 2025 when he passed both 3,000m gained in possession and 650 tackles made in his career. Although he had struggled with discipline earlier in his career, Fa’anana-Schultz appears to have rectified that in recent seasons and even enjoyed stints as the Old Glory DC Captain. JFS will fit nicely into the Free Jacks back row, a replacement for the likes of Jed Melvin who has been included in the Blues training squad in Super Rugby. As a capped US Eagle (#534), Fa’anana-Schultz has the added bonus of being a domestic player in 2026.

Alongside the signing of Jama Fa’anana-Schultz, the New England Free Jacks also announced the addition of former Utah Warriors fly-half Joel Hodgson for their 2026 campaign. A PREM Rugby centurion with the Newcastle Falcons, English 10 Hodgson spent 3 seasons with the Utah Warriors from 2023-2025, scoring 329pts in his 49 games with a 64.61% success rate from the tee and 12 tries scored including 7 in a stellar 2025 season. Hodgson is a 2x All-MLR selection and has gained over 2,000m in his MLR career so far with 298 tackles, averaging (as near as makes no difference) 100 tackles per season for the Warriors, unusually high for a fly-half! Although not classified as a domestic player like Fa’anana-Schultz, Joel Hodgson is a great pick up for the Free Jacks, and fills the sizeable hole left by the departure of Jayson Potroz. NARDB understands that this signing was made before the news of the Utah Warriors’ withdrawal from MLR earlier this month.

Source: @nefreejacks via Instagram

To finish last week’s intra-league moves, on 30th November Old Glory DC announced that they had signed former NOLA Gold winger Harley Wheeler for their 2026 campaign. A Life University alum, Wheeler signed with the NOLA Gold ahead of the 2020 season and appeared in every game during the COVID-shortened season. A former USA U20 and USA Falcons player, Harley Wheeler returned to MLR for the 2022 season after a year away from the competition, and represented the NOLA Gold again from 2022-2025. In total, Wheeler has scored 10 tries in 43 MLR appearances (33 starts) across 5 seasons with the Gold, including a high of 6 in 2022, and 2 in just 5 games during the 2025 season. Following the announcement that the NOLA Gold would be withdrawing from MLR in August 2025, Harley Wheeler became a free agent. He will be playing in his 6th season in Major League Rugby in 2026, and his 1st not for New Orleans.

New Signings

The Chicago Hounds also announced a new addition for their 2026 season, but this one came from outside of Major League Rugby. On 24th November the Hounds announced the addition of South African-born Australian hooker Theo Fourie, who joins from the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby. Having moved to Australia with his family when he was young, Theo Fourie played with Souths Rugby in Queensland where his head coach was Todd Dammers, who is currently serving as an Assistant Coach with the Chicago Hounds. Fourie joined the Reds academy side in 2019 and was chosen for the Wallabies U20s in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic got in the way. He joined the Melbourne Rebels as a Training Squad player in 2021 and eventually made his Super Rugby debut in 2023. Since then, he has represented the NSW Waratahs (2024) and the Queensland Reds (2025) in Super Rugby. Welcome to MLR, Theo!

Source: @chicagohoundsrugby via Instagram

Departures

On November 25th, 2025, French side US Carcassonne announced the addition of South African Hooker Kerron van Vuuren as a medical joker. A former regular with the Sharks of the URC, van Vuuren spent 2025 with the Seattle Seawolves, where he completed exactly 100 tackles and scored 2 tries in 11 games, starting 9 times, to help the Seawolves squeeze into a postseason spot by a single point. Van Vuuren heads to France to cover for Ian Boubila, who is out until ‘late 2025’ with a knee injury. This leaves the door open for van Vuuren to return to MLR in 2026 but with MLR’s shifting stance towards international players, this may prove unlikely. Regardless, very best of luck in the Pro D2, Kerron!

Wrapping Up

That does it for all the Player Moves around Major League Rugby from last week, and another bumper edition of NARDB’s Player Moves Summary article series! As with the last few weeks, 5 of the 6 teams were very active, with the exception of the California Legion. Another 8 re-signings including a former Player of the Year for the New England Free Jacks, and former Rookie of the Year for Anthem RC. 5 familiar players will be plying their trade for different teams in 2026 including a former Old Glory DC captain, and 2021 Forward of the Year. A new face arrives in Chicago from Super Rugby, a former Seattle Seawolves hooker heads to France, and a true MLR Legend hangs up the boots!

Thank you very much for reading this week’s Player Moves Article! These article are posted on the site and on social media every Monday, so be sure to check back next week for all the lastest moves! If there are any Player Moves that you notice, or just to say what you think about these articles or the site, you can let NARDB/James know on social media: @MLRStats on Instagram/Threads, JamDelay & @NARugbyDB on Twitter/X, and @JamDelay & @NARDB on Bluesky! Alternatively, you can reach out to NARDB via the ‘Contact’ tab on this site. Finally, if you’re looking to jump into the offseason sales or pick up some discounted merch, visit shopmlr.com and use code ‘MLRSTATS’ at checkout for 15% off of your order!

MLR Player Moves Summary: November 17 – November 23, 2025

NARDatabase

James Deeley

Last week saw another flurry of moves around Major League Rugby including the first few draftees penning pro contracts, some huge intra-league transfers, a trio of Canadian re-signings, and much more! 5 of the 6 remaining teams for the 2026 season stay active in announcing their Player Moves. The California Legion, who had some question marks around them but have since confirmed their commitment to the 2026 season according to Matt McCarthy of MLRWeekly, remain ghostly quiet and have done since news of San Diego Legion and Rugby FC LA merger settled down.

Welcome back to NARDB’s Player Moves Summary Article series! Every week, these articles help to keep fans up to date on every single player announcement to, from, and all around Major League Rugby ahead of a 2026 season which will look drastically different to previous seasons. Although NARDB does keep one ear to the ground for rumours, this series only covers moves that have been officially announced by teams. Here is the summary of all the moves from last week, November 17th to 23rd, 2025:

A 2-page summary graphic of all the moves around MLR last week – November 17-23, 2025

Re-signings

Re-signings dominated the first half of last week, with three teams announcing the return of four players from the 2025 season including 3 Canadians to take the total number of Canucks confirmed for 2026 up to 6!

Starting with Anthem RC, who made the first move on November 17th when then announced the return of Major League Rugby’s first ever Draft pick, Conner Mooneyham, for a 2nd season with the Rising Stars and 6th in MLR. Selected 1st overall out of Life University in MLR’s inaugural draft in 2020 by the Dallas Jackals, he signed with the Austin Gilgronis once the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the Jackals’ entry into the league. Mooneyham joined Anthem ahead of the 2025 season, and scored 3 tries in his 9 games (8 starts) for the Rising Stars, passing 50 MLR appearances, 2000m gained, and 200 tackles made all in the same season. He earned his test debut as Eagle #573 in August 2024 with a very impressive performance against Scotland, and has 14 tries in 53 games (43 starts) at MLR level despite some rotten luck with injuries. Anthem fans will hope that he can stay healthy in 2025 and with Mitch Wilson now gone, the door is open for Conner Mooneyham in the back three.

Source: @anthemrugby via Instagram

Following closely behind Anthem RC were the reigning champion New England Free Jacks, who confirmed the return of a pair of test capped Canadians, starting with 3x MLR Champion Ben LeSage. The Albertan centre and 2024 S. Marcus Calloway Award Recipient entered MLR with the Toronto Arrows in 2020, before moving to the LA Giltinis in 2022 and the New England Free Jacks ahead of the 2023 season. LeSage has scored 15 tries in 73 MLR appearances in his career, including 6 in his 43 appearances with New England, lifting three consecutive MLR Shields with the Free Jacks from 2023-2025. LeSage scored his 15th try in 2025 where he started all 9 of his appearances, and completed his 500th career MLR tackle (now on 505). Internationally, LeSage featured in Canada’s PNC squad in 2025, starting their 34-20 victory over the USA in his home province of Alberta to secure a spot at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

The Free Jacks confirmed the return of a second test capped Canadian at the same time as Ben LeSage. Loose forward and British Columbia native Piers von Dadelszen returns for his 3rd season with the Free Jacks, and in Major League Rugby, in 2026. A 2x MLR Champion with New England in 2024 and 2025, von Dadelszen has started 26 of his 33 games for the Free Jacks, and more than doubled his career total in tackles last season with 145 of his 267 tackles, and started a career high 15 times to help the Free Jacks complete the threepeat. At test level, the University of Oxford grad has started each of Canada’s 9 tests this year, the only player in the Canadian national side to do so.

Late in the week, the New England Free Jacks announced a trio of returning domestic forwards to join the two Canadian internationals for their 2026 title defence, the first of which was long-time Free Jack and New England native prop Kyle Ciquera. Ciquera is an original Free Jack (#22), having represented the team in every season since 2020 and playing for Mystic River in the ARP during the MLR off-seasons. ‘The Eagle’ has earned 63 appearances across 6 seasons so far, starting 35 times and scored just his 2nd career try in the 2025 season to help New England secure both their, and his, third Shield in a row. Joining Kyle Ciquera in the New England Free Jacks front row next season will be capped USA Eagle Kaleb Geiger, who’s capable of playing both prop or hooker. Eagle #566, Colorado native Geiger went through the Colorado XOs program (later the American Raptors) as a crossover athlete after previously playing football. He signed with New York in 2021, playing with their academy team before earning his pro debut in 2022, scoring 5 tries and earning 17 appearances to help the Ironworkers lift the Shield that season. Geiger represented New York until they withdrew from MLR in 2023, and joined the New England Free Jacks after they selected him in the dispersal draft. Since then, he has earned 31 of his 65 appearances for the Free Jacks including earning 17 appearances for the 3rd season of his career in 2025, when he recorded 140 tackles completed to pass 500 in his career (507). What’s more, Geiger has lifted a further two MLR Shields with the team in 2024 & 25 to add to his Shield with New York in 2022, putting him in rare company as one of few MLR players who have lifted the Shield with multiple teams.

To round out the Free Jacks resignings, the team also announced the return of their 2025 Captain, US-eligible back row, Joe Johnston. Johnston originally entered MLR in 2021, scoring 3 tries in 14 games (all starts) and recording 195 tackles in his debut season. He represented the New England from 2021-2023 before returning to New Zealand to finish his education in 2024 and after playing with Bay of Plenty in the 2024 NPC, he returned to Major League Rugby with the Free Jacks, appearing in all 19 games in 2025 (17 starts) to help them secure their third shield in a row, the second of Johnston’s career. As well as scoring his 10th career MLR try in 2025, he completed a career high 224 tackles (his 2nd season with over 200 tackles) to finish 4th in the league, and sits on an even 800 tackles in MLR through his 4 seasons playing in New England. Additionally, although it’s a step back from the 500m+ gained in each of his 3 seasons prior, he recorded 362m in possession to push his career total over 2,000m! It will no doubt be a boon to both Free Jacks fans and player to know that their Shield-winning captain is back and will surely be leading from the front once again.

Not wanting to be left out, the Seattle Seawolves announced the return of a test capped Canadian of their own, in South African born, Alberta raised hooker Dewald Kotze for his 2nd season in the PNW, and 5th in Major League Rugby. Kotze entered the league with the Dallas Jackals ahead of their inaugural 2022 season and started 29 of his 36 appearances for the Jackals across 3 seasons, scoring 17 tries including a career high 11 tries in 2024 when he set a new MLR record with five tries in a single game (rather awkwardly, this feat came against his current team, the Seattle Seawolves…)! A 2024 All-MLR Honourable Mention, Dewald Kotze added 3 tries in 16 games in his debut season with the Seawolves, starting 8 times and passing 50 career MLR appearances as well as recording over 115 tackles for the 3rd successive season. Internationally, Kotze started every game for Canada during their 2025 PNC campaign and their November tests while regular starting hooker Andrew Quattrin has been playing in France as a medical joker.

Source: @seawolvesrugby via Instagram

The Chicago Hounds joined in on the re-signing train on 18th November, when they announced that they had agreed a 1yr contract extension with Australian prop Charlie Abel, who will return for his 4th season with the Hounds in 2026, his 6th year in Major League Rugby. Entering the league in 2021, Charlie Abel lifted the Shield in his debut season as a member of the LA Giltinis, and scored 4 tries in 31 games (22 starts) across 2 seasons with LA before the team withdrew from MLR following the 2022 season. Abel was picked up by the Chicago Hounds in the subsequent Dispersal Draft, and has earned 44 appearances for the team in the 3 seasons since to take his career total to 51 starts in 75 MLR games. Abel has scored 4 tries for Chicago, with his most recent coming in their 2025 Eastern Conference Semifinal victory, after which he played the full 80 minutes in the Hounds’ heartbreaking Eastern Conference Final defeat to the New England Free Jacks. Abel completed 109 tackles in his 13 games in 2025, recording over 100 tackles for the 5th successive season and taking him to 645 tackles in his career, which sits 3rd all-time amongst MLR props!

Intra-League Signings

As well as announcing the return of a pair of their Canadian contingent, the New England Free Jacks announced the addition of a trio of new faces to Quincy on November 19th, all of whom are domestic talent and two of them are test capped for the USA.

2021 MLR Champion Cyrille Cama will head across the country to Quincy after spending two years in San Diego with the Legion. Born in Fiji, Cama moved to California in 2013 and joined the LA Giltinis as injury/Olympics coverage during their Shield winning 2021 season. He earned 13 appearances in total across 2 seasons with the Giltinis, before heading to Australia following the withdrawal of LA from the league, and playing with Shute Shield side Randwick in 2023. A former USA U20 player capable of playing both in the back row or at hooker, Cama returned to MLR with the San Diego Legion in 2024, scoring 3 tries in 16 games and earing his first two pro starts and setting career highs across the board before re-signing with the Legion for 2025, although he did not appear at MLR level. Cama will undoubtedly be hoping for some more game time with the Free Jacks in 2026.

Cama is not the only San Diego Legion player heading to Quincy in 2026. The Free Jacks have also signed USA Eagle #556 and Major league Rugby veteran prop Nate Sylvia for his 9th season, his first not representing his home town San Diego Legion, with the team having merged with Rugby FC LA to form the California Legion. Sylvia has earned a whopping 90 MLR appearances in his career so far, having played in every season of Major League Rugby so far. He earned 14 appearances (1 start) in 2025, and recorded 56 tackles completed to take his career total over 600, a feat only achieved by 5 props in MLR history. With two rosters worth of players fighting for spots on the California Legion, it’s possible that both Nate Sylvia and Cyrille Cama were forced to look outside of their home state of California and with the Canadian-heavy Free Jacks looking for domestic talent, it’s a perfect match. It will be very strange not seeing Nate Sylvia in a Legion jersey, though…

Source: @nefreejacks via Instagram

The third new addition for the Free Jacks is not joining from the San Diego Legion, but he did represent them early in his career. On October 21st, Old Glory DC announced the departure of USA Eagle #575 Ethan McVeigh, having started 13 of his 29 appearances for the Flags across 2 seasons since 2024. Last week, the New England Free Jacks announced that they had signed the 25yo scrumhalf for their 2026 season. A San Diego native, McVeigh entered MLR with the Legion in 2021, starting 4 of his 9 appearances and scoring 2 tries. He then returned to Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales to finish his studies, before joining the American Raptors and playing in Super Rugby Americas during 2023, as well as with Gimnasia y Esgrima De Rosario in Argentina following the SRA season. McVeigh signed with Old Glory DC ahead of the 2024 MLR season, and earned his test debut for the USA against Scotland in July 2024. Having split much of his playing time with Connor Buckley at Old Glory DC, McVeigh will be hoping for a more regular starting role with the reigning champions in 2026.

Not wanting to let the New England Free Jacks have all the fun, on 20th November the Chicago Hounds announced the addition of veteran Major League Rugby forward and Chicago native Malcolm May to their 2026 roster. Although he only earned a single MLR appearance in his debut season before his season was ended early due to injury, Malcolm May earned 60 appearances (42 starts) for the New Orleans Gold across 7 seasons from 2019-2025, running for over 1,200m gained and scoring 7 tries while completing over 450 tackles on defence including 3 100+ tackle seasons between 2022-2024. His 2025 season started strong with a try and 2 starts in 3 games, before suffering another season-ending injury early in the year. Following news that the NOLA Gold were withdrawing from MLR, May has returned home to Chicago and has changed from Gold to green & white in 2026.

The big announcement of last week came from the Seattle Seawolves, however. On 20th November they announced that they had signed stand-out Houston SaberCats fly-half Davy Coetzer for the 2026 MLR season following the surprise withdrawal of the ‘Cats in September. A 2x All-MLR selection, Coetzer is currently MLR’s 7th highest scorer with 18 tries and 358pts in his 51 appearances (50 starts) for the Houston SaberCats since entering the league in 2022 with a 73.62% conversion rate from the tee (120/163). He scored a career high 135pts in 2023 that included 8 tries in a stand-out season that earned him an All-MLR Second XV selection that year, and still managed 67pts in just 9 games during an injury-hit season in 2025. More than just an accurate kicker, Coetzer has racked up just shy of 2,700m gained averaging over 50m a game, and has 353 tackles completed in defence! Although Coetzer will be classified as an international player in 2026, the 26yo South African has expressed interest in representing the USA Eagles in the future and will be eligible to do so in 2027, so keeping him in Major League Rugby is a big win for all USA rugby fans but a huge win for the Seattle Seawolves!

Source: @seawolvesrugby via Instagram

The final intra-league signing of the week came on November 22nd when Anthem RC announced that they had picked up promising young hooker Seth Smith for 2026 after the Houston native represented his hometown SaberCats for the previous two seasons. After coming through the SaberCats Academy, Smith earned his pro debut in 2024 at the age of 18 to become the youngest player in Major League Rugby history. Although he played a limited role in 2024, Smith enjoyed a stellar 2025, setting career highs across the board and scoring 5 tries and starting 7 of his 13 games, recording 89 tackles. With the SaberCats surprising everyone when they announced their withdrawal from MLR in September, the team responsible for developing the next crop of USA Eagles, Anthem RC, seems like the logical option for Smith in 2026.

Departures

Probably the busiest team in Major League Rugby last week, the New England Free Jacks weren’t only bringing players in. Shortly before announcing a trio of new faces in Quincy, the reigning Champions bade farewell to standout fly-half and 2023 MLR Player of the Year, Jayson Potroz. Out for much of the 2025 season due to injury, Potroz still managed 26pts in 4 games (all starts) and was a huge impact on the team in the locker room and from the sideline. During his time in MLR, Potroz scored a remarkable 353pts in his 37 appearances for the Free Jacks (all starts), including finishing as 2024’s Top Scorer with 181pts scored in 17 games. Potroz leaves the league as the 8th highest points scorer and as a 3x MLR Champion with New England, going 135/183 from the tee for a success rate of 73.77% and while his next move is not yet known, Jayson Potroz leaves Quincy as a Major League Rugby legend.

Following the departure of Jayson Potroz, the team also bid farewell to original Free Jack (#9) John Poland. The Irish scumhalf started New England’s very first Major League Rugby game back in 2020, and went on to start 57 of his 59 games for the Free Jacks over 6 seasons through to 2025, scoring 18 tries and 124pts total including 4 tries in 5 games during the shortened 2020 season. Poland has struggled with injury the last few years, but still made a contribution to the team’s 3 consecutive MLR Shields and to the team as a whole, acting as Assistant Coach for the Academy side, the New England Independents’, tour of Ireland. Poland passed 400 career tackles made during the 2025 season which is particularly high for a scrumhalf, and started every single one of his games for the Free Jacks since 2022 (22 total). The former Munster man has been playing with Young Munster in D1A of the All-Ireland League since the 2025 MLR season ended.

Retirements

As the offseason trundles on, it’s not surprising to learn of the occasional retirements as players make up their mind on the huge decision to keep playing at a high level or not. Last week, former Houston SaberCats centre and 2025 MLR Runner-Up Sam Hill announced his retirement on Instagram after two seasons with the SaberCats. Hill had said goodbye to Houston even before the shock news in September that the team was withdrawing from Major League Rugby. He joined the SaberCats after an almost 200-game Premiership rugby career between the Sale Sharks and his hometown Exeter Chiefs, with whom he won both a Premiership title and the Champions Cup in the 2019/20 season. Hill earned 17 appearances (all starts) for the Houston SaberCats since 2024, scoring 1 try, completing 122 tackles and gaining an even 400m in possession, and finishes his career as a 2025 MLR Runner-up and Western Conference Champion. Very best of luck in retirement, Sam, and congratulations on a brilliant career!

Wrapping Up

Another week of the offseason is behind us, and another jam-packed Player Moves article here on NARDB: 8 re-signings across 4 teams, 7 players moving to different Major League Rugby Teams, Anthem RC officially sign two of their draftees, and two Free Jacks legends move on from New England! Be sure to check back next Monday for information on all of the Player Moves from this coming week. Hopefully there will be some California Legion announcements, or maybe even the 2026 schedule!

Thank you very much for reading! If there are any Player Moves that you notice, or just to say what you think about these articles or the site, you can let NARDB/James know on social media: @MLRStats on Instagram/Threads, JamDelay & @NARugbyDB on Twitter/X, and @JamDelay & @NARDB on Bluesky! Alternatively, you can reach out to NARDB via the ‘Contact’ tab on this site. Finally, if you’re looking to jump into the offseason sales or pick up some discounted merch, visit shopmlr.com and use code ‘MLRSTATS’ at checkout for 15% off of your order!

MLR Player Moves Summary: November 3 – November 9, 2025

NARDatabase

James Deeley

Major League Rugby fans suffered yet another body blow last week as the Utah Warriors announced that they too would be withdrawing from the league and would not take part in the 2026 season. The Warriors become the fifth team to either merge or fold this offseason, leaving the league with 6 teams remaining for their 9th season in 2026, their lowest ever number of teams.

With the Utah Warriors now added to the list of Former MLR teams, this leaves even fewer spots available for the over 450 players that featured in the league during 2025. Where will the Warriors’ heavy hitters be playing next season? We shall have to wait and see. Welcome back to NARDB’s Player Moves Summary Article series! As always, these articles aim to keep fans up to date on all the player movement around Major League Rugby and thanks to a sudden uptick in Player Moves, this is the first time this offseason that this series has been published weekly!

Last week proved another busy week for a number of teams, so let’s get stuck in and start with the re-signings announced over the last week!

A summary of the Player Moves around MLR between November 3-9, 2025

Re-Signings

For the second week in a row, we start in Washington DC where Old Glory have stayed busy. On 3rd November, the Flags announced the return of their 2022 1st Round Draft Pick, Cali Martinez for his 4th season with Old Glory DC in 2026. The British Columbia was selected 3rd overall out of the University of British Columbia, and becomes the first Canadian player confirmed for the 2026 season since MLR changed the designation of players from the north from Domestic to International. Martinez appeared in a career high 17 games for Old Glory DC in 2025, and more than doubled his career starts with 8 (he had 5 in 27 games prior to this year). The 29yo prop also more than doubled his tackle count, with a very impressive 150 tackles completed in 2025 to take his career total to 256. It’s great to see a Canadian confirmed for next season amidst all the uncertainty. Welcome back, Cali!

Source: @oldglorydc via Instagram

A few days later on 7th November, Old Glory DC announced another returning member of their pack, Collin Grosse. Selected 15th overall by Old Glory DC in the 2022 MLR Draft out of West Point, Grosse will play in his 4th MLR season in 2026 having spent his entire pro career with the Flags. He has earned 48 appearances across his 3 seasons so far, scoring 6 tries including a career high of 3 in 2025, and has completed exaclty 400 tackles to date for an impressive average of 133 per season. This shows off Grosse’s impressive work rate on defence when you take into account that he ‘only’ has 24 starts in his career. With Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz moving on, Grosse seems primed to be a regular starter in 2026 alongside THE tackle machine, Cory Daniel.

Just like last week and just like Old Glory DC, the Chicago Hounds kept busy as well. On 5th November the Hounds announced the return of 2025 Top Scorer and All-MLR First XV selection Chris Hilsenbeck for their 2026 season. No stranger to MLR after earning 4 appearances with Rugby ATL in 2023 before returning to the French Pro D2, Hilsenbeck was a late addition to the Hounds roster but made a huge impact. He was the only player league-wide to eclipse 100pts last season, finishing with 109pts in his 15 games and a very impressive 81.96% success rate off the tee. Although test-capped for Germany already, the California-born Hilsenbeck switched eligibility to the country of his birth, becoming eligible earlier this year and earning his test debut for the USA as Eagle #590 against Belgium in July 2025. He is currently on tour with the Eagles once again for their November tests.

The Chicago Hounds biggest announcement of the week came a few days later, however. On 6th November the Hounds announced the return of their 2025 Captain and Major League Rugby’s All-Time Leading Tackler, Lucas Rumball, for their 2026 Season. The Canadian National Team Captain and former Toronto Arrow has recorded over 100 tackles in 5 of his 7 MLR seasons, over 150 in 4 of them, and over 200 in 2021 with his career high of 228. Rumball became the first player in MLR history to pass 1000 tackles in the competition during the 2025 season, adding 198 to his career total which now sits at 1,078 across his 82 career games in the competition. As well as scoring 7 tries in his career so far, Lucas Rumball has proved himself an absolute menace at the breakdown, and a game in which he doesn’t record a single breakdown steal is a rarity. The Hounds are not messing around in 2026, and the return of their Captain spells trouble for the rest of the league.

In what seems like a repeat of last week, Anthem RC were the third team to stay busy with re-signings. On 7th November, 2025 the team announced the return of 2024 1st Overall Pick Erich Storti for his sophomore MLR season in 2026. Anthem RC drafted Storti out of St. Mary’s College in California, and he started 11 of his 12 games for the Rising Stars during 2025, scoring 2 tries in his first 3 games and earning a pair of Team of the Week Selections during his rookie season. Effective on both sides of the ball, Storti recorded over 350m gained in possession and 76 tackles completed. He earned his test debut as Eagle #582 following the MLR season in November 2024, and has featured in every game for the USA so far this year. Storti currently on tour with the Men’s Eagles once again for their November tests in 2025.

Intra-League Signings

This section covers all the signings from last week where players moved from one Major League Rugby team to another. With the turmoil of the MLR offseason and so many teams dropping out, NARDB expects this section to be busy!

Starting in Charlotte, where Anthem RC continue to snap up US talent in their pursuit for that elusive first victory as a team. On 3rd November 2025, the Rising Stars announced the addition of Flyhalf and USA Eagle #536 Luke Carty for their 2026 Campaign! This will be Carty’s 6th season in the League after entering with the LA Giltinis in 2021 and lifting the Shield in his debut season, after which he earned his USA test debut in July 2021. currently touring with the national team in Europe, Luke Carty has earned 56 MLR appearances (38 starts) across 3 teams (LA Giltinis 2021-22, Chicago Hounds 2023-24, NOLA Gold 2025) with Anthem RC becoming the 4th of his career. Although he has only recorded a single try which came in 2024, Carty has racked up 226pts scored in his MLR career with a success rate of 67.65% from the tee, and a career high of 69pts for the Chicago Hounds in 2023. Carty also passed 1000m gained and 200 tackles in his career as a member of the NOLA Gold in 2025, scoring 49pts but now moves to Charlotte following the withdrawal of the Gold from MLR in August.

Not finished with signing just Luke Carty, a day later on 4th November Anthem RC announced the signing of USA Rugby Sevens star Malacchi Esdale for their 2026 campaign as well. Esdale entered the league with the Houston SaberCats in their inaugural season in 2018, starting 25 of his 28 games for the ‘Cats across 3 seasons from 2018-2020, and scoring 4 tries. Following the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Esdale joined the USA Sevens setup in Chula Vista and made the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Squad (played in 2021 due to COVID-19) as a travelling reserve before earning his debut during the Canadian leg of the 2021 World Rugby Sevens Series circuit. Esdale played with the USA Sevens team from 2020-2024, featuring at his 2nd Olympic Games in France in 2024. Following these games, Esdale returned to MLR, signing with the Seattle Seawolves for the 2025 season, where he scored a career high 6 tries in 15 games, and racked up over 400m gained despite only earning 3 starts. Malacchi Esdale will no doubt have plenty of wisdom to impart on the young Anthem RC squad in his 5th season in MLR.

Source: @anthemrugby via Instagram

Not letting Anthem RC have all the fun, Old Glory DC jumped in with a pair of new signings of their own last week, announcing the addition of 2023 1st Overall Pick Rick Rose to their 2026 roster of 5th November. Drafted out of St. Bonaventure University by the Miami Sharks, 6’7 lock Rose appeared in all 16 Miami games during his rookie season, racking up well over 100 tackles and starting 12 times. Although he missed a chunk of his sophomore season in 2025, Rose still managed 9 further appearances for the Sharks as well as a Team of the Week Selection in Round 11 to help Miami earn their first ever postseason appearance. Rick Rose’s move to Old Glory DC comes after the Miami Sharks announced their withdrawal from MLR back in August.

Later in the week on 9th November, Old Glory DC also announced the addition of MLR Draftee Aidan King for his sophomore season in 2026. Selected 6th overall in the 2024 MLR Draft by the NOLA Gold out of Penn State, back rower King enjoyed an impressive rookie season and was almost definitely on the shortlist for 2025 MLR Rookie of the Year (an award that eventually went to Chicago’s Peyton Wall) and was easily the best forward of his draft class last season. He started 9 of his 14 appearances for the Gold, racking up 166 tackles and scored his first MLR try. Aidan King is a valuable addition to a fearsome looking Old Glory DC pack in 2026 and although he was born and raised in Australia, he will count as a domestic player for the Flags in 2026.

Departures

As mentioned a couple of times throughout this article already, with 5 teams folding or merging during the 2025/26 offseason already there are far more players fighting for far fewer places and despite a shift towards home-grown talent, a large number of domestic and international players will be looking further afield for contracts.

On 4th November, French Pro D2 side RC Vannes announced the addition of 2023 All-MLR scrumhalf Richard Judd, who heads across the pond after representing the San Diego Legion in both 2023 and 2025. A New Zealander, Judd scored 7 tries in 14 games (all starts) for the Legion during their record-breaking 2023 season, earning not only an All-MLR First XV selection, but a Super Rugby contract with the Hurricanes for the following year. Following a year in Wellington, Judd returned to the Legion for the 2025 season where he added another 2 tries in 12 games (10 starts) as San Diego missed out on the postseason by a single point. In total, Judd scored 9 tries in 26 games for the Legion over 2 seasons, also completing over 200 tackles (213) as a scrumhalf! Very best of luck in France, Richard!

Source: @rugbyclubvannes via Instagram

Wrapping Up

With Anthem RC, the Chicago Hounds, and Old Glory DC making up the vast majority of last week’s Player Moves, the same three teams stay busy for the 2nd week in a row, while there is still silence from the other three teams playing in the 2026 Major League Rugby Season, the California Legion, New England Free Jacks, and Seattle Seawolves. Perhaps MLR has arranged to stagger these announcements into two waves of 3 teams? Only time will tell.

Be sure to check back next Monday for this week’s Player Moves article, covering all the announcements from November 10-16, 2025. If the last two weeks are anything to go by, it should be a busy one!

Thank you very much for reading! If there are any Player Moves that you notice, you can let NARDB/James know on social media: @MLRStats on Instagram/Threads, JamDelay & @NARugbyDB on Twitter/X, and @JamDelay & @NARDB on Bluesky! Alternatively, you can reach out to NARDB via the ‘Contact’ tab on this site. Finally, if you’re looking to jump into the End of Season sales or pick up some discounted merch, visit shopmlr.com and use code ‘MLRSTATS’ at checkout for 15% off of your order!

MLR Player Moves Summary: October 6 – November 2, 2025

NARDatabase

James Deeley

The leaves on the trees are changing colour, the temperatures are dropping, and the nights are closing in, but the Player Moves around Major League Rugby are starting to gain some speed! Welcome back to NARDB’s Player Moves Summery Article series!

These articles aim to keep MLR fans up to date on all the retirements, signings, re-signings, and departures of players both to and from Major League Rugby teams ahead of the 2026 season. This edition covers the very busy period from October 6th to November 2nd, 2025, a longer period than usual due to the author taking a few weeks abroad (unfortunate timing!), but rest assured that this article contains every officially announced move during this period, resulting in all sorts of activity. Below is the handy (2 page!) graphic, and we start with some big moves from the Nation’s Capital!

2-Page Player Move Summary graphic posted to all NARDB Social Media streams

Departures

In the previous Player Movement Summary from October 6th, NARDB mentioned that Old Glory DC had announced the departure of a trio of players, with no indication of where they were headed. A 4th player joined this group on 21st October when the Flags announced the departure of USA capped scrumhalf Ethan McVeigh. Earning his test debut for the US as Eagle #575 against Scotland in 2024, McVeigh has played in Major League Rugby for 3 seasons: two with Old Glory DC (2024-2025) and one with the San Diego Legion in 2021. In total the California native has started 17 of his 38 MLR games so far, scoring 4 tries in total. 29 of these appearances came with Old Glory DC, whom he joined after a few seasons in Super Rugby Americas with the American Raptors. As a test capped American who was included in the Eagles squad for the November tests, it is likely that a scrum-half of McVeigh’s calibre will easily find a spot on a different MLR roster for 2026, should this be his desire.

A 5th player was confirmed to be leaving Old Glory DC on October 28th, when the club announced the departure of former Captain Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz after 6 seasons with the team. With the Flags since their inaugural season in 2020, USA Eagle #534 ‘JFS’ has 70 MLR appearances in his career including 62 with Old Glory DC (remaining 8 with the Houston SaberCats in 2019), for whom he scored 13 of his 16 career tries including a career high of 4 in 2025. JFS also passed 600 career tackles this most recent season, recording 91 in 13 games (all starts) to help the Flags secure their 3rd successive postseason appearance. Undoubtedly an Old Glory DC legend, it will be very interesting to see what the next step is for the 29yo back row.

On October 6th, 2025, French Top14 powerhouse Stade Francais announced the addition of Old Glory DC and USA capped prop Jack Iscaro as a medical joker for their 2025/26 season in the French top flight. Iscaro has been a stalwart for Old Glory DC since his MLR debut in 2021, starting 56 of his 76 appearances for the Flags and scoring 1 try per season as well as gaining over 1,400m in possession (as a front row!) and completing 667 tackles in his MLR career. As well as being a regular first-choice loosehead prop for the USA Eagles, the impressive scrummager is a 4x All-MLR selection and has been named in the All-MLR First XV twice, in 2023 and MLR’s most recent season, in 2025. Playing in the top flight of French rugby with Stade Francais is an excellent opportunity for Jack Iscaro who is an impressive scrummager in his own right, and doesn’t ruling him out of the 2026 MLR season. Congratulations, Jack, and very best of luck!

Source: @stade_francais_paris via Instagram

Sticking on the subject of medical jokers, on October 15th the Bristol Bears announced that Jack Iscaro’s fellow USA Eagle Toby Fricker would re-join the club on a short-term contract. This marks his 3rd stint with the PREM Rugby club after also playing there on a short-term deal in 2024, and representing them for 4 seasons from 2019-2023 before heading stateside with the New England Free Jacks for the 2024 season. Although still signed to the 3x MLR Champions, Fricker was loaned to Anthem RC for the 2025 season where he scored 2 tries and started all 10 of his games for the Rising Stars, gaining over 450m in possession and tying his career high of 47 tackles in defence. As a capped USA Eagle (#578) playing with the Bristol Bears on a short-term deal, it is expected that Fricker will return to MLR for the 2026 season, most likely with New England. Best of luck in the PREM, Toby!

Moving to a more permanent move, also from October 15th. Scottish Rugby announced a full-time Men’s Sevens programme with a core of 6 contracted Scottish players including former Old Glory DC Wing/Fullback Damien Hoyland. A capped Scotland international at both Sevens and 15s levels, Hoyland played with the Flags in MLR for two seasons between 2024-2025, gaining over 2,000m in possession in his 25 games for Old Glory DC, starting every time. Playing primarily at Fullback, Hoyland was one of only 3 players to record over 1,000m gained in 2025, racking up 1,073m in his 13 games, also scoring his only MLR try that year. Although an effective player for Old Glory DC, Hoyland’s return to Scotland was most likely influenced by MLR’s planned reduction in international player spots ahead of the 2026 season. Very best of luck on the Sevens circuit, Damien!

Source: @scotlandteam via Instagram

Fan’s learnt of another MLR player heading to Europe on 20th October, when URC side Zebre announced the addition of USA Eagle #581, Shilo Klein for the remainder of the season. Sacramento-born, New Zealand raised Klein represented the San Diego Legion for 2 seasons in 2023 and again in 2025, separated by a stint with the Blues in Super Rugby. In total, he started 10 of his 31 games for the Legion, scoring 12 tries and averaging 114 tackles per season. Klein also gained a total of 559m in possession, and earned his test debut for the USA in November 2024. Go well, Shilo!

In a slightly more unusual move, on 27th October, Russian Rugby Championship side Lokomotiv Penza announced the signing of former Seattle Seawolves prop Njabulo ‘Juice’ Gumede on a 2yr contract. Gumede only made 5 appearances for the Seawolves off the bench, but was named the 2025 Seattle Seawolves Community Impact Player for his work off the field and in the community. Very best of luck in Russia, Juice!

Intra-League Moves

Staying on the topic of former San Diego Legion players, on October 17th the Chicago Hounds announced the first incoming player of the entire Major League Rugby offseason when they announced the addition of 2022 MLR Rookie of the Year and USA Eagle #543, Tevite Lopeti.

Selected 3rd Overall out of St. Mary’s College in the 2021 MLR Collegiate Draft by the Seattle Seawolves, Lopeti spent 3 seasons with the Seawolves between 2022-2024, earning 44 appearances (32 starts) and scoring 8 tries for the Seawolves. He gained just under 1000m in possession during his rookie season, and was a clear frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award in 2022. Following the 2024 season where he finished as a MLR runner-up for the 2nd time with the Seawolves, Tevite Lopeti made a splash when he returned home and signed with the Seawolves’ historic rivals, the San Diego Legion. In his lone season with the Legion in 2025, he scored another 2 tries and started 11 of his 15 appearances, completing over 100 tackles. With the Legion merging with Rugby FC LA to form the California Legion for the 2026 season, and former San Diego players’ contracts no longer guaranteed, Lopeti has decided to move to Illinois and join the Hounds.

Source: @chicagohoundsrugby via Instagram

Chicago wasn’t done there, however. On October 22nd, Rugbypass published an article announcing that talismanic Chilean international Santiago Videla had signed with the Chicago Hounds for their 2026 campaign. The Hounds confirmed this on October 26th, making Videla the first international player announced by an MLR side since the league chose to slash the number of foreign player slots per team. Along with being Chile’s leading points scorer, Santiago Videla was the Miami Sharks’ all-time top scorer, with 120pts in 23 games across 2 seasons, including 5 tries. Playing primarily at fullback in 2025 but also at both 10 and 12, the 27yo recorded 550m gained for the 2nd consecutive season, and is an excellent pick-up for the Hounds!

To complete the Chicago Hounds hat trick (for this edition of Player Moves, atleast!), they announced the addition of 2025 Western Conference winning Captain Nathan Den Hoedt on October 24th 2025, following the surprise exit of the Houston SaberCats in September. A native of Brisbane, Australia, Den Hoedt has played in MLR since 2021, lifting the Shield as a member of the LA Giltinis in his debut season. To date, the 6’6 lock has earned 74 MLR appearances (32 with LA, and 42 with Houston), starting 70 times and scoring 7 tries in total including 5 for the SaberCats in 2025 alone. He passed 1000m gained in his career in 2025, adding 147 tackles to take his career total to 644. It seems that the Chicago Hounds are not playing around this off-season!

Not to be left out, Old Glory DC also announced their first new acquisition for the 2026 season on 25th October, signing Nathan Den Hoedt‘s Houston SaberCats teammate Max Schumacher, who heads to the Capital for his 3rd MLR season. Schumacher was drafted 2nd overall by the SaberCats out of UC-Berkeley in 2023, and earned 33 MLR appearances for Houston. The California native enjoyed a breakout season in 2025 however, earning his first 13 pro starts and appearing in all 19 games for the SaberCats (the maximum possible number of appearances for any player in 2025). Schumacher set career highs across the board in 2025 and scored 5 tries including a pair in the 2025 Championship Game as the SaberCats fell to the New England Free Jacks. A very tidy pickup for the Flags!

Source: @oldgloryDC via Instagram

Not finished there, a few days later on October 29th Old Glory DC announced the addition of former Miami Shark and USA Eagle #546 Ben Bonasso for his 6th MLR season in 2026. A 2022 MLR Champion with Rugby New York where he earned the majority of his 69 MLR appearances, Bonasso spent the last two seasons with Miami, scoring 6 tries in 29 games. In 2025, he recorded over 165 tackles for the 4th time in his career, completing 172 to help the Sharks to their first postseason appearance. Bonasso sits on 812 career tackles made (15th all-time) and over 2,300m gained in possession, proving that the US-born Argentinian is a threat on both sides of the ball. He earned his test debut for the USA against Uruguay in October 2021. As with the Chicago Hounds, Old Glory DC seem to be loading up!

Re-Signings

With the Major League Rugby Signing Window now open, fans were finally treated to the first few returning players ahead of the 2026 season. As they seem to be a running theme throughout this article, Old Glory DC announced their first returnee for next season, tackle monster Cory Daniel! In his 5 seasons in MLR with the Flags, Daniel sits 10th all-time in tackles completed with 888 in 59 games for an average of 15.1 tackles per game and has finished as the League’s Top Tackler on two occassions, in 2022 & 2024, and finished 2nd in 2025. Test capped as USA Eagle #551, Cory Daniel isn’t just a defensive presence. He has 15 tries to his name and just under 1,500m gained in possession, and will be looking to re-take MLR’s single-season tackle record after his 2024 record of 276 was broken by Frank Lochore last season, who completed 301.

Source: @oldglorydc via Instagram

As well as re-signing one of MLR’s top tacklers in Cory Daniel, Old Glory DC also announced the return of Fijian born USA capped lock Tevita Naqali for his 7th season both in MLR and with the Flags. Although Fijian born and raised, Naqali is a stalwart of rugby in the USA having represented Old Glory DC since their inaugural MLR season in 2020, spending the off-seasons playing in the ARP, and earning his USA debut as Eagle #591 in July 2025. Naqali has earned 71 appearances in MLR, starting 64 times and scoring 9 career tries. He recorded 132 tackles in 2025, his 5th consecutive season with over 115 tackles, and passed 2,500m gained in his career!

Old Glory DC weren’t the only team to begin their re-signing announcements on October 21st, as at almost exactly the same time as the Flags announced the return of Cory Daniel, the Chicago Hounds announced that 2025 MLR Rookie of the Year Peyton Wall would return for his sophomore season. Although he only earned his pro debut in Round 12, Wall made a huge impact for the Hounds in his limited game time. He appeared in 7 games, starting 6 times and scoring 4 tries, rackingup 572m gained and setting two single-game franchise records for Chicago in metres gained (142m) and clean breaks (5). With Peyton Wall named as a reserve for the USA’s November tests, his meteoric rise looks like it will continue into 2026!

Along with Peyton Wall, on October 27th the Chicago Hounds announced the return of veteran MLR scrumhalf Michael Baska for his 4th season with Chicago and 8th in MLR dating back to the league’s inaugural season. Baska spent two seasons with the NOLA Gold between 2018-2019, earning 19 appearances before heading to Utah, earning a further 17 appearances with the Warriors during the COVID-19 affected 2020 & 2021 seasons. After 2 years in the Beehive State, Baska headed to France and played in the ProD2 with Rouen Normandie for another 2 seasons. In his return stateside ahead of the 2023 MLR season, Michael Baska signed with the Chicago Hounds and has earned 34 appearances to date. In total, Baska has earned 70 MLR appearances (32 starts), scoring 8 tries and 49pts. In 2025, he started 2 of his 12 appearances and passed both 1000m gained and 250 tackles completed in his MLR career.

To complete the 2nd Chicago Hounds hat trick of this article, they also announced the return of ferocious winger Mark O’Keeffe for his 8th season in MLR and 4th with the Hounds. Born & raised in Dublin, O’Keeffe entered MLR with Rugby United New York in 2019, scoring 5 tries in 17 games in the big apple before heading south to Rugby ATL for 2021, scoring 7 tries in 13 games and finishing as an MLR Runner-Up to the LA Giltinis. For the 2022 season, O’Keeffe joined the sister team of the Giltinis, the Austin Gilgronis, and enjoyed a career year in black and orange. He scored 8 tries in 14 games and gained 1,215m (both career highs) before the disqualification of the AGs. The Chicago Hounds picked up Mark O’Keeffe in the subsequent dispersal draft, and he has scored a further 6 tries in 37 games across 3 seasons so far. In his career, O’Keeffe has 26 tries in 81 games (68 starts), and sits 6th All-Time in MGained, with 4,770m. Capped as USA Eagle #584 in November 2024, Mark O’Keeffe is likely to continue as an effective threat out wide, as long as he remains healthy.

Source: @chicagohoundsrugby via Instagram

And finally for the Hounds, for good measure they announced the return of 2x All-MLR Flanker Maclean Jones for his 4th season in Chicago. Prior to joining the Hounds, the Brisbane, Australia native earned 22 appearances for the Austin Gilgronis, completing 276 tackles, scoring 2 tries and recording 560m gained including 423m in 2021 which remains his career high. Since joining the Hounds in 2023, Jones has scored 16 more tries in 49 appearances and recording 609 tackles including a career high of 222 in 2025. He has finished in the Top 10 MLR tackles in the last 3 seasons, and has been an All-MLR Second XV selection in the last two. There is no reason to believe that Mac Jones won’t have another outstanding season with the Hounds in 2026.

Perhaps feeling a bit left out, Anthem RC announced a trio of their own returning players towards the end of October, starting with 2023 Rookie of the Year and USA Eagle #558, Sam Golla on October 28th! Selected by the Dallas Jackals with the 1st overall pick of the 2022 MLR Draft out of UC-Berkeley, Golla has started 40 of his 41 MLR games to date including 26 across 2 seasons with the Jackals, scoring 8 tries total. Perhaps his real value lies in his tackling, however. He has recorded over 100 tackles in each of his 3 seasons to date, averaging 172 a year for 517 total while also passing 1000m gained in 2025, when he finished with 187 tackles. A regular in the USA Men’s squad, Anthem RC Co-Captain Golla is sure to add some danger on both sides of the ball the in the hunt for that elusive first win.

Source: @anthemrugby via Instagram

A day after Anthem RC announced the return of 2025 Co-Captain Sam Golla, they announced the return of fellow back row and newly capped USA Eagle, Makeen Alikhan. A teammate of Golla’s with the Dallas Jackals, Alikhan was raised in England but is US-eligible through his US-born mother, and earned his test debut as Eagle #489 against Belgium in July 2025. Alikhan has scored 3 tries in each of his two MLR seasons so far, completing 320 tackles in 27 games, starting 24 of them. He started all 14 of his appearances for Anthem in 2025, completing a career high 172 tackles. In combination with Golla, Anthem look to have a strong young forwards core for 2026.

Two days later, Anthem RC announced their 3rd re-signing in 4 days as they confirmed the return of Charlotte native Alex Maughan for his 2nd season with the Rising Stars, and 8th in Major League Rugby. The 30yo prop/hooker entered MLR with the NOLA Gold in 2019 but really broke out after moving to Rugby ATL ahead of the 2020 season. Over 4 seasons with the RATLers where Maughan primarily played at hooker, he scored all 18 of his MLR tries to date in 53 games (36 starts), finishing as a MLR Runner-Up in 2021 and setting career highs in metres gained (365m) and tackles (136) in 2023. Maughan followed the franchise to LA when they relocated under new ownership and rebranded as Rugby FC LA for the 2024 season, before joining Anthem RC for 2025. In total, Maughan has 79 MLR appearances (57 starts) to date over 7 seasons, recording just under 1000m gained (980) and over 500 tackles. Entering his prime as a front row, Maughan will bring valuable experience to a young Anthem RC side in 2026.

Wrapping Up

That does it for a bumper Player Moves article, focused on the Chicago Hounds, Old Glory DC, and Anthem RC! 2 temporary departures, 3 more permanent moves, 5 intra-league transfers, and NINE re-signings results in the first two-page summary graphic of the 2025/26 Major League Rugby off-season. As predicted in the previous Player Moves article, October seems to be when announcements being to really pick up speed. With announcements now flowing more regularly, NARDB hopes to have these Player Move Summary articles released on a weekly basis as more teams begin their announcements. Check back next week for all the moves from November 3rd to November 9th, 2025!

Thank you very much for reading! If there are any player moves that you notice, you can let NARDB/James know on social media: @MLRStats on Instagram/Threads, JamDelay & @NARugbyDB on Twitter/X, and @JamDelay & @NARDB on Bluesky! Alternatively, you can reach out to NARDB via the ‘Contact’ tab on this site. Finally, if you’re looking to jump into the End of Season sales or pick up some discounted merch, visit shopmlr.com and use code ‘MLRSTATS’ at checkout for 15% off of your order!

MLR Player Moves Summary: July 21 – August 17, 2025

NARDatabase

James Deeley

As the young 2025/26 Major League Offseason approaches it’s first big event in the MLR Collegiate Draft scheduled for August 21st, the League will be painfully aware that much of the discourse surrounding Major League Rugby has not been about the 2025 edition of the draft lately, and barely about any players at all.

With news that the San Diego Legion and Rugby FC LA are merging to form the California Legion, as well as the withdrawals of the NOLA Gold and Miami Sharks all but confirmed (although not by the League themselves, and there has been no word from the Sharks at all), NARDB is hoping that the worst is now behind us. As things stand, MLR will move forward with a 8-team competition in 2026 but of course, those teams need players, which brings us to the purpose of this article.

Welcome back to the latest edition of NARDB.com’s Player Moves Summary! These articles will keep MLR fans up to date on all the retirements, signings, re-signings, and departures of players to and from Major League Rugby teams for the 2026 season. Typically these articles will be released weekly on Monday’s, but due to a lack of moves over the last few weeks, this article covers the period from 21st July to August 17th, 2025. Obviously with news of the league’s contraction still very fresh, player moves might take a while to pick up, but these articles will keep up up to date, nevertheless! As with the end of every season, some players have decided that they have played their last campaign, and have called time on their career. This article will start by recognising the MLR legends that have done just that.

Source: @MLRStats on Instagram

Retirements

Beginning in Chicago, where a USA Eagle and Hound #1 has hung up his boots. Bryce Campbell, Eagle #497, announced his retirement on instagram after 3 seasons with the Chicago Hounds where he scored 4 tries and started 45 of his 48 appearances in green & white, and Captaining the side through their inaugural season in 2023. Prior to the Hounds, the Indiana University grad represented both the Glendale Raptors in 2018, and the Austin Gilgronis from 2021-2022, where he also captained the AGs through the 2021 season. Outside of MLR, Campbell spent two seasons with London Irish, helping them earn promotion from the Championship back to the Premiership, playing there for the 2019-20 season. In total, Campbell earned 84 MLR appearances across 6 seasons of competition, starting 81 times and scoring 11 tries. He racked up over 4000m gained in possession and 730 tackles completed including a career high of 158 in 2025, his final season. Internationally, Bryce Campbell earned his test debut against Romania in 2016, and earned 47 appearances for his country in total, representing the Eagles at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. All the best in your retirement, Bryce!

Unfortunately for the USA, Campbell was not the only Eagle to announce the end of his playing career in the last few weeks. On 23rd July 2025, Christian Dyer announced the end of his playing career on instagram at the age of 27 after spending 4 seasons in Major League Rugby between the Houston SaberCats (2022-2024) and Rugby FC LA (2025) in his home state of California. Having played rugby and gridiron football through high school, Sacramento native Dyer continued to play rugby at UC Berkeley before signing with the Dallas Jackals for the 2021 MLR season. This was a big year for Dyer, who earned his international Sevens debut in Vancouver, and his test debut as Eagle #539 against England in July, the first of his 14 test caps. Dyer had to wait for his MLR debut however. Once the Dallas Jackals deferred their entry to 2022, Dyer was selected by Rugby New York in the dispersal draft, but didn’t end up signing in the Big Apple. He signed with the Houston SaberCats ahead of the 2022 season, and scored 19 tries in 45 games across 3 seasons for the ‘Cats, including a high of 9 in 2023. Following 3 seasons in Texas he returned to his home state, signing with Rugby FC LA for the 2025 season, helping them qualify for the postseason for the first time in club history and scoring 2 tries in 6 games in California. In total, Dyer scored 21 tries and 109pts in 51 MLR appearances, starting 48 times and recording just shy of 2000m gained (1,987m) in possession, and 287 tackles. Very best of luck in what’s next, Christian!

Source: @usarugby via Instagram

Departures

Maybe Christian Dyer had an idea about what was going down with the creation of the California Legion, who knows? Staying on the subject of Rugby FC LA, they are also be saying farewell to 2024 MLR Back of the Year Reece MacDonald. The kiwi fullback will be plying his trade in Japan after signing with the NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu in JRLO Div 2. MacDonald won two Shields with the New England Free Jacks from 2023-2024, scoring 12 tries and 86pts in 30 games including 10 in his Back of the Year season in 2024 when he also gained 1,535m in possession. MacDonald made a high-profile move to Rugby FC LA for the 2025 season, and still scored 3 tries and 33pts in 10 games (6 starts) despite missing a hefty chunk of the season with injury. In his career, Reece MacDonald score 15 tries and 119pts in 40 MLR games, starting 34 times and gaining 3,331m in possession.

Source: @nec_gr_official via instagram

MacDonald isn’t the only Green Rockets signing that will be familiar with MLR fans, as on the same day that the club announced his signing, they also announced the addition of Utah Warriors stalwart Dylan Nel for their 2025/26 campaign. Nel, the 2024 Utah Warriors Forward of the Year, spent two seasons at Zion’s Bank, scoring 6 tries and completing 362 tackles in 27 games (26 starts) including a high of 234 in 2025, finishing 3rd League wide. Nel was a significant contributing factor to the Warriors finishing as the top team in MLR during the regular season and earning a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2021. He started both of their playoff games in 2025, defeating the Seattle Seawolves to advance to the Western Conference Final where they fell to the Houston SaberCats. Nel follows his father-in-law to Japan, former Utah Warriors head coach Greg Cooper, who now serves as head coach of the Green Rockets.

Moving to the other side of the California merger but sticking with Japan, Australian fullback Rhian Stowers has signed with Tokyo Gas in the Japanese 4th tier, the Top East League. Stowers played his debut MLR season with the San Diego Legion in 2025, starting 6 of his 10 appearances and scoring 3 tries while racking up 590m gained including 150m in a single game for the Legion in Rd 12.

Best of luck in Japan to Reece, Dylan, and Rhian!

Although he converted from football relatively late in his career, the meteoric rise of former Portland State University Defensive Lineman Tonga Kofe continues! The 6’2, 300lb+ giant signed with the Utah Warriors ahead of the 2024 MLR season, earning his professional debut as he came off the bench 6 times in his debut season. In his sophomore season in 2025 however, Kofe proved a fearsome scrummager. He earned his first pro start, starting 14 of his 16 games and completing over 100 tackles to help the Utah Warriors top the league during the regular season, making it all the way to the Western Conference Final where they fell to the Houston SaberCats. Kofe’s strong performances earned him a call up to the national team for the USA’s July tests, where he earned his test debut as Eagle #587 as a starter against Belgium. He earned 3 caps for the Eagles in July, and was included in their squad for the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup. On 16th August 2025, Prem Rugby side Leicester Tigers announced the signing of Tonga Kofe for the 2025/26 Prem season, marking the next chapter in Kofe’s short but already storied rugby journey. Best of luck with the Tigers, Tonga!

Source: @leicestertigers via Instagram

Temporary Departures

In addition to the confirmed departures above, there was one move that was slightly more unusual. Jeremy ‘Missile’ Misailegalu is spending the Major League Rugby offseason with RC Arka Gdynia in Poland’s professional league, the Ekstraliga. Misailegalu finished as a MLR runner-up with the Houston SaberCats in 2025 and for any ‘Cats fans concerned about his departure, his agency (Westsyde Pathways) strongly suggests that this move is just for the offseason, hence this move is in it’s own ‘Temporary Departures’ section.

Misailegalu, a 2018 MLR Champion with the Seattle Seawolves, has finished as a MLR runner-up twice. He played with Rugby ATL in their 2021 season when they fell to the LA Giltinis in the Final, and represented the Houston SaberCats in 2025, who fell to the New England Free Jacks in the 2025 Championship. To date, Misailegalu has scored 11 tries in his 61 MLR appearances for 4 teams across 6 seasons of competition, starting 47 times. He’s recorded over 2000m gained in possession and just shy of 300 career tackles (293). Best of luck in Poland, Missile!

Source: @westsydepathways via Instagram

Misailegalu wasn’t the only MLR player to head elsewhere for the offseason, however. Rugby FC LA saw another pair of names heading overseas, starting with MLR veteran Jurie van Vuuren. The South African lock signed with the Boland Cavaliers for their 2025 Currie Cup campaign. Van Vuuren has played in MLR since 2020, representing the Utah Warriors from 2020-2023 before moving to RFCLA for two seasons from 2024-2025. In total he scored 10 tries in 68 games, starting 60 times. He recorded over 1800m in possession and 717 tackles completed including a high of 199 in 2021. The Currie Cup doesn’t overlap with the MLR season so it’s a possible that van Vuuren returns in 2026, should he sign with the California Legion.

In a similar boat to Jurie van Vuuren is US-eligible Irish age grade representative prop Alessandro Heaney, who signed a short-term deal with the Cornish Pirates in the English 2nd tier, Champ Rugby, for the remainder of 2025. Heaney stepped up in a big way for RFCLA after their forward pack was hit with a wave of injuries. Despite not earning a start in 2024, he started 12 of his 15 games in 2025 and completed 118 tackles to help LA qualify for the postseason for the first (and as it turns out, last) time! Heaney went to school in the south of England so it’s a move that makes sense, but he has value as a domestic player in MLR so we could see him back for 2026 should he sign with the California Legion.

Source: @cornishpirates via Instagram

Wrapping Up

These Player Move Summaries are few and far between at present, but will pick up speed as the 2025/26 Major League Rugby offseason rumbles on. Although this is only the 2nd of the offseason and the 2025 MLR Collegiate Draft is only a few days away, there were a handful of moves to cover, and no doubt there will be plenty more as the fallout from a frenetic few weeks is realised.

Thank you for reading! These articles will pick up in regularity as the player moves do, with the articles coming out every Monday at their peak. NARDB continues to strive to keep fans informed and aware of the goings on around both the league and around each team.

If there are any player moves that you notice, you can let NARDB/James know on social media: @MLRStats on Instagram/Threads, @JamDelay & @NARugbyDB on Twitter/X, and @JamDelay & @NARDB on Bluesky! Alternatively, you can reach out to NARDB via the ‘Contact’ tab on this site. Finally, if you’re looking to jump into the End of Season sales or pick up some discounted merch, visit shopmlr.com and use code ‘MLRSTATS’ at checkout for 15% off of your order!

Midweek Milestones: Standout Stats from the 2025 Conference Finals!

Featured Photo Source: @wadebphotos

NARDatabase

James Deeley

Following a 17 round regular season and two weeks of intense playoff action, the 2025 Major League Rugby Conference Champions have been declared and the MLR Shield awaits. The Eastern Conference Champion will face off against the Western Conference Champion in the 2025 Championship at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island to determine who will lift the 2025 Shield. Welcome back to Midweek Milestones!

This is NARDB’s weekly article that highlights and examines the standout stats from each round of MLR action! The purpose of this article is to bring attention to achievements, milestones, and standout stats achieved by players and teams throughout MLR with the aim to give them the recognition and applause they deserve. The penultimate article of the 2025 season will cover the two Conference Finals matchups. Because it only covers a pair of games, it is a shorter than average article, but hopefully one that is just as interesting!

The Championship Clash!

Following the Conference Finals last weekend, we now know the two teams that will fight it out to lift the 2025 MLR Shield! The New England Free Jacks claimed their 3rd straight Eastern Conference Championship with a 21-20 victory following a heartbreaking final minute missed penalty from the Chicago Hounds. The Free Jacks saw off the Miami Sharks in the Conference Semifinal, before defeating the Chicago Hounds in the Eastern Conference Final for the 2nd straight year to earn their 3rd Championship appearance in a row with a chance to lift their 3rd Shield in as many seasons and cement their legacy as a dynasty!

By contrast, before 2025 the Houston SaberCats had never won a Major League Rugby playoff game despite qualifying ever year since 2022, including as the top team in MLR in 2024. This year, the ‘Cats qualified 2nd in the Western Conference with a 10-6 record and 54pts (just 1pt behind the Free Jacks). Houston earned their first playoff victory over a spirited Rugby FC LA side in the Conference Semifinals, before dominating the top regular season team in the Western Conference Final, the Utah Warriors.

The SaberCats racked up 33pts on the road against the Warriors, scoring more points than any other team in the 2025 postseason, surpassing the 32pts scored by the New England Free Jacks in their victory over Miami which remains the biggest margin of victory in this year’s postseason so far. The SaberCats also became the first team to score 5 tries in a 2025 playoff game which, when added to their 4 tries from the Western Conference Semifinal, takes their playoff try total to 9 in 2025 compared to the Free Jacks’ 7. For those wondering, the MLR Playoff record for points in a game is 46, set by the Seattle Seawolves in a Conference Final victory against the Houston SaberCats in 2022. The Seawolves scored 6 tries in that game, and 12 postseason tries total that year, both also MLR records although the Chicago Hounds matched the record of 6 tries in a postseason game with their 21-45 victory over the NOLA Gold in last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.

A head-to-head comparison for the Championship can be found below, showing just how tight this clash is on paper. The New England Free Jacks look to have the advantage in the set piece (both scrums and lineouts), but concede far more penalties which the Houston SaberCats may want to consider exploiting with AJ Alatimu’s boot, given how few tries the Free Jacks conceded. Worth noting is the head-to-head record of these two sides. The Houston SaberCats have never defeated the Free Jacks, 0-4. The Championship game would be a great time to get their first!

Head-To-Head: Free Jacks v SaberCats

Hilsenbeck Hits One Hundred!

Although the game definitely did not end the way that he or the Chicago Hounds hoped, former German international turned aspiring USA Eagle Chris Hilsenbeck still racked up half of the Hounds’ 20pts in the Eastern Conference Final. The 33yo fly-half scored 22pts in Chicago’s two playoff games this year, and was sat on 99pts scored this season heading into this game. This means that despite the Hounds’ defeat, Chris Hilsenbeck became the first (and so far, only) player to pass 100pts scored in the 2025 MLR season, and that still deserves some praise. Congratulations, Chris!

Chris Hilsenbeck now sits 13pts ahead of the next highest scorer, Joel Hodgson on 96pts for the Utah Warriors. With only the Championship Final left to play in the 2025 Major League Rugby Season, Hilsenbeck is almost guaranteed to finish as the League’s top scorer in 2025, and he has a good chance of being the only player in the entire league with over 100pts this year. Only AJ Alatimu with the Houston SaberCats has a realistic chance of also scoring 100. He is currently sat 9pts away on 91, so while 100pts is achievable, MLR’s all-time leading playoff scorer would need to score 19pts in what would be a Championship Performance for the ages to pass Hilsenbeck.

As an aside, Alatimu would need 16pts to become the first play in MLR history to reach 100pts scored in the playoffs. Additionally, he is currently MLR’s 2nd highest scorer all-time with 497pts scored in total so is almost guaranteed to become only the 2nd player ever to pass 500pts scored in MLR following Sam Windsor, who remains MLR’s all-time leading scorer on 595pts.

The Top Scorers heading into the 2025 Championship, showing the gap between Hilsenbeck & Alatimu

Wrapping Up

As mentioned in the introduction, with only two games in the Conference Finals, standout stats for this week’s Midweek Milestones are hard to come by, resulting in a shorter than usual article. Despite that, this article still took a deeper look at the match-up for the 2025 Championship Game and highlighted MLR’s first (and only) 100+ point scorer this season: Chris Hilsenbeck! Check in next week for a mini Midweek Milestones from the final game of the 2025 Major League Rugby season, the Championship game at Centreville Bank Stadium in Rhode Island!

Thank you for reading the final regular season edition of NARDB’s Midweek Milestones! This series will continue through the postseason, where we are bound to get plenty of standout stats! If you like this series, please get in touch on social media or share this article to help highlight these achievements! If there’s anything that has been missed that you feel is worth mentioning, you can reach out to NARDB via the ‘Contact’ tab on this site. Alternatively, you can reach out to NARDB or James on social media: @MLRStats on Instagram/Threads, @JamDelay & @NARugbyDB on Twitter/X, and @JamDelay & @NARDB on Bluesky! NARDB can also be found on YouTube, at NARStats!

Finally, If you’re looking to get your hands on some of the new Macron merch for 2025 or to add to your jersey collection, visit shopmlr.com to get your hands on all that new gear, and remember to use code ‘MLRSTATS’ at checkout for 15% off your order!

Midweek Milestones: Standout Stats from the 2025 Conference Semifinals!

NARDatabase

James Deeley

From 8 teams qualifying for the 2025 Major League Rugby playoffs, only 4 remain after the Conference Semifinals. There are only two weeks left of arguably the most competitive season of MLR that we have seen to date, and the competition is only getting tougher!

Welcome back to Midweek Milestones, NARDB’s weekly article that highlights and examines the standout stats from each round of MLR action! This article will cover the four Conference Semifinal matches. These articles aim to recognise achievements by players and/or teams that may have gone unnoticed or flown under the radar otherwise, providing fans with some extra insight and context every week to add an extra level to MLR! For a change, there weren’t any appearance achievements to report in the Conference Semifinals, so we’ll start with something speedy!

Balekana bags a speedy score!

The back-to-back defending Champion New England Free Jacks didn’t take long to open their 2025 playoff account, with just 19 seconds passing before the Free Jacks’ Fijian try machine Paula Balekana crossed for his 13th of the season! This sets a new record for the fastest playoff score in Major League Rugby history, surpassing a 45 second Fa’asiu Fuatai try for the Rugby New York Ironworkers back in 2023! Congratulations, Paula!

Paula Balekana scores the fastest try in MLR Playoff history!

Balekana’s speedy score was roughly 12 seconds off of the fastest ever MLR try, scored by Conner Mooneyham for the Seattle Seawolves straight from kick off after only 7 seconds in 2023! Balekana now sits just 1 try behind Utah’s Joe Mano for the league lead in tries scored, and both men are closing in on Balekana’s single season record of 15 tries set in 2023. With both the Free Jacks and Utah Warriors advancing to their respective Conference Finals, will we see more tries from either of them?

Playoff Placements!

The MLR Championship Final is now under 2 weeks away and as mentioned in the introduction, the 8 playoff teams have already been sliced in half and four teams remain in the hunt for the 2025 Shield. In the Western Conference, two teams earned their first playoff wins to set-up a completely new Conference Finals matchup. Having not featured in the postseason since 2021 when they faced the juggernaut LA Giltinis, the Utah Warriors faced the 2024 runners-up Seattle Seawolves playing in their MLR-leading thirteenth playoff match. In typical Warriors style, they raced out to a big lead before the Seawolves mounted an admirable comeback that fell just short, 23-21. The Warriors will host the Houston SaberCats who, after qualifying for the playoffs for the 4th year in a row, finally earned their first postseason victory with a nailbiting 27-21 victory over playoff debutants Rugby FC LA, ending the game with two players in the bin!

The 2025 Playoff Picture following the Conference Semifinals

There’s a very different story over in the Eastern Conference, where a repeat of the 2024 Eastern Conference Final awaits! The defending champion New England Free Jacks recorded the biggest victory of the 2025 Conference Semifinals, defeating the Miami Sharks 32-10 to match the scoreline of the San Diego Legion’s 2023 Western Conference Final victory over the Seattle Seawolves. The Sharks were heavy underdogs in their first ever playoff appearance, but should be proud of their 2025 season and look forward to a strong 2026. In the other Eastern Semifinal, the Chicago Hounds made it entertaining for the home crowd as they trailed 10-16 to Old Glory DC at half time, before shutting the Flags out in the 2nd half to take a 27-16 victory. Both sides were looking for a shot at revenge against the Free Jacks who knocked them both out in 2024, and it’s the Hounds that will get the chance. New England defeated Chicago 23-17 in last year’s Eastern Conference Final, will it be the same outcome a year later?

Free Jacks Statement Win

After getting off to a shaky start to the season, the New England Free Jacks are speeding towards that Threepeat with a big win over the Miami Sharks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They were one of only two sides (along with the Houston SaberCats) to score 4 tries in the 2025 Conference Semifinals, and scored 32pts, more than any other team in the postseason so far!

Source: @nefreejacks via Instagram

The Free Jacks’ 22pt winning margin in a 32-10 victory is the 2nd largest winning margin in MLR Playoff history, tied with the San Diego Legion’s 32-10 win of their own over the Seattle Seawolves in 2023. The largest winning margin in a Major League Rugby playoff game is 24pts, achieved twice. First by the Seattle Seawolves in a 43-19 victory over the San Diego Legion in 2022 (those two have been rivals since the League started!), and then equaled by the Chicago Hounds in a 21-45 victory over the NOLA Gold last year which is also both the highest scoring playoff game in league history (66), and the highest points total by a single team in a playoff game (45)! Will we see any new records set in the 2025 post-season?

Houston Hits 100!

The Houston SaberCats scored 4 tries and 27pts in their muddy victory over Rugby FC LA in the Western Conference Semifinals, taking them to 102pts scored in the playoffs in total! AJ Alatimu’s 66th minute penalty took them into triple figures. They are just the 5th team in Major League Rugby history to pass 100pts scored in the postseason!

The SaberCats are the 4th active MLR team to pass 100pts in the playoffs behind the Seattle Seawolves (358), the New England Free Jacks (174), and the San Diego Legion (also 174), as well as the inactive Rugby New York Ironworkers (144). Congratulations, ‘Cats!
The Chicago Hounds are likely next to hit this milestone. Currently on 89pts scored in the postseason, they could also pass the 100pts mark in their Eastern Conference Final clash with the Free Jacks this weekend.

Wrapping Up

For the first time this season, this week’s Midweek Milestones article doesn’t have any appearance achievements! With the playoffs now rolling, a whole new area of standout stats and records are just waiting to be broken! The Conference Semifinals already gave us the fastest playoff try in MLR history, as well as the T-2nd biggest winning margin in playoff history and the 5th team to reach 100pts scored in the postseason. With only 3 games left in the 2025 season, what other standout stats will we see?

Thank you for reading the final regular season edition of NARDB’s Midweek Milestones! This series will continue through the postseason, where we are bound to get plenty of standout stats! If you like this series, please get in touch on social media or share this article to help highlight these achievements! If there’s anything that has been missed that you feel is worth mentioning, you can reach out to NARDB via the ‘Contact’ tab on this site. Alternatively, you can reach out to NARDB or James on social media: @MLRStats on Instagram/Threads, @JamDelay & @NARugbyDB on Twitter/X, and @JamDelay & @NARDB on Bluesky! NARDB can also be found on YouTube, at NARStats!

Finally, If you’re looking to get your hands on some of the new Macron merch for 2025 or to add to your jersey collection, visit shopmlr.com to get your hands on all that new gear, and remember to use code ‘MLRSTATS’ at checkout for 15% off your order!

Midweek Milestones: Standout Stats from Round 17 of MLR2025!

NARDatabase

James Deeley

17 weeks of Major League Rugby action have been and gone, and in what seems like the blink of an eye, the 2025 Regular Season is at an end. For three teams, their season is over and the off-season awaits full of planning for the MLR Draft in August, and the 2026 season. For four teams from each Conference, it’s crunch time. The Playoffs await!

Welcome back to Midweek Milestones, NARDB’s weekly article that highlights and examines the standout stats from each round of MLR action! Just because the regular season ends with Round 17 that doesn’t mean there wasn’t still plenty to talk about. These articles aim to recognise achievements by players and/or teams that may have gone unnoticed or flown under the radar otherwise, providing fans with some extra insight and context every week to add an extra level to MLR! As always, Appearance Achievements are up first!

Appearance Achievements

The final round of the season often brings interesting lineups. Teams that are already securely in the playoffs with no chance of securing home advantage and only a narrow chance of moving positions sometimes reward depth players that have worked hard in camp all season. This gives teams a chance to see what their prospects can do at professional match level, and also exposes the players to valuable high-level game time. With the season staying so competitive right up until the final whistle of the final game, there were only a couple of unusual lineups, including a few MLR debuts!

The Miami Sharks secured their first ever Playoff berth last week, qualifying for the postseason in just their 2nd season. They were almost destined to face off against the defending champion New England Free Jacks as the 4th seed and decided to rest the majority of their starters this week. In fact, only Santiago Videla remained in their starting lineup from last week as Chase Schor-Haskin scored his first MLR try on his first MLR start, Isaac Bales came off the bench for his Sharks debut and first MLR appearance since 2023, and two players earned their MLR debuts!

Starting on the wing for the Sharks was 2024 Draftee Jake Negrete. The St. Mary’s College alum was selected in the 2nd Round, 20th overall by the Houston SaberCats in 2024, before moving to the Sharks back in May. Although the details of the move haven’t been disclosed, Negrete finally made his MLR debut in a 42-17 defeat to the Seattle Seawolves in the Fish Bowl. Congratulations, Jake! Unfortunately, his debut lasted only a few minutes before he had to leave the pitch, so wishing him a safe and speedy recovery! Also earning his first MLR appearance was Blake Pereda, a new signing announced by the Sharks during the week. NARDB is unclear if this deal was signed prior to the 2025 signing deadline in May, or if Pereda is injury cover but regardless, the Miami Tridents player came off the bench for the final 35 minutes of action. Congratulations, Blake, and welcome to MLR!

Source: @utwarriorsrugby via Instagram

As two players earned their MLR debuts for the Sharks in the East, in the West a Utah Warrior joined the half-century club. Since joining the Utah Warriors ahead of the 2022 season, US-eligible New Zealand scrumhalf Zion Going has scored 8 tries and started 29 of his now 50 MLR appearances, and is enjoying a stand-out season in 2025! Going appeared in all 16 of the Warriors’ regular season games this year (a career high), starting a career high 13 times and scoring 4 tries, completing 85 tackles, and gaining 266m, all three are new career highs. Congratulations, Zion! It seems apt to wrap up Going’s career year by celebrating his 50th MLR appearance but with the Warriors finishing top of the league, could he also celebrate it with a Shield? We’ll have to wait and see…

Hounds Hit Half-Century!

In the same round that Zion Going earns his 50th MLR appearance for the Utah Warriors, the Chicago Hounds celebrate their 50th game played in Major League Rugby! The Eastern Conference Hounds secured a hard fought 15-12 victory over the Houston SaberCats in the Dogs v Cats match to clinch their first ever home playoff game, in their 50th MLR match!

Since joining in 2023, the Hounds have an all-time regular season record of 22-1-25 as well as an even record of 1-1 in the postseason thanks to their Conference Final run in 2024. With 4pts in their nail-biting win over the SaberCats, the Hounds also draw to within 1pt of the LA Giltinis in the all-time MLR standings. Congratulations, Chicago!

Source: @Chicagohoundsrugby via Instagram

Playoff Placement

As mentioned off the top, Major League Rugby’s 11 teams has been whittled down to 8 that advance to the 2025 postseason. This section will take a look at the playoff histories for each team, and some standout stats around the postseason.

In the Eastern Conference, the defending champion New England Free Jacks claim the top spot for the FOURTH year in a row to qualify for the post season for the 4th time in succession. The back-to-back Champions had a shaky start to the year, but have recovered well and banked a 11-5 record in their bid for the threepeat! They will face a team that has been a bit of a boogeyman for them, the Miami Sharks. The 4th seeded Sharks are enjoying their playoff debut in 2025 after qualifying with a franchise-best 8-8 record with 41pts. The Sharks have defeated the Free Jacks twice in their short history, but never in Quincy. Could we see an upset for the ages?
Over to the other matchup in the Eastern Conference, hosted by the 2nd seed Chicago Hounds at SeatGeek Stadium, as mentioned above. One of the Hounds’ key targets in 2025 was to host a playoff match and they hit that target with a strong 11-5 record. This matches the Free Jacks’ record and the Hounds took it to New England all year, in the end finishing only 2pts behind them due to a pair of extra Try BPs earned by the Free Jacks. Like the Sharks, this is by far the best regular season in Hounds history and the 2nd year in a row that they have qualified. Back in 2024, they routed the NOLA Gold on the road before falling to the Free Jacks in the Eastern Conference Final by the skin of their teeth. The Hounds want to at least match that, and are out for revenge. Standing in their way first however, are Old Glory DC. The Flags qualified with a matching record to the Sharks, 8-8, but finished with 4pts more thanks to their 4 additional bonus points. DC, like Chicago, are looking for revenge over the Free Jacks who have knocked them out in both of the last two seasons. Will 3rd time be the charm?

Now to the Western Conference which has produced the #1 team in the entire league for the 3rd year in a row. In 2025, the Utah Warriors finish as the Top team in MLR with the same 11-5 record as both New England and Chicago, but with 58pts in total. A franchise best season from the mountain men. The Warriors end MLR’s longest playoff drought and qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2021, where they will face the 4th seeded Seattle Seawolves, playing in their MLR-leading sixth postseason at the expense of their rivals, the San Diego Legion. 2024’s runners-up finish with a 8-7-1 record, just 1pt ahead of the Legion. Finally, last seasons top seed finishes 4pts behind Utah in 2nd with a 10-6 record. The Houston SaberCats clinched home advantage with a win in their last game of the season to qualify for the 3rd year on the trot, but are yet to record a playoff victory. The ‘Cats will face a run ‘n gun Rugby FC LA team, who finished 2pts ahead of Seattle with the same 8-7-1 record to earn their playoff debut in their 2nd season.

The 2025 Playoff picture at the end of the Regular Season

Wrapping Up

That does it for a ‘Playoff Prep’ edition of Midweek Milestones. A pair of MLR debuts, a team and a player join the half-century club, and a bumper overview of the 2025 playoff picture! The business end of the Major League Rugby season is here, with all four matchups looking to be thrillers. Midweek Milestones will continue through the postseason, so be sure to check back next week for all sorts of playoff stats!

Thank you for reading the final regular season edition of NARDB’s Midweek Milestones! This series will continue through the postseason, where we are bound to get plenty of standout stats! If you like this series, please get in touch on social media or share this article to help highlight these achievements! If there’s anything that has been missed that you feel is worth mentioning, you can reach out to NARDB via the ‘Contact’ tab on this site. Alternatively, you can reach out to NARDB or James on social media: @MLRStats on Instagram/Threads, @JamDelay & @NARugbyDB on Twitter/X, and @JamDelay & @NARDB on Bluesky! NARDB can also be found on YouTube, at NARStats!

Finally, If you’re looking to get your hands on some of the new Macron merch for 2025 or to add to your jersey collection, visit shopmlr.com to get your hands on all that new gear, and remember to use code ‘MLRSTATS’ at checkout for 15% off your order!

Midweek Milestones: Standout Stats from Round 16 of MLR2025!

NARDatabase

James Deeley

Round 16 of the 2025 Major League Rugby season has been and gone, and just like that there is only 1 round of regular season action remaining! Four more teams secured their places in the 2025 post-season over the weekend with just 1 spot still up for grabs, being fought over by MLR’s oldest rivals, the Seattle Seawolves and San Diego Legion.

Welcome back to Midweek Milestones, NARDB’s weekly article that highlights and examines the standout stats from each round of MLR action! This week’s article covers the penultimate round of MLR regular season action: Round 16. These articles aim to recognise achievements by players and/or teams that may have gone unnoticed or flown under the radar otherwise, providing fans with some extra insight and context every week to add an extra level to MLR! As always, Appearance Achievements are up first!

Appearance Achievements

Round 16 saw a pair of test capped players feature in their 50th MLR match. One has represented the USA Eagles on the international stage, the other has represented Canada. Both have had remarkable impacts on MLR history, and we will start with California native Christian Dyer!

A native of Sacramento, CA and UCal – Berkeley alum, Christian Dyer‘s MLR career got off to a shaky start. He was initially signed with the Dallas Jackals for their inaugural season in 2021. After Dallas deferred their entry to 2022, Dyer was selected by Rugby New York in the supplementary draft but didn’t join the Ironworkers for the 2021 season. In January of 2022 the Houston SaberCats announced that they had signed Dyer for the 2022 season, and his pro career finally got started despite already having earned his test debut as USA Eagle #539 against England in July 2021. Dyer earned 45 appearances for the SaberCats between 2022-2024, starting 44 times including in the team’s first ever playoff game in 2022. He gained just over 1,750m as a ‘Cat including a career high of 719m in 2023 when he scored 9 tries, also a career high. Dyer remains the Houston SaberCats’ all-time leading try scorer with 19 in black and gold, and has been capped 14 times by his country. Dyer was the first player announced by Rugby FC LA ahead of the 2025 season, and has scored an additional 2 tries in 5 games (4 starts) in California, helping the team to it’s first ever postseason appearance. Congratulations, Christian!

Source: @Rugbyfcla via Instagram

Joining Christian Dyer in the half-century club after Round 16 is South African born Edmontonian Dewald Kotze! The test-capped Canadian hooker moved from South Africa to Edmonton, AB at the age of 14, joining the Strathcona Druids before moving to the Canadian National Team development program, the Pacific Pride in 2019. Kotze was named in a 40-man extended Canada squad in June 2021, but would have to wait until 2024 before earning his test debut for his adopted country, a 35-22 victory over Romania in Ottawa. At club level, Dewald Kotze was signed by the Dallas Jackals in January 2022, representing the Texas team for 3 seasons between until their untimely demise in 2024. Kotze earned 36 appearances for the Jackals in that time, starting 29 times and scoring 14 tries including a career high of 11 in 2023 when he scored a MLR-record FIVE tries in a single game for the Jackals against Seattle. The Seawolves clearly liked the look of Dewald Kotze, as they signed him for the 2025 season after the Jackals withdrew from MLR, and he has scored another 3 tries in 14 games (6 starts) in Seattle. Kotze now has 17 tries total and has started 35 of his 50 MLR matches to date, and reached 100 tackles on the season during Round 16, his 3rd 100+ tackle season in a row. Congratulations, Dewy!

Playoff Placements!

As mentioned in the intro, another 4 teams clinched their spot in the postseason during Round 16. three Western Conference teams have secured their spots, and the final spot in the East has been locked up. This section will dive a little deeper into the 2025 playoff placements.

Starting with that final spot in the Eastern Conference. The Miami Sharks pulled off what many fans would’ve thought impossible at the start of the season. They took on the reeling San Diego Legion at Torero Stadium, and came out on top. Although they didn’t secure a try BP, a superb performance from Shane O’Leary (more on that later!) ensured they took 4pts in a 32-36 victory to secure their first ever postseason appearance in just their 2nd season in MLR! The Sharks are now destined to finish 3rd or 4th in the East, facing either the New England Free Jacks or Chicago Hounds on the road. This Sharks victory eliminates the NOLA Gold, who are playing for pride now and will be doing some serious head scratching after arguably their worst season to date. Miami have also made life very uncomfortable for the San Diego Legion, who now must win their final game to have any hope of leapfrogging the Seattle Seawolves and making the playoffs.

Source: @usmlr via Instagram

Moving over to that warzone that is the 2025 Western Conference. As mentioned above the Seattle Seawolves and San Diego Legion are still scrapping over that final playoff spot, but 3 of the 5 teams in the West all secured their spots over the weekend, including the Houston SaberCats who didn’t even have to play! The Legion’s home loss at the hands of the Miami Sharks means they can only get to 8 wins compared to Houston’s 9, handing a 4th postseason appearance in a row to the SaberCats. Although they have two games remaining and are still fighting for home field advantage, and don’t yet know who they will be facing, the ‘Cats no doubt have one eye on the playoffs already. In 3 postseason appearances since 2022, Houston are yet to record a playoff victory. Is the 4th time the charm?

Now onto the team currently sat atop the Western Conference, the Utah Warriors. They actually clinched a playoff spot a day before the Houston SaberCats thanks to a comfortable bonus point victory over Anthem RC at home. The Warriors are currently the top team in MLR with 10 wins and 53pts, but can still fall as low as 3rd due to how close the West is. Even a bonus point victory doesn’t secure 1st place just yet. Utah need Houston to drop points in their final two games to lock that top spot up. Utah face Rugby FC LA in their final game, who sit 2nd in the West on 50pts. A win their would guarantee a home semifinal for the Warriors, as either the 1st or 2nd seed.

Moving on to Rugby FC LA who, like the Sharks in the East, have secured their first ever postseason berth following a 32-43 bonus point road victory over Old Glory DC at the Maryland Soccerplex. Now sat 2nd in the Western Conference, RFCLA will need a bonus point win in their last match against the 1st placed Utah Warriors to give them the best chance of securing home advantage. There’s a ferocious 3-way fight between LA, Houston, and Utah for the top two spots, and fans will be in for a treat in Round 17!

Sensational Sharks!

The Miami Sharks’ superb road victory over the San Diego Legion has already been mentioned a number of times in this article, but now it is time to dive deeper into some of the standout stats from this playoff-clinching win! Miami’s talismanic flanker Manu Ardao notched one of 3 Sharks tries in this match to take take his season total to 5. This equals his total from last season and takes his career MLR total to 10, making him the first player in Sharks history to reach 10 tries scored for the team! Can he get a couple more before the end of the season?

The main story coming out of this game however, was the performance of Shane O’Leary. The Canada-capped Irishman was like clockwork off of the tee, scoring 3 conversions and 5 penalties for 21 of Miami’s 36pts in this game to help them secure their first ever playoff spot! With 60% of both the territory and possession in favour of the San Diego Legion, O’Leary‘s boot was the difference. The Legion only conceded 8 penalties all game but O’Leary and the Sharks kicked 6 of them, converting 5!

Shane O’Leary racks up 21pts from the boot!

Finishing the game with 8/9 from the tee, the former Toronto Arrows fly-half set a new Miami Sharks record for points in a single game, as well as a 2025 high in that same category. His 21pts takes his season total to 90, surpassing Santiago Videla’s 74pts last season to set a new Miami Sharks single season record and climb to 1st place in the entire league for points scored this season! O’Leary’s career total now sits at 153pts including 101 for the Sharks, becoming just the 2nd player in Sharks history to pass 100pts scored for the team behind the aforementioned Santiago Videla. Congratulations, Shane!

Scoring Standouts – Hodgson & Hilsenbeck

On the subject of scoring milestones, following a comfortable 31-10 home victory over Anthem RC, Joel Hodgson has now achieved something that only 10 other players have done. With 2pts scored from a conversion kick, Hodgson’s total now sits at exactly 300pts scored becoming just the 11th player in MLR history to reach 300pts scored in the competition! He is the first Utah Warriors to reach 300pts scored, and the 8th player in MLR history to reach 300pts scored with a single MLR franchise. Hodgson now sits just 13pts back of MLR’s Top 10 Scorers ever, with Seattle Seawolves legend Brock Staller sat on 313pts in total. Congratulations, Joel!

Moving from Utah up to Chicago, where the Hounds are sitting just 2pts off the top of the Eastern Conference after a bonus point victory over the NOLA Gold took them into 2nd. 8 of Chicago’s 38pts came off the boot of US-eligible German international Chris Hilsenbeck, who went 4/6 from the tee. With a total of 84pts on the season, Hilsenbeck moves up to T-2nd in scoring, and sets a new Chicago Hounds franchise record for points in a season, surpassing the previous record of 77pts set by Adriaan Carelse in 2024. Congratulations, Chris!

Wrapping Up

That does it for the Midweek Milestones from Round 16 of the 2025 Major League Rugby Season! Four teams clinch playoff spots, a pair of new half-century club members, and some spectacular scoring achievements! The final week of the regular season is here already. What sorts of standout stats will it leave us with? You’ll have to check in next week’s Midweek Milestones article!

Thank you for reading this edition of NARDB’s Midweek Milestones! If you like this series, please get in touch on social media or share this article to help highlight these achievements! If there’s anything that has been missed that you feel is worth mentioning, you can reach out to NARDB via the ‘Contact’ tab on this site. Alternatively, you can reach out to NARDB or James on social media: @MLRStats on Instagram/Threads, @JamDelay & @NARugbyDB on Twitter/X, and @JamDelay & @NARDB on Bluesky! NARDB can also be found on YouTube, at NARStats!

Finally, If you’re looking to get your hands on some of the new Macron merch for 2025 or to add to your jersey collection, visit shopmlr.com to get your hands on all that new gear, and remember to use code ‘MLRSTATS’ at checkout for 15% off your order!