MLR Holds Draft; Will Sherman #1 Pick
MLR Holds Draft; Will Sherman #1 Pick
FRISCO, Texas – Major League Rugby, the premier professional rugby league in North America, announced the results of the 2025 MLR College Draft on Thursday.
The first round of the draft was broadcast on ESPNU, with the final two rounds announced on the league’s social media channels. The 2025 College Draft order was determined by regular season standings and playoff performance, and each round consisted of eight to nine picks.
Round 1
1 (1) Anthem RC – William Sherman, Lock, University of California, Los Angeles
2 (2) Anthem RC – Campbell Robb, Hooker, Central Washington University
3 (3) Seattle Seawolves – Tiai Vavao, Flanker, Central Washington University
4 (4) Old Glory DC – Connor Devos, Prop, Lindenwood University
5 (5) California Legion – Oscar Treacy, Wing, Central Washington University
6 (6) Chicago Hounds – Elias Garza, Prop, Life University
7 (7) Utah Warriors – Jacob Ince, Center, University of Guelph
8 (8) California Legion – Ieremia Ieremia, Flanker, University of California, Berkeley
9 (9) New England Free Jacks – Adam Chadwick, Hooker, Life University
By the Numbers
Of the 26 players drafted, 17 were forwards and nine were backs. Reflecting the depth of the front row, eight props and hookers were selected, and the next most-common position was loose forward with seven.
CRAA (almost exclusively D1A) accounted for 17 picks, plus one player (Keeling Coyle) who played in NCR and then finished up with CRAA South Florida. NCR accounted for five picks, plus Coyle, and Canada accounted for three.
Eight of the first nine picked were D1A, reflecting the fact that, for the most part, D1A players play more 15s games in-season, and more games overall. This is especially important for tight five players, and five tight five players were selected in the first round.
Round 2
1 (10) New England Free Jacks – Tevita Mapa, Flanker, Life University
2 (11) Seattle Seawolves – Charles Walsh, Prop, University of California, Berkeley
3 (12) Old Glory DC – Jamie Phillips, Hooker, Dartmouth College
4 (13) California Legion – Joshua Cox, Fullback, University of California, Los Angeles
5 (14) Chicago Hounds – Bastian Brunello, Fullback, Mount St. Mary’s University
6 (15) Utah Warriors – Filimone Manu, Fullback, American International College
7 (16) Houston SaberCats – King Matu Jr., Flanker, Saint Mary’s College of California
8 (17) New England Free Jacks – Leon Best, Prop, Life University
Round 3
1 (18) Anthem RC – Chad Tinney, Prop, Lindenwood University
2 (19) New England Free Jacks – Jack Worobel, Lock, University of Vermont
3 (20) Seattle Seawolves – Keelin Coyle, Flyhalf, University of South Florida
4 (21) Old Glory DC – Merlin M’Cloud, Flanker, University of Victoria
5 (22) California Legion – Grant Meadows, Flanker, Brock University
6 (23) Chicago Hounds – Lachlan McDonald, Fullback, Walsh University
7 (24) Utah Warriors – Jacob Hall, Scrumhalf, University of Arizona
8 (25) Houston SaberCats – Ian Roudybush, Flanker, Penn State University
9 (26) New England Free Jacks – Remy Thomson, Scrumhalf, Walsh University
These picks included Jack Worobel, the only D2 player in the draft. All three Canadian players were in Canada's top division. Everyone else had played in D1A or NCR D1 (Coyle played at St. Bonaventure, NCR D1, before his grad school year at D1AA South Florida). But Worobel played in D2. However, the 6-3 lock has a ton of potential. He is smart (engineering major) He picked up rugby at UVM, but was a 13-year practitioner of karate, and an impressive athlete. He is also the youngest player in the draft, having recently turned 21.
The 2025 MLR College Draft was the sixth in league history, featuring one of the most talented classes to date. Life University led all schools with four picks in the draft, including two first-round and two second-round picks. Central Washington University saw three players taken in the first five overall picks, while three picks came from Canadian colleges and universities, and five players were chosen from schools in California.
The New England Free Jacks bolstered its back-to-back-to-back champion roster with five picks in this year’s draft, the most of any team. The new-look California Legion had four picks, while Anthem RC held the first two picks in the draft for the second-straight year, adding to its USA Eagle-heavy roster with three young stars chosen across three rounds.
MLR uses a “Draft and Follow” approach where rights to drafted players will be assigned following the draft. Teams may activate those rights at any point until the mid-point of the next competitive MLR season after the player is eligible to play in the MLR. Drafting teams may sign those players or trade player rights with other MLR teams.
