MLR talent stays sharp in Midwest Premiership and ARP

With Major League Rugby currently on hiatus until the new year, many players are staying sharp during the off-season by playing club rugby. Well over 50 current MLR athletes are based in the American Rugby Premiership, which operates on the Atlantic coast. Another 20-odd are suiting up in the Midwest Premiership, with both competitions featuring several formerly contracted players.

Academy sides from NOLA and ATL formerly competed in the ARP, but the only team currently with a formal affiliation to an MLR side is Charlotte Rugby Club. Their roster is adorned with Anthem RC talent, including several new signings and college draft picks. Long-standing Boston club Mystic River has proved an effective source of talent for the New England Free Jacks though it currently players spread across a handful of MLR teams in 2024.

The Miami Tridents should be a natural fit for developing Sharks but only one is active. Meanwhile New York remains a hotbed of American talent despite losing their MLR franchise. NYAC, Old Blue, and White Plains offer playing opportunities for a range of athletes, with Old Blue in particular able to field nearly a full starting lineup of professionals under coaches Sam Windsor, Trevor Cassidy, and Kara Pryor.

Over in the Midwest Premiership, Chicago’s Griffins and Lions feature several Hounds and Hound Academy athletes. Traditional heavyweights Metropolis and Kansas City are not as heavily adorned. The St. Louis Bombers lean heavily on ex-Lindenwood University talent while the Wolfhounds of Cincinnati feature MLR halfback pairing Evan Conlon and Matías Caramuti.

Below is a chart of MLR players currently active in the ARP and Midwest Premiership. The list may not be exhaustive but is a summary of publicly available rosters to the best of our ability. NOTE: Current/former club represents most recent affiliation, * indicates new signing or college draft pick.

 

AMERICAN RUGBY PREMIERSHIP

 

 
CHARLOTTE RUGBY CLUB

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
LH	Quinton Tindel	Anthem RC*
HO	Ethan Howard	Anthem RC*
HO	Alex Lopeti	NOLA Gold
TH	Stephan Bernal-Wendt	Anthem RC
LO	Mikey Grandy	Anthem RC*
LO	Le’Donn Mathis	Anthem RC*
LO/FL	Alejandro Martinez-Tapia	Anthem RC*
FL	Alby O’Shannessey	Anthem RC
FL	Colin Turner	Anthem RC*
N8	Dylan Fortune	Anthem RC
N8	Michael Ma’afu	Anthem RC
SH	Ishma-eel Safodien	Anthem RC*
FH	Line Latu	Anthem RC
CE	Watson Filikitonga		LA Giltinis
CE	EJ Freeman	Anthem RC*
CE	Junior Gafa	Anthem RC
WI	Conner Mooneyham	Anthem RC
WI	Ashawnty Staples	Anthem RC*

 

LIFE RUNNING EAGLES

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
HO	Seth Smith	Houston SaberCats
TH	Alex Maughan	RFC Los Angeles
FL	Matthew Carrion	New England Free Jacks*
N8	Ross Deacon		Rugby ATL
FH	Julian Roberts	NOLA Gold
CE	Harley Davidson		Rugby ATL
CE	Darius Law	San Diego Legion*
FB	Jeron Pantor	Anthem RC*

 

MIAMI TRIDENTS

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
FL	Chase Schor-Haskin	Miami Sharks
FL/N8	Osaiasi Tonga’uiha	NOLA Gold

 

MYSTIC RIVER

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
LH	Tevita Sole	New England Free Jacks
HO	Connor Robinson	Anthem RC
FL	Justin Johnson		New England Free Jacks
FL/N8	Cam Davidowicz	New England Free Jacks
FL/N8	Neil Moylett	Seattle Seawolves
FL/N8	Carson Shoemaker	Anthem RC
SH	Emanuel Lai	New England Free Jacks*
FH	Matt Anticev	RFC Los Angeles
CE	Tavite Lopeti	Seattle Seawolves
CE	Isaac Olson	New England Free Jacks

 

NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
LH	Payton Telea	San Diego Legion
FL	Brady Daniel	Old Glory DC
FL	Nick Lapponese		New York Ironworkers
CE	John Powers	Old Glory DC

 

OLD BLUE

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
LH/HO	Amro Gouda		Rugby ATL
HO	Diego Maquieira		New York Ironworkers
HO	DaQuan Perry	Seattle Seawolves
TH	Koby Baker	Seattle Seawolves
LO	Charlie Overton	Old Glory DC
LO	Bill Whiteside	Old Glory DC
FL	Monate Akuei	Seattle Seawolves
FL	Shawn Clark		Dallas Jackals
N8	Joe Basser	Anthem RC
SH	Karl Keane		Seattle Seawolves
FH	Shane Barry	Anthem RC
CE	Jordan Jackson-Hope	NOLA Gold
CE/WI	Jeremy Misailegalu	Houston SaberCats
CE/WI	Seimou Smith	Houston SaberCats
WI	Jeremiah Sio	Seattle Seawolves
FB	Connor Wallace-Sims		New York Ironworkers

 

WHITE PLAINS WARPIGS

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
HO	Tuvere Vugakoto	Utah Warriors
LO	Tevita Naqali	Old Glory DC
LO	Jale Railala		San Diego Legion
FL	Jasa Veremalua		San Diego Legion
FL/N8	Naulia Dawai		Seattle Seawolves
SH	Sebastiano Villani	NOLA Gold
CE	Veramu Dikidikilati		Dallas Jackals
CE	Filimoni Waqainabete	San Diego Legion
WI	Eric Naposki	Miami Sharks

 

 

MIDWEST PREMIERSHIP

 

CHICAGO GRIFFINS

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
LH	Timmy Ohlwein		Chicago Hounds
LH	Alu Taito	Chicago Hounds
HO	Brian Flamenco		Houston SaberCats**
TH	Juan Pen	Chicago Hounds
LO	Sam Peri	Chicago Hounds
SH	Tai Kauwe		Utah Warriors**
SH	Sid Shoop	Chicago Hounds
FH	Carmen Consolino		Dallas Jackals**
CE	Cassh Maluia	Chicago Hounds
CE	Mark O’Keeffe	Chicago Hounds
WI	Michael Hand	Chicago Hounds

** – now part of Hounds Academy

 

CHICAGO LIONS

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
TH	Jeff Steele		Houston SaberCats
TH	LaRome White	Houston SaberCats
FL/N8	Anton Viera		Houston SaberCats**
N8	Jake Kinneeveauk	Chicago Hounds*
CE	Shane Fata		New England Free Jacks**
CE	Peyton Wall	Chicago Hounds*
WI	Nate Augspurger	Chicago Hounds
WI	Jax Hidalgo		Houston SaberCats
FB	Willis Goodwin	Chicago Hounds

** now part of Hounds Academy

 

CINCINNATI WOLFHOUNDS

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
TH	Trent Rogers	NOLA Gold
SH	Evan Conlon	Houston SaberCats
FH	Matías Caramuti	Miami Sharks

 

KANSAS CITY BLUES

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
LO	Matt Wirken		New York Ironworkers
CE	Siaosi Nauer		Utah Warriors

 

ST. LOUIS BOMBERS

POS	PLAYER	CURRENT	FORMER
HO/FL	Abe Turpen	NOLA Gold
TH	Sam Buckley	RFC Los Angeles
FL	Calvin Ihrig	Miami Sharks*
FL/N8	Cian Darling	NOLA Gold
N8	Tinashe Muchena	Chicago Hounds
FH	Nick Feakes	NOLA Gold