2026 MLR Draft: Seawolves Take Scrumhalf, Winger, Lock in Five-Team Affair

Unlike the chaotic mess of the 2025 off-season, when the league lost team after team unexpectedly, the one departure for the league this year - Anthem Rugby Carolina - was rather more expected. The side had been a three-year investment between World Rugby, the USA Eagles, and MLR, and once its third year ran out, the team simply wasn’t continued. It’s unclear if there are going to be five teams in 2027 or a much less awkward six (there are reportedly interested parties, but no concrete timetable I am aware of), but given that the US is hosting the Men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031 and the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2033, the league is likely to continue on in some form until at least the former date.

The Seattle Seawolves will be competing next year, however that is structured, and so will the New England Free Jacks, Chicago Hounds, California Legion, and Old Glory DC. All five of these teams drafted outgoing college players in the 2026 MLR draft on Thursday, with a draft order based first on how deep the team made it in the 2026 playoffs (teams that bounced in the semifinals drafting before teams that made the MLR final) and secondly based on 2026 regular season record.

Because Anthem, who finished last, was out - and because New England had forfeited their first round pick of 2026 to Anthem in Oct. 2025 - the Seawolves drafted second in the first round behind only Old Glory. Seattle drafted third in the other two rounds, giving them slate consisting of the no. 2, no. 7, and no. 12 overall picks.

Pick 1.2: Solomon Williams - Scrumhalf - University of California, Berkeley - 5-8, 180 pounds.

The Seawolves are no strangers to recent draftees from the Golden Bears, with their 2025 second round pick going to tighthead prop Charlie Walsh from that university.

Solomon Williams, who some projected to go first overall but who fell to second as the Flags drafted flanker Logan Ballinger, has quite the pedrigree of stellar play in college. He is incredibly fond of taps and fast, heads-up play while also having accuracy with his boot and with his passes and possessing a level of explosiveness that can stun unsuspecting opponents. When it comes to his underlying physical abilities, he is incredibly quick: this means fast breaks through lines in the center of the pitch, evading would-be tacklers, and split-second offloads and chips to his teammates.