Seawolves’ Callum Botchar Signing Marks Seventh Confirmed International for 2026 Roster, Joins Forward Pack Alongside Kalisi Moli

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Callum Botchar carries the ball for the Canadian international team during a Pacific Nations Cup match against Japan on Aug. 30, 2025. Image credit: Callum Botchar/Instagram [/caption]

The Seattle Seawolves announced the signing of Canadian forward Callum Botchar on Thursday morning, their 22nd confirmed signing of the offseason and the seventh international player to be added to the 2026 roster. Because MLR has reduced international gameday slots to seven and excluded Canadians from domestic eligibility in the wake of multiple teams closing up shop - and because the team is expecting a roster size of 31 to 32 players instead of the 36 players they began 2025 with - it must be expected that there will not be very many more (perhaps not any) internationals signed to the 2026 roster.

The internationally capped Botchar is a versatile forward who can play as a lock and a flanker, similar to Marno Redelinghuys in that regard. Standing at 6-4 and 240 pounds, Botchar mostly played lock during his two years for the NOLA Gold. Botchar’s best year so far has been 2024, when he played in 16 games, scored two tries, and made 105 tackles, per the North American Rugby Database (NARDb), but he also played in seven games in 2025. Given that the Seawolves have signed several other locks for the 2026 season, it stands to reason that Botchar might make some more of his appearances in the back row.

It is the second recent signing of a back rower to the team, as Seattle announced the addition of former Utah Warriors flanker and eightman Kalisi Moli on Tuesday. Moli, a 6-2, 245-pound Utahn also entering the third year of his MLR career, has made 292 meters, 225 tackles, and one try in 28 appearances, per NARDb. Moli played most of his time with the Warriors at openside flanker and eightman, and although Paddy Ryan is likely going to be the main number seven on the 2026 roster, Moli might get a fair amount of playing time as the number eight - though a lot of that depends on whether Riekert Hattingh, longtime eightman and Seawolves captain, is going to return to the team for the 2026 season.

A full breakdown and tracker of the Seawolves’ offseason as it currently stands can be found here.