CHULA VISTA, Calif. – USA Rugby has announced the updated list of athletes contracted at the United States Olympic Committee's Olympic Training Center in southern California for the Men's Eagles Sevens program.

The men's program will have 22 residents training full-time in Chula Vista with the goal of being selected to one of the 12-player Team USA sides for the Rio 2016 Olympic Summer Games, the first to feature Rugby Sevens. The Eagles qualified for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad at the 2015 NACRA Sevens Championships earlier this year (see video of the final here: https://youtu.be/lTMcFcOHo4w?t=7h2m), and will have a full 2015-16 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series during which they can prepare against fellow Olympic-qualified nations.

Nate Augspurger (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities) has previously spent time at the OTC and on tour with the Eagles Sevens as a contracted athlete, and enters the full-time setup with coaches Mike Friday and Chris Brown having improved at Northeast Academy, part of USA Rugby's Olympic Development Academy. Martin Iosefo (Univesity of Montana) entered the sevens scene at the 2014 USA Rugby Emirates Airline Club 7s National Championship with Chicago Lions and garnered the interest of the Eagles coaching staff as a member of the USA Rugby AIG Men's Collegiate All-American Sevens before earning his first cap at Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens in 2014.

Mike Te'o is a former HS All American and USA U20 player who has been capped at 7s before. He has struggled to get a long-term toehold at the elite level in part because his body shape belies an athlete of speed and elusiveness. 

Throughout Friday's tenure as head coach of the Eagles, dozens of remote athletes have been called to High Performance Camps at the OTC. Several saw match time with the USA Falcons at the inaugural Halloween Rugby 7s invitational tournament and went head-to-head with the USA Hawks, made up of Residency athletes.

Though there are only a few new additions to the men's program, Friday and the coaching staff pride the selection process for tours, having monthly Camps at the OTC, an extensive scouting network, and a responsive community assisting USA Rugby's Olympic gold efforts.

"The changes made in the sevens pathway via the National Development Academies, along with the improvements in the college sevens game, have added significantly to the competition for spots on the national team," USA Rugby Director of Performance Alex Magleby said. "The increased competitive minutes in tournaments above the club level, via the ODA work, Elite City Sevens, RugbyTown Sevens, and Halloween 7s, for example, is creating more parity closer to the top of the player pyramid."

Men's Eagles Sevens | Residency Athletes

Nate Augspurger
Perry Baker
Danny Barrett
Garrett Bender
Pat Blair
Nic Edwards
Will Holder - U.S. Army World-Class Athlete Program
Madison Hughes
Martin Iosefo
Carlin Isles
Ben Leatigaga - U.S. Army World-Class Athlete Program
Mataiyasi Leuta
Folau Niua
Mattie Tago - U.S. Army World-Class Athlete Program
Mike Te'o
Zack Test
Brett Thompson
Stephen Tomasin
Maka Unufe

Men's Eagles Sevens | Coaching Staff
Mike Friday - Head Coach
Chris Brown - Assistant Coach / Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Phil Greening - Assistant Coach
Brian Green - Physiotherapist
Paul Goulding - Analyst
Sarah Sall - Massage Therapist
Nick Tricarico - Manager
Yvonne Parkhurst - High Performance Team Services Manager

2015-16 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series | Calendar
Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens - Dec. 4-5, 2015
Cape Town Sevens - Dec. 12-13, 2015
HSBC Wellington Sevens - Jan. 30-31, 2016
HSBC Sydney Sevens - Feb. 6-7, 2016
USA Sevens - March 4-6, 2016
HSBC Canada Sevens - March 12-13, 2016
Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens - April 8-10, 2016
HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens - April 16-17, 2016
Paris Sevens - May 13-15, 2016
HSBC London Sevens - May 21-22, 2016