MLR Collegiate Draft Set for August 18
MLR Collegiate Draft Set for August 18
Major League Rugby has announced that it will hold its 2022 Collegiate Draft on Thursday, August 18.
The first round will be shown live on FS2 and the latter picks will be on The Rugby Network.
There are expected to be three rounds, with 39 players picked.
“Draft Day is a big, big day,'' said MLR Commissioner George Killebrew, “It’s the culmination of years and years of work for these athletes on the pathway to Major League Rugby and we are incredibly excited about the next set of stars.”
This year’s draft is open to US and Canadian collegiate athletes and will consist of three rounds, with the order of selection being determined by the inverse order of standings from the 2022 MLR season. Once selected, teams will use a draft-and-follow approach and will have until the mid-point of the MLR season after the player’s collegiate eligibility ends to reach an agreement with the player.
One change from last year is that MLR has partnered with Playwize as this year’s draft registration platform. Playwize is a marketplace that allows athletes to connect with playing and commercial opportunities across the world. Players must use the Playwize app to be part of the draft.
Among the rules regarding the draft are:
Players must be enrolled in a US/Canadian University or College during the 2021-2022 academic year and be able to provide documentation (transcripts) as evidence of the same.
Players must have competed in College or University Rugby during the 2021-2022 academic year and be able to provide documentation (registration information) as evidence of the season.
Players must have completed 3 years of college OR be at least 21 years of age.
Players who do not declare for the draft but are eligible to be drafted cannot play in the MLR until the mid-point of the MLR season after their college eligibility expires.
Foreign students who are in college in the USA or Canada are eligible.
Declaring for the draft or being drafted don't necessarily affect your college eligibility. Some collegiate governing bodies might say it does. However, according to MLR, D1A does not take away your eligibility to play college rugby if you declare for the draft, or are drafted—only when you begin contract negotiations.
So the new rules mean that you can be drafted as a junior, still play as a senior in the fall or even until the mid-point of the MLR season (which is around the early part of April) before entering into contract negotiations.
