Storti Leads Major League Rugby Draft Picks
Storti Leads Major League Rugby Draft Picks
Major League Rugby has announced its collegiate draft picks for the 2024 College Draft.
Saint Mary’s center Erich Storti was picked #1 overall by Anthem RC out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Storti was a standout at De La Salle HS in Northern California before moving on to Saint Mary’s, where he was pivotal in helping them to a D1A National Championship win this past spring.
Storti contributed both on the scoresheet, scoring the Gaels’ second try in that final, but also defensively and in the kicking game, earning game MVP honors. Called up to the USA this summer, he is yet to be capped and is currently finishing up his MBA, which is why he isn’t in the current USA squad.
Anthem, which is funded by World Rugby and USA Rugby and serves as a training ground for USA up-and-coming players, traded for the #2 pick, as well, and nabbed Queens University Ontario hooker Neil Trainor. While he grew up in Canada, Trainor was born in Maryland. The hard-working hooker was the top #2 at the MLR Rising camp. He was in the Toronto Arrows Academy and then the Pacific Pride Development Academy in British Columbia.
Calvin Ihrig is the #3 pick and he follows 2023 #1 pick Rick Rose to Miami. In Ihrig the Sharks have landed another mature, intelligent forward with height and a team ethos. Ihrig played his college rugby at Lindenwood after transferring from Lindenwood Belleville. Born in Chicago he has live in Vietnam and Thailand for 14 years.
Kaipono Kayoshi is the #4 pick with New England. The captain of Saint Mary’s led the Gaels to the D1A title. He has played for the USA at U18 and U20 level and won a national HS Club championship with Granite Bay. A hard-running, hard-hitting flanker with a big engine Kayoshi could cover all three back row positions for the Free Jacks.
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And to round out the top five, Anthem selected Jeron Pantor. The Life University fullback is originally from Trinidad & Tobago and helped Life to major 7s championships in 2022 and 2023. He played for the West Indies at the LVI. Pantor’s father, Wayne, is on the Rugby Americas North Executive Committee. He is close to achieving his USA eligibility via residency, which is why Anthem snapped him up.
Anthem also traded for another pick in Round 2, picking up Arizona center EJ Freeman in Round 2 #1, Lindenwood lock LeDonn Mathis in Round 2 #12, and Notre Dame College wing/center Ashawnty Staples in Round 3 #1.
Of the 36 players selected, three are coming from Canadian colleges, four from NCR D1 teams, one from NCR’s D2, and 28 from CRAA D1A. No players from D1AA were selected. Notable, then, is Ray Santiago out of RPI, the only player not in the top divisions to be drafted. Santiago made it thanks to his being 6-6, 250, an intelligent athlete, a leader, and a player who has been hungry to learn. GRR has made no secret of the fact we think he has star potential, and the lock/flanker not only is a solid athlete (formerly a wrestler) but has worked hard to challenge himself so he can perform at the highest level.
Also notable was that Saint Mary’s saw six players drafted.
2024 MLR Draft Picks
Round One
Pick No. (Overall Pick No.)
1 (1) Anthem RC – Erich Storti, Center, St. Mary’s
2 (2) Anthem RC (via LA) – Neil Trainor, Hooker, Queen’s Univ. Ont.
3 (3) Miami – Calvin Ihrig, Flanker, Lindenwood
4 (4) New England (via Utah) – Kaipono Kayoshi, Flanker, St. Mary’s
5 (5) Anthem RC (via DC) – Jeron Pantor, Fullback, Life University
6 (6) NOLA – Aidan King, Flanker, Penn State
7 (7) San Diego – Inoke Waqavesi, Flyhalf, St. Mary’s
8 (8) Houston – Alex Aguero, Flanker, Cal
9 (9) Dallas – Darius Law, Center, Life University
10 (10) Chicago – Peyton Wall, Center, Indiana
11 (11) Seattle – Calvin Liulamaga, Center, Central Washington
12 (12) Old Glory DC (via ARC via NE) – Raymond Santiago, Lock, RPI
Round Two
Pick No. (Overall Pick No.)
1 (13) Anthem RC – EJ Freeman, Center, Arizona
2 (14) New England (via RFCLA) – Matt Carrion, Flanker, Life University
3 (15) Old Glory (via MIA) – Aidan Ridgway, Scrumhalf, Arkansas State
4 (16) Utah – Ammon Tielu Sagala, Wing, BYU
5 (17) Old Glory DC – Aaron Juma, Flanker, Wheeling University
6 (18) NOLA – Dalton Musselman, Flyhalf, Penn State
7 (19) San Diego – Hunter Chuhlansteff, Loosehead Prop, St. Mary’s
8 (20) Houston – Jake Negrete, Wing, St. Mary’s
9 (21) Seattle (via DAL) – Joshua Schwartz, Hooker, Queen’s Univ. Charlotte
10 (22) Chicago – Jake Kinneeveauk, Lock, University of Utah
11 (23) Seattle – Connor Williams, Tighthead Prop, University de Ottawa
12 (24) Anthem RC (via NE) – LeDonn Mathis, Lock/Flanker, Lindenwood
Round Three
Pick No. (Overall Pick No.)
1 (25) Anthem RC – Ashawnty Staples, Wing, Notre Dame College
2 (26) Los Angeles – Patrick Beattie, Tighthead Prop, Cal State Long Beach
3 (27) Miami – Lautaro Soto Ansay, Center, Lindenwood
4 (28) Utah – Cole Semu, Center, BYU
5 (29) Old Glory DC – Sebastian Schefermann, Fullback/Center, Mary Washington
6 (30) Utah (via NOLA) – Nicholas Andiarena, Flanker, Adrian College
7 (31) San Diego – Daniel Bray, Loosehead Prop, UC Santa Barbara
8 (32) Los Angeles (via HOU) – Caleb Tomasin, Scrumhalf, Cal
9 (33) Los Angeles (via DAL) – Lleyton Delzell, Flanker, St. Mary’s
10 (34) Chicago – Alex Hernandez, Loosehead Prop, Marian University
11 (35) Seattle – Jamie Armstrong, Fly-Half/Fullback, Universite de Ottawa
12 (36) New England – Emanuel Lai, Scrumhalf, Santa Clara University
MLR uses a “Draft and Follow” approach where rights to drafted players will be assigned following the MLR College Draft. Teams may activate those rights at any point until the mid-point of the next competitive MLR season after the player is eligible to play in the MLR. Drafting teams may sign those players or trade player rights with other MLR teams.
Players who declared for the draft and were not drafted (about 100) are now undrafted free agents.
Whether the concern about the Regulation 8 clock scared teams off or not is to be determined. However, of the 36 players drafted, two are Canadian-only qualified (Trainor, as we said, was born in the USA), 30 are currently USA qualified, and three are very close to establishing residency (probably within a year). Only one player really is in that gray area and that would be Aaron Juma, the Wheeling University flanker taken #17 overall by Old Glory DC. Juma may well have the residency time, but even if there’s a question, he is a supreme talent.