With a number of the Belmont Shore players who led the team to a U18 Open win in the 2023 NAI 7s, this year's bracket is wide open.

Except ... it's worth noting that Belmont Shore also won the NAI U16 bracket, so those players will be moving into the U18 side. So, yes, Belmont Shore one of the favorites. But it won't be easy, at all. Let's take a look at some of the other teams that might be contenders.

Team Related. This is a team made up largely of players from East HS in the Salt Lake City area. Led by the bruising power of Papa Matelau and with plenty of other talents such as Aleki Naea, Petu Pulatau, and more, they have the ability to go a long way.

West Valley Warriors are another local team with breakaway speed and thunderous power in contact. They need to keep it together for a full 14.

Atlantis probably leads the way in Pool B but keep an eye on Riverton, which is local, a Gorilla side that has a bunch of players who have experience from younger brackets in NAI, and a Liberty side that knows itself well. Atlantis draws players from Pennsylvania but they have others from all over, such as Dylan Waschman from Dallas Jesuit.

Rebel Rugby has two teams in the Elite bracket but should do well here, also. While Colorado is their main source of players Rebel has developed a nice relationship with Iowa, where they play 7s as their regular competition. We'll see some of those players here. They are in Pool C with the San Mateo Wolverines, who can score from anywhere.

USA South Panthers lead the way in a very tough Pool D that includes TOA. The Panthers have done a good job of working their players through their age levels while also bringing in new talent. Four of the players that just won the RAN U19 tournament (against Caribbean national U19 teams) had started with the Panthers U14s. This Panthers team is mostly Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. Keep an eye on Tanner Loebsack and Patrick Rushe. This is essentially the team that played as U16s in 2023.

Pool E might well be the Pool of Death with a very good group from Bitterroot, an LA Tribe squad that is very close to the one that was victorious in 2023's National Youth 7s, an imposing Pioneer 7s side with Sia Ofa and Kite Afeaki, and a KC Jr. Blues team led by the rapier-and-hammer combo of Aidan Chavez and Lance Nauer.

Pool F Aan elusive, physical, and fast Kahuku side leads Pool F but don't overlook at North Carolina team that could surprise many. And we mentioned Pool G at the beginning.

Too many teams to pick a winner, but here you have some candidates for a championship. As always, luck with injuries, getting into a team mindset early, and fitness all are factors, as are game-changing athletes.

This is not to ignore the other teams there. Many of them are unknowns as a unit, coming from British Columbia, northern Washington, western Washington, Texas, and many other regions, as well. Someone is bound to shake things up.