Sources close to the league say that Major League Rugby will be announcing tonight that it will be instituting a collegiate draft for next season.

Currently, teams try to recruit teams on their own, and there can be a run on a specific player, or other players might be overlooked. In previous years there have been complications in previous year with regard to players signing contracts, or letters of intent before the season has completed. Players have jeopardized their eligibility for the playoffs by signing too early.

A draft would basically mean that a Major League Rugby club could not sign a collegiate player until draft day. That would reduce the urgency some players feel as they worry that if they don't sign immediately on receiving an offer, they might lose out on the chance to play professional rugby.

With a draft, the teams and the players would all have to wait until the draft unfolds.

However, a draft offers another complication—MLR contracts are not large, and often they don't pay anywhere near enough money to justify a player moving. So clubs will have to do some due diligence to find out which players would be willing or able to move, and which players might be tethered to a specific market.

Updates: Players can apply for the draft here>> 

The draft is scheduled for June 13.

The draft will consist of at least four rounds, and to be in it you must ave played collegiate rugby in the USA during the 2019-2020 school year AND must have completed at least three years of college or are over 21 years old.

The order of selection will be determined by the inverse order of standings from the abbreviated 2020 Season. Expansion teams will pick at the head of the line.