Seattle Seawolves


The Seattle Seawolves are an American professional rugby union team based in the Seattle metropolitan area that competes in Major League Rugby. The team was founded in 2017. The Seawolves won two MLR championships in 2018 [Major League Rugby final|2018] and 2019 [Major League Rugby final|2019], and lost in the 2022 Major [League Rugby final|2022 final] and 2024 final. They play home matches at the 4,000-seat main stadium at Starfire Sports in Tukwila, a suburb south of Seattle.

History

The team was founded in 2017 by an investor group led by Adrian Balfour and Shane Skinner. The Seawolves won the inaugural MLR Grand Final in 2018, and defended the title in the 2019 Major League Rugby Championship. In the final on June 16, 2019, the Seattle Seawolves defeated San Diego Legion 26–23 at Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego.
The Seawolves hired Kees Lensing as their head coach for the 2020 season and started with a 1–4 record. The season was cancelled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and did not resume.

Stadium

The Seattle Seawolves play at the main stadium at Starfire Sports, which has a seating capacity of 4,000, in the suburb of Tukwila. The team offered 1,800 season tickets for their inaugural season, which sold out prior to the first match. In 2024, Seawolves team president Tom Barden stated that the team was "in discussions" to move to the redeveloped Memorial Stadium on the Seattle Center campus. The stadium is planned to be rebuilt with a capacity of 6,500 to 8,000 seats.

Broadcasting

The local broadcasts for the Seawolves were carried by Root Sports Northwest, a regional AT&T SportsNet affiliate, from 2019 to 2021. Dan Power and Kevin Swiryn were the on-air talent for the first season. As of the 2024 season, national broadcasts were shown on Fox, FS1, and FS2; regional broadcasts were available on Root Sports and Fox 13+.

Players and personnel

Current squad

The Seattle Seawolves squad for the 2026 Major League Rugby season is:
  • Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
  • * denotes players qualified to play for the on dual nationality or residency grounds.
  • ** denotes non-American players playing as domestic players.

Head coaches

Captains

Records

Honors

2020 season

On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic. It was cancelled the following week

2022 season

Post season

RoundDateOpponentHome/AwayResult
West EliminatorJune 12San Diego LegionHomeWon, 43–19
West Conference FinalsJune 18Houston SaberCatsAwayWon, 46–27
MLR ChampionshipJune 25Rugby United NYAwayLost, 15–30

2023 season

Post-Season

RoundDateOpponentHome/AwayResult
West Conference PlayoffJune 24Houston SaberCatsHomeWon, 37-26
West Conference FinalJuly 2San Diego LegionAwayLost, 19–40

2024 season

Post-Season

RoundDateOpponentHome/AwayResult
West Conference Semi-FinalJuly 21San Diego LegionHomeWon, 30-28
West Conference FinalJuly 28Dallas JackalsHomeWon, 28-25
MLR ChampionshipAugust 4New England Free JacksAwayLost, 11–20