The Seattle Seawolves are an American professional rugby union team based in the Seattle metropolitan area that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team was founded in 2017. The Seawolves won two MLR championships in 2018 and 2019, and lost in the 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 broadcast for the Seawolves has been carried on KONG and the streaming platform KING 5+ since 2026. Root Sports Northwest, a regional AT&T SportsNet affiliate, broadcast matches locally from 2019 to 2021. Dan Power and Kevin Swiryn were the on-air talent for the first season. For the 2024 season, national broadcasts were shown on Fox, FS1, and FS2; regional broadcasts were available on Root Sports and Fox 13+.
Kit history
Kit sponsorship Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Other Shirt sponsor(s) 2018–2019 XBlades NoneNone 2020Paladin Sports KrusteazNone 2021–2022WaFd BankNone2023Virginia Mason Franciscan HealthTukwilaCity of Tukwila USI Envorso2024Kappa2025Macron
Players and personnel Current squad
The Seattle Seawolves squad for the 2026 Major League Rugby season is:
Props
Hookers
Locks
Back row
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
Centres
Wings
Fullbacks
Head coaches Tony Healy (2018) did not take up post due to visa difficulties Phil Mack (2018) Anton Moolman (2019) did not take up post due to visa difficulties Richie Walker (2019) Kees Lensing (2020–April 2021) Pate Tuilevuka (May–June 2021) Allen Clarke (May 2021–)
Captains Riekert Hattingh (2018–present)
Records Season standings
SeasonConferenceRegular seasonPostseasonPosPldWDLFA+/−BPPtsPldWLFA+/− Result2018 — 2nd 8 6 0 2 232 188 +44 5 29 2 206143+18Won Major League Rugby final (GLN)2019 — 2nd16 11 1 4 498 407 +91 12 58 2 205640+16Won Major League Rugby final (SD)2020 Western4th 5 1 0 4 138 162 -24 4 8 - - - - - - Cancelled2021 Western5th 16 4 0 12 343 461 -118 10 26 - - - - - - Did not qualify2022 Western4th 16 9 0 7 435 354 +73 6 46 3 2110476+28Lost Major League Rugby final (RNY)2023 Western2nd 16 12 0 4 509 348 +161 11 59 1 116936+33Lost West Conference Final (SD)2024 Western2nd 16 11 0 5 498 373 +125 13 57 3 216973-4Lost Major League Rugby final (NE)2025 Western4th 16 8 1 7 460 422 +38 15 49 1 01 2123-2Lost West Conference Semifinal (UTA)2026 -2nd 10 6 0 4 311 308 +3 7 31 1 01 3443-9Lost Semifinal (CAL)Totals 119 68 2 49 3,424 2,836 +588 83 363 14 9 5 414 334 +80 7 postseason appearances
Notes
Honors Major League Rugby Champions: 2018, 2019 Playoff appearances: 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 Western Conference Championship (playoffs): 2022, 2024
Players HonorPlayer NameSeasonMLR Player of the YearBrad Tucker2019 MLR Rookie of the Year Tavite Lopeti 2022S. Marcus Campbell Community Impact AwardDaniel Kriel2023
2018 season Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Result April 22 San Diego Legion Home Won, 39–23 April 28 Glendale Raptors Home Lost, 15–19 May 12 New Orleans Gold Away Won, 31–29 May 20 Utah Warriors Home Won, 41–32 May 27 New Orleans Gold Home Won, 55–26 June 2 Houston SaberCats Away Won, 20–7 June 8 Austin Elite Away Won, 20–19 June 16 Glendale Raptors Away Lost, 11–33
Postseason Date Opponent Home/Away Result June 30 San Diego Legion Home Won, 38-24 June 16 Glendale Raptors Neutral Won, 23–19
2019 season Exhibition Date Opponent Home/Away Result December 22 (2018) Crimson Tide Away Won, 48–7 January 5 SFGG Away Won, 45–0 January 17 Seattle Saracens Home Won, 74–3
Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Result January 27 Glendale Raptors Home Won, 20-18 February 2 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 13-17 February 10 New Orleans Gold Away Lost, 31-41 February 17 Toronto Arrows Home Won, 35–30 February 24 Rugby United New York Home Won, 33-21 March 10 Houston SaberCats Home Won, 27-14 March 16 Austin Elite Away Won, 29-17 March 31 San Diego Legion Home Lost, 22-28 April 5 Utah Warriors Away Won, 48-36 April 13 Houston SaberCats Away Won, 52–10 April 21 New Orleans Gold Home Won, 25–24 April 28 Toronto Arrows Away Lost, 7-29 May 11 Rugby United New York Away Won, 38-31 May 18 Glendale Raptors Away Won, 53-36 May 26 Utah Warriors Home Draw, 27-27 June 2 Austin Elite Home Won, 38–26
Postseason Date Opponent Home/Away Result June 9 Toronto Arrows Home Won, 30-17 June 16 San Diego Legion Away Won, 26–23
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
Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Result February 9 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 24–33 February 16 Old Glory DC Away Lost, 22–28 February 22 Toronto Arrows Home Lost, 17–39 February 29 New England Free Jacks Home Won, 44–29 March 7 Utah Warriors Home Lost, 31–33 March 15 Rugby United New York Away Cancelled March 21 Houston SaberCats Home Cancelled March 29 Colorado Raptors Home Cancelled April 4 Austin Gilgronis Away Cancelled April 12 San Diego Legion Home Cancelled April 25 Utah Warriors Away Cancelled May 2 Houston SabreCats Away Cancelled May 10 Rugby ATL Away Cancelled May 17 New Orleans Gold Home Cancelled May 24 Colorado Raptors Away Cancelled May 31 Austin Gilgronis Home Cancelled
2021 season Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Result March 20 Houston SaberCats Away Lost, 24–30 March 28 LA Giltinis Away Lost, 26–57 April 10 Utah Warriors Away Won, 20–15 April 17 Toronto Arrows Away Lost, 7-52 April 25 Austin Gilgronis Away Lost, 15-42 May 2 Rugby United New York Home Lost, 23-21 May 9 San Diego Legion Home Won, 21-15 May 16 Old Glory DC Away Lost, 18-22 May 23 Rugby ATL Home Lost, 6-25 June 6 Utah Warriors Home Lost, 28-29 June 13 New England Free Jacks Away Lost, 21-25 June 20 Austin Gilgronis Home Lost, 31-36 June 27 LA Giltinis Home Lost, 14-29 July 3 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 21-34 July 11 New Orleans Gold Home Won, 30-6 July 15 Houston SaberCats Home Won, 40-21
2022 season Exhibition Date Opponent Home/Away Result January 22 Seattle Rugby Club Home Won, 76-8 January 28 Hartford Harpooners Home Won, 50-0
Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Result February 6 Toronto Arrows Home Won, 21-8 February 10 Utah Warriors Home Won, 20-17 February 20 San Diego Legion Away Won, 31-28 February 26 Austin Gilgronis Home Lost, 25-18 March 4 New Orleans Gold Home Lost, 25-24 March 12 Houston SaberCats Away Lost, 21-19 March 19 Dallas Jackals Away Won, 34-12 March 26 LA Giltinis Home Lost, 12-31 April 9 New England Free Jacks Away Lost, 22-24 April 16 San Diego Legion Home Won, 34-32 April 23 Utah Warriors Away Won, 20-14 May 1 Austin Gilgronis Away Lost, 6-17 May 8 Dallas Jackals Home Won, 74-7 May 15 Rugby United NY Away Lost, 22-30 May 27 Houston SaberCats Home Won, 43-36 June 5 LA Giltinis Away Won, 35-27
Postseason
Round Date Opponent Home/Away Result West Eliminator June 12 San Diego Legion Home Won, 43–19 West Conference Finals June 18 Houston SaberCats Away Won, 46–27 MLR Championship June 25 Rugby United NY Away Lost, 15–30
2023 season
Exhibition Date Opponent Home/Away Result February 5 American Raptors Home Won, 47-0 February 8 Seattle Rugby Club Home Won, 49-0
Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Result February 18 New York Ironworkers Home Won, 25-11 February 24 Rugby ATL Home Won, 28-22 March 4 Dallas Jackals Away Won, 35-10 March 11 Houston Sabercats Home Won, 24-12 March 24 Chicago Hounds Away Won, 27-5 April 2 New Orleans Gold Away Won, 36-35 April 8 San Diego Legion Home Lost, 20-23 April 14 Utah Warriors Away Lost, 35-41 April 22 Toronto Arrows Away Won, 36-27 April 28 Dallas Jackals Home Won, 61-19 May 13 Houston Sabercats Away Won, 34-17 May 20 Chicago Hounds Home Won, 35-13 May 27 Old Glory DC Away Won, 41-19June 4Utah WarriorsHomeWon, 27-20 June 11 New England Free Jacks Home Lost, 26-34 June 18 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 19-40 Post-Season
Round Date Opponent Home/Away Result West Conference Playoff June 24 Houston SaberCats Home Won, 37-26 West Conference Final July 2 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 19–40
2024 season
Exhibition Date Opponent Home/Away Result February 16 Pacific Pride Home Won, 79-7 February 21 Canada Selects Home Won, 54-7
Regular season Date Opponent Home/Away Result March 2 San Diego Legion Home Won, 25–19 March 9 Miami Sharks Home Won, 29–18 March 16 Utah Warriors Away Won, 23–13 March 23 Houston SaberCats Home Lost, 40–42 March 30 Chicago Hounds Away Won, 32–26 April 6 Dallas Jackals Home Won, 34–32 April 13 RFC Los Angeles Away Won, 36–5 April 20 New England Free Jacks Away Won, 29–21 April 27 Anthem Rugby Carolina Home Won, 29–13 May 4 NOLA Gold Away Lost, 31–32 May 11 Dallas Jackals Away Lost, 7–14 May 18 Old Glory DC Home Won, 26–24 May 25 Utah Warriors Home Won, 68–29 June 1 Houston SaberCats Away Lost, 25–28 June 8 RFC Los Angeles Home Won, 29–12 June 15 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 33–45
Post-Season
Round Date Opponent Home/Away Result West Conference Semi-Final July 21 San Diego Legion Home Won, 30-28 West Conference Final July 28 Dallas Jackals Home Won, 28-25 MLR Championship August 4 New England Free Jacks Away Lost, 11–20
References
External links