| 2020 MLR Draft | |
| Date: | June 12, 2020 |
| League: | Major League Rugby |
| First: | Conner Mooneyham, Wing/Center, Dallas Jackals |
| Fewnum: | 2 |
| Fewest: | ATL, Austin, LA, New England, New Orleans, DC, San Diego, Seattle |
| Mostnum: | 4 |
| Overall: | 24 |
| Rounds: | 2 |
| Prev: | Inaugural |
| Next: | 2021 |
The 2020 MLR Collegiate Draft[1] [2] [3] [4] was the first of its kind for rugby union in North America.[5] On April 8, 2020, the MLR announced that on June 13, 2020, they will host their first collegiate MLR Draft.[6] All of the participating teams for the 2021 season, except the Toronto Arrows, participated in the draft.[7]
Major League Rugby first ever Collegiate Draft was held on June 13, 2020. The Draft consisted of four rounds and the order of selection was determined by the inverse order of standings from the abbreviated 2020 Season from COVID-19, with expansion teams placed at the head of it. Once selected, teams used a "draft-and-follow" approach and had until one MLR season after the player's collegiate eligibility ended, to reach an agreement with the athlete.
Players must have played U.S. collegiate rugby in the one year preceding the draft (between June 13, 2019 to June 12, 2020); ANDMust have completed three years of college OR be at least 21 years of age. These criteria allow for athletes who have completed their Junior year to declare for the Draft while continuing to play in Collegiate competition as long as they remain eligible.
MLR analyst Dan Power and MLR reporter Dani Wexelman were hosts of the Draft, and were joined by Stacy Paetz, sideline reporter for MLR games and host of MLR All-Access.
| MLR team | Player | College | Division | Conference | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Conner Mooneyham | Wing/Center | Mid-South | 2019 Collegiate All-American (2nd team) | |||
| 1 | 2 | Brian Nault | Prop | D1-A | Independent | from LA | ||
| 1 | 3 | Derek Ellingson | Center/Wing | D1-A | California | from Houston | ||
| 1 | 4 | Lui Sitama | Center/Utility Back | D1-A | Liberty | |||
| 1 | 5 | Aaron Matthews | Center | D1-A | California | 2018 Collegiate All-American (2nd team) 2019 Collegiate All-American (2nd team) 2019 Rudy Scholz Award Finalist 2020 Rudy Scholz Award Nominee | ||
| 1 | 6 | Justin Johnson | Openside Flanker | D1-A | Mid-South | 2019 Collegiate All-American (2nd team) | ||
| 1 | 7 | John Powers | Wing/Fullback | D1-A | Liberty | |||
| 1 | 8 | Michael Matarazzo | Number 8/Lock | D1-A | Independent | 2018 Collegiate All-American (3rd team) | ||
| 1 | 9 | Dallas Jackals | Tommy Clark | Flanker/Lock | D1-A | Liberty | from New York 2018 Collegiate All-American (2nd team) 2019 Collegiate All-American (3rd team) 2020 Rudy Scholz Award Finalist | |
| 1 | 10 | Andrew Guerra | Flanker | D1-A | Rugby East | |||
| 1 | 11 | Casey Renaud | Lock | D1-A | Rugby East | |||
| 1 | 12 | Patrick Madden | Fly-Half/Center | D1-A | California | 2020 Rudy Scholz Award Finalist | ||
| 2 | 13 | Levi Van Lanen | Center | D2 | 2016 D2 Collegiate All-American 7s (1st team) 2017 D2 Collegiate All-American 7s (1st team) 2018 D2 Collegiate All-American 7s (1st team) 2019 D2 Collegiate All-American 7s (1st team) | |||
| 2 | 14 | Watson Filikitonga | Center | Iona | D1-A | Liberty | ||
| 2 | 15 | Danny Giannascoli | Fly-Half/Fullback | Mid-Atlantic | from Houston 2019 NSCRO All-American 2020 NSCRO All-American | |||
| 2 | 16 | Mason Koch | Hooker | D1-AA | ||||
| 2 | 17 | Nicholas Taylor | Center/Fly-Half | D1-A | Mid-South | |||
| 2 | 18 | Spencer Krueger | Prop | D1-A | Big 10 | 2018 Collegiate All-American (3rd team) | ||
| 2 | 19 | Elijiah Hayes | Prop | |||||
| 2 | 20 | John Scotti | Wing/Center | D1-A | Mid-South | |||
| 2 | 21 | Bronson Teles | Number 8/Lock | D1-A | PAC | from New York 2019 Collegiate All-American (2nd team) 2020 Rudy Scholz Award Nominee | ||
| 2 | 22 | Stephan McLeish | Hooker/Flanker | D1-A | Mid-South | 2020 Rudy Scholz Award Nominee | ||
| 2 | 23 | Matthew Gordan | Lock/Number 8 | D1-A | Rugby East | 2019 Collegiate All-American (1st team) | ||
| 2 | 24 | Cole Zarcone | Wing | D1-A | Independent | 2019 Collegiate All-American 7s (1st team) 2020 Rudy Scholz Award Nominee | ||