Three Wildcats selected in Major League Rugby draft

Three former Central Washington University men's rugby standouts were selected in last week's Major League Rugby (MLR) Collegiate Draft.

Marques Fuala'au (No. 3 overall), Albert O'Shannessey (No. 21), and Noah Wright (No. 36) were among the 39 draft selections out of a pool of 104 hopefuls nationwide.

According to an article on WildcatSports.com, the Wildcats tied for the second-most draftees in this year's MLR Collegiate Draft, which consisted of three rounds of 13 picks each.

"Our program is happy for these three recent alums to be picked up in the draft and have the opportunity to continue their careers in the professional game," CWU head coach Todd Thornley said. "All three worked extremely hard over the last five years to build a foundation to take advantage of this opportunity."

Thornley noted that seven Wildcats have been selected in the MLR draft over the past three years, including two top-three picks (Fuala'au and Brian Nault in 2020).

Fuala'au, a flanker, was chosen third overall by the Dallas Jackals, who finished last in the Western Conference last season at 2-14. The recent business administration graduate hopes to make an instant impact after a successful five-year run at CWU.

"Shoutout to Todd Thornley-he's doing a great job over there in Ellensburg," Fuala'au said after being selected by the Jackals. "The Wildcats are up to something special, and I'm really grateful just to have been a part of that."

O'Shannessey was selected by the Rugby New York Ironworkers in the second round with the 21st overall selection. The flanker from Christchurch, New Zealand-who earned a degree in managerial economics-joins an Ironworkers team that just made the postseason but fell short in the conference semifinals.

Wright, a wing, will be playing alongside Fuala'au in Dallas after being picked in the third round. In an article in the Ellensburg Daily Record, the CWU media and journalism graduate admitted he's nervous about transitioning to Major League Rugby, but having one of his longtime teammates by his side will put him at ease.

"I grew up playing with and against Marques," said Wright, a Renton native. "We have been teammates for longer than I can remember."