The Seattle Seawolves are a professional American rugby union team based in Seattle, Washington, that play in Major League Rugby (MLR). They were established in 2017 as one of the seven inaugural teams in MLR and began play in the 2018 season. [1] The Seawolves are a member of the Western Conference and play their home matches at Starfire Sports, a 4,500-seat multipurpose stadium in Tukwila, Washington. [2]
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As of the 2025 season, MLR has 11 teams that play a regular season with 16 matches from February to June. The regular season consists of a full round-robin schedule against opponents in the same conference and several inter-conference matches. [3] [4] The top four teams in each conference advance to the postseason playoffs, a single-elimination tournament in June that culminates in the championship final hosted at a predetermined venue. [5] [6]
The Seawolves have won two MLR championships, tied for the most in league history with the New England Free Jacks, and have appeared in four finals. [7] The team have qualified for the playoffs in all but one of their full seasons in MLR. [1] They won the inaugural championship in 2018 under player-coach Phil Mack and the 2019 final under Richie Walker, an interim replacement for head coach. [8] The team missed the playoffs in the 2021 season, which they played under three coaches, [9] and did not initially qualify for the 2022 playoffs until the disqualification of the Western Conference leaders, the Austin Gilgronis and LA Giltinis. [10] The Seawolves qualified in a replacement berth under head coach Allen Clarke and finished as runners-up in the 2022 final, where they lost to Rugby New York. [11] The team finished as runners-up in the 2024 final to the New England Free Jacks, who won their second consecutive championship. [7]
