Seattle Seawolves Sign Central Washington Lock, Jeremy Lenaerts

Seattle Seawolves – Jeremy Lenaerts

The Seattle Seawolves have signed Central Washington University lock/back row, Jeremy Lenaerts for the inaugural Major League Rugby season. Jeremy is 25 today (Nov. 13) and is 6’4″ and weighs 255 pounds.

Lenaerts is from Ghent, Belgium and graduated high school from College Paters Jozefieten. He began to play rugby in 2002 with Gent RFC and left after 2009 to play with Lille Métropole Rugby Club where he played for three years.

While in Belgium, he played for the under 17 and under 18s in the 2008-09 FIRA European Championship in Treviso, Italy. The following year, he played for the under 19s in the Championship, which was held in Brussels, Belgium. In 2010-11 he also played for the under 19s in the FIRA European Championship, which was held in Bucharest, Romania.

On August 14, 2011, he also played for the Belgium under 19s against the Scotland under 18s, which was hosted by the Glasgow Warriors.

In 2012, he joined the Training Center in Toulon and in 2014 left for Racing Club Narbonne Méditerranée, where he assisted in winning the France Elite D2 League Championship.

In 2015, Lenaerts enrolled at Central Washington University and is projected to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in 2018.

While at Central Washington, he was a 2015-16 USA Collegiate All-American Honorable mention and a second-team All-American for the 2016-17 season. During the Spring 2016 season, he helped lead CWU to the Varsity Cup Semi-Finals and after the season ended, joined the San Franciso Rush.

Additional rugby honors followed in 2017. In January he attended the AIG Men’s Collegiate All-American Identification camp. This led to his selection for the September 16th Collegiate All-American’s match against Oxford University at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, PA. The match was on the undercard of the Aviva Premiership regular season match between the Newcastle Falcons and the Saracens.

Comments

Todd Thornley: Central Washington University Men’s Rugby Head Coach

” Jeremy was one of the hardest working student-athletes in our program and an integral piece in our tight five with his physical play. Jeremy demonstrated consistency in playing at a high-level week in and week out.

I’m excited to see him compete at the higher level and continue his development as a rugby player.”

Adriaan Ferris: Athletic Director, Life West & former San Francisco Rush Coach

“Jeremy was impressive for San Francisco in the Pro League and provided physicality and the ability to go forward that helped turn the teams’ season around. What impressed me the most was his willingness to learn and grow as a player. His attention to detail on his own development was outstanding – he has a very professional approach to his game.

Despite being one of the younger guys in the team at the time, he applied himself like a pro and earned the respect of his teammates and coaches quickly.

Jeremy is a big unit who uses his size well. His no-nonsense approach, work rate in doing the hard yards and willingness to put his body on the line every game made him a popular member of the team. He earned the nickname J-2000 from the boys for his robot-like approach to training and games.

I can’t speak highly enough of the guy. He was an asset to the team.”

Seattle, November 9, 2017: The Seattle Seawolves and Head Coach Tony Healy are proud to announce the signing of All-American Rugby star Jeremy Lenaerts. The 24-year-old is eager to get on the field with his new teammates. “I am excited to be part of this new adventure with the Seattle Seawolves, and hope to continue to develop as a player in a professional setup within Major League Rugby,” said the All-American. Head Coach Tony Healy is also thrilled about Jeremy’s arrival. “Signing a player like Jeremy is just one more sign that the Seawolves management is fully supporting our vision of the game. Strong at the set-piece, strong at the ruck & maul, committed in defense and skilled in open play, Jeremy could be a massive contributor to the team’s success,” he said at the time of the announcement.

Hailing from Ghent, Belgium, Lenaerts started playing rugby at the age of nine. Jeremy represented his national side’s U17, U18 and U19 squads from 2008 to 2010 before moving to France to participate in U23 competitions from 2010 to 2014 and winning the French championship with Rugby Club Narbonne. Jeremy comes to Seattle off the tails of competition as a member of the 2017 AIG Collegiate All-American squad where he played as a starter in their second row. A member of the Central Washington University Wildcats, Jeremy was previously a 2016 Collegiate All-American honorable mention and progressed to the 2016 Varsity Cup semi-final with the Wildcats.

At 6’4” and 255lbs, Jeremy brings a physical style of play that will aid the Seawolves in dominating the scrum. We are excited to see the power and professionalism he exhibits on and off the pitch.

We are proud to welcome Jeremy Lenaerts to the Seawolves family.