Seattle Seawolves & Hooker Mike Shepherd

The Seattle Seawolves re-signed hooker Mike Shepherd for the 2019 Major League Rugby season. He is 29-years-old and played after the end of the 2018 MLR Championship season with the Seattle Saracens in the BC Rugby Premier League.

The Seawolves announced that Shepherd will be returning for the 2019 MLR season saying that “We are excited to announce 2019 re-sign, Mike Shepherd. The hooker brings technical skills in both the scrum and the line-out that are hard to come by. Shepherd is a work horse on defense and has strong ball carrying abilities, adding even more strength to the Seawolves’ forward pack. Welcome back to the Seattle Southside, Mike!”

Seattle Seawolves Mike Shepherd Jan. 2017 Article

The Seattle Seawolves announced the signing of University of Utah graduate and four-time Collegiate All-American, Mike Shepherd. He plays hooker, is 28 years old, is 6’1″ tall and weighs 255 pounds.

Shepherd was born in Brownsburg, Indiana, attended Brownsburg High School from 2004-2008 and played for Brownsburg Rugby Football Club. While there he was selected to the 1st team All-state team in Indiana sand in 2007 he was selected for the USA Rugby Under-18s HS All-American team, which toured England.

He also represented the USA U-20s in 2007 through 2009. The team toured Ireland in 2007, Wales in 2008 for the Junior World Cup and Kenya in 2009 for the Junior World Trophy Tournament.

Following his graduation from high school in 2008, he attended Indiana University and then transferred in 2010 to the University of Utah where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism – Sports Management in 2013.

While at Indiana University, Shepherd was selected as a Midwest Collegiate All-star and Collegiate All-American in 2009 and 2010 while serving as Co-Captain. At the University of Utah, he again served as Co-Captain, and also earned Collegiate All-American honors in 2012 and 2013. The All-Americans toured Ireland and New Zealand, respectively those years.

Since 2013 Shepherd has played club rugby with the Seattle Saracens, although the club was Seattle-OPSB when he joined. He was a co-captain of the team. He also has played rugby 7s with the Washington Athletic Club in 2016-2017.

Shepherd continued his National team involvement playing in 2015 for the USA Rugby Select XVs against Uruguay and Argentina in their tour of South America.

Shepherd has also made contributions to youth rugby in the Seattle area. He volunteered his time with the Ruggerpalooza with the Liberty Rugby Club. He also has helped to grow the sport with Atavus Rugby.