The Dallas Jackals picked Levi Van Lanen as the 13th pick of the Major League Rugby Collegiate Draft. The 23-year-old (24 in November) center is 6’1″ and 230lbs.
Levi grew up in Pulaski, Wisconsin, a small town outside of Green Bay. He attended Pulaski High School where he played rugby, football, and wrestling. While at Pulaski High, Levi helped Pulaski Roos rugby team win two State Championships during the four years he played, and he was named to the Wisconsin U17 and U19 Select teams. He competed in a summer tournament in Colorado twice, in addition to being invited to an all-American camp.
He was a two-time Wisconsin State Wrestling Tournament qualifier. His senior year of High School football, he was selected as an All-State Running Back, Outside Linebacker, and Punter.
He was also “the only football player in the Fox River Classic Conference last year to earn first-team all-conference honors on offense, defense, and special teams. It’s a rare feat to see in a conference featuring primarily Division 1 and 2 schools.”
After high school, he played rugby at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW) and during the summers, played for the Green Bay Rugby Football Club on their Midwest 7s Qualifier team. Levi is a two-time USA Rugby DII 15s National Champion, USA Rugby DII 7s National Champion, a four-time USA Rugby Division II 7s first-team All-American, and was invited to the 2018 All-American Camp. He also was the rugby team captain at UWW from 2017-2020.
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