The Los Angeles Giltinis drafted Stephen McLeish with the 22nd pick of the Major League Rugby Draft. This selection was gained in a trade with NOLA Gold in exchange for a Gold’s foreign player spot in 2021 with Gold receiving LA’s first-round selection, the second pick of the draft.
The 21-years-old hooker/back row is 5’11” and 240 lbs. He was born in Michigan to Australian parents and was involved in youth soccer and chess. When he attended Hamilton Southern High School in Fishers, Indiana, he initially tried out for the soccer team but was not selected and turned to football as a kicker. He also played Aussie Rules Football prior to playing rugby in high school. His nickname is “The Milk Man” from when he sold milk in High School.
Stephen enrolled at Lindenwood University from 2017-2020 and is a Computer Science major. He played rugby in the D1A Mid-South Conference and was honored as a 2018 USA U20 selection, 2019 Academic All American, and a 2020 Rudy Scholz Award Nominee. He also played for the Chicago Lions in the USA Club Summer 7s competition in 2019.
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