The New England Free Jacks signed Javon Camp-Villalovos for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The 22-year-old lock (23 in February) is 6’6” and 265lbs.
Javon’s hometown is Los Angeles, California. He attended Jesuit High School and then Bishop Mora Salesian High School where he was a varsity basketball player for the Mustangs, as well as rugby. He also played varsity football as an offensive tackle and was named to the First Team Angelas League his senior year.
He attended Bethune Cookman University from 2017-2021 and will graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. While there he played NCAA Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision Program football for three years before resuming rugby as a coach for the Rhinos rugby program out of Sacramento, California.
Javon attended the USA Rugby Talent Identification California Camp in 2021 and his performance led to his selection as one of 27 promising young athletes within the High Performance Pathways nine-week camp in Glendale, Colorado. This camp led to his selection for the USA Selects squad which travelled to Uruguay for the Americas Pacific Challenge.
New England Free Jacks Comments
“I hate losing more than I like winning,” expressed Camp-Villalovos on his motivation coming into next year. “I plan to bring that attitude to the Free Jacks and help create a competitive atmosphere.”
“Javon has all the attributes required to play the game at a very high level, commented Free Jacks Performance Director, Tom Kindley. “At 6’6, he has top level lock height and he performs the fundamentals of the game with real purpose. We were impressed by his rate of development within the Pathways program and believe that with time in a High Performance setting he will go very well. Beyond that Javon is very well rounded being an avid golfer, anime and tattoo enthusiast, and youth rugby coach meaning he will be a great bloke to have around.”
Though young, Camp-Villalovos has gained a wealth of experience throughout his high school years and combined with the recent USA Rugby development, looks to be one of the most promising young players in the country. Look to see a strong performance from the promising lock this season at Veterans Memorial in 2022.