The Most Famous

RUGBY PLAYERS from United States

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This page contains a list of the greatest American Rugby Players. The pantheon dataset contains 35 Rugby Players, 11 of which were born in United States. This makes United States the birth place of the 5th most number of Rugby Players behind United Kingdom, and Fiji.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary American Rugby Players of all time. This list of famous American Rugby Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of American Rugby Players.

Photo of Ilona Maher

1. Ilona Maher (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 29.41, Ilona Maher is the most famous American Rugby Player.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.

Ilona Delsing Rosa Maher ( il-OH-nə MAR; born August 12, 1996) is an American rugby union player. As of December 2024, she has signed for Bristol Bears in the Premiership Women's Rugby league and began playing for them in January 2025. She won bronze with the United States in rugby sevens at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Maher took up rugby at age 17, and went on to win three National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) championships as a college player at Quinnipiac University. After debuting in 2018, she represented the United States national team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics. She is also known for her body positivity advocacy.

Photo of Alev Kelter

2. Alev Kelter (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 27.13, Alev Kelter is the 2nd most famous American Rugby Player.  Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Leyla Alev Kelter ( LAY-lə ə-LEV KEL-tər; born March 21, 1991) is an American rugby sevens and rugby union player. She competed for the United States at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. She also represented the United States at the 2017 and 2021 Rugby World Cups.

Photo of Carlin Isles

3. Carlin Isles (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 26.07, Carlin Isles is the 3rd most famous American Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into 11 different languages.

Carlin Isles (born November 21, 1989) is an American rugby union player who plays for the United States national rugby sevens team. With 202 tries, Isles is second for the United States in career tries scored, behind teammate Perry Baker. Isles has been touted as the fastest rugby player.

Photo of Asaeli Tuivuaka

4. Asaeli Tuivuaka (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 23.84, Asaeli Tuivuaka is the 4th most famous American Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into 8 different languages.

Asaeli Tuivuaka (born 22 December 1995) is a Fijian rugby union player. His usual position is wing or Centre. He currently plays for French Top14 team Racing 92.

Photo of Lauren Doyle

5. Lauren Doyle (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 21.13, Lauren Doyle is the 5th most famous American Rugby Player.  Her biography has been translated into 10 different languages.

Lauren Doyle (born February 23, 1991) is an American rugby sevens player. She won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games as a member of the United States women's national rugby sevens team and represented the United States at 3 Olympic Games: 2016, 2020, and 2024. Doyle captained the U.S. Eagles rugby sevens team at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town. Doyle now hosts a Podcast with USA Rugby teammate Kristi Kirshe called "Chasing Eagles" where they discuss news and updates about USA Rugby.

Photo of Naya Tapper

6. Naya Tapper (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 19.39, Naya Tapper is the 6th most famous American Rugby Player.  Her biography has been translated into 9 different languages.

Naya Elena Tapper (born August 3, 1994) is an American retired rugby sevens player. She was a co-captain of the United States women's rugby sevens team and competed in rugby sevens at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where Team USA took home the bronze medal. Tapper was the first U.S. woman to reach 100 tries and is the all-time leading try scorer for the USA women's team. Her chase down tackle that saved a try against Ireland at the 2021 Dubai Sevens was named the #1 Play on ESPN's SportCenter Top 10 plays.

Photo of Alena Olsen

7. Alena Olsen (b. 0)

With an HPI of 18.32, Alena Olsen is the 7th most famous American Rugby Player.  Her biography has been translated into 9 different languages.

Alena Olsen ( ə-LAY-nə; born December 6, 1995) is an American rugby sevens player. She captains the Headliners women's team in the Premier Rugby Sevens competition. In 2021, Olsen and some of her teammates released a video that urged fans to sign the Global Climate Pledge, an initiative by the United States Green Chamber of Commerce. Olsen competed for the United States at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town. They lost to France in the bronze medal final and finished fourth overall. In 2024, Olsen competed for the United States in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she and her team won a bronze medal, a first for Team USA Rugby Sevens.

Photo of Martin Iosefo

8. Martin Iosefo (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 14.92, Martin Iosefo is the 8th most famous American Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into 4 different languages.

Martin Iosefo (born January 13, 1990) is an American rugby union player who currently plays for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played several seasons with the United States national rugby sevens team.

Photo of Ben Pinkelman

9. Ben Pinkelman (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 12.44, Ben Pinkelman is the 9th most famous American Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into 5 different languages.

Benjamin Joseph Pinkelman (born June 13, 1994) is an American professional rugby union player who plays as a forward for the United States national sevens team.

Photo of Nicole Heavirland

10. Nicole Heavirland (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 6.52, Nicole Heavirland is the 10th most famous American Rugby Player.  Her biography has been translated into 4 different languages.

Nicole Heavirland (born February 25, 1995) is an American rugby union player. She made her debut for the United States in 2017. She was named in the Eagles 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad.

People

Pantheon has 11 people classified as American rugby players born between 1989 and 1996. Of these 11, 11 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living American rugby players include Ilona Maher, Alev Kelter, and Carlin Isles. As of April 2024, 11 new American rugby players have been added to Pantheon including Ilona Maher, Alev Kelter, and Carlin Isles.

Living American Rugby Players

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Newly Added American Rugby Players (2024)

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