Falls' rugby star White drafted to MLR

Wolverines’ dual-sport athlete drafted to professional rugby team

By David Yarger

When people think about Western New York, some may think of chicken wings; some may think of the long, cold winters; and some may think of hard-hitting Buffalo Bills football. What some fail to recognize is that there’s another hard-hitting sport that produces great talent in this region: rugby. 

Recently, one of WNY’s own, Tyler White of Niagara Falls, was drafted to the Chicago Hounds, a member of Major League Rugby, with the ninth pick of the second round.

The four-year St. Bonaventure lock was a crucial part of the Bonnies’ run to the National College Rugby Division 1 National Championship, in addition to being a scholastic All-American and three-time NCR all-star. 

On getting drafted, White said it was something – if you asked him back in high school – he would’ve never imagined it, but the feeling was surreal and, truthfully, unexpected. 

“What’s kind of funny is I didn’t end up getting a call. I kind of found out when my name was put up on the screen,” White said, as he watched the MLR draft with family who traveled to where he resides now in Boston. “It was a great time. I really wasn’t expecting it. The two to three weeks leading up to it, I was in and out of calls with a couple of the teams and I, up until my name was called, had no clue if I was even thought of from these teams or not. But, no, it was a really great moment.”

The newest Hound mentioned that, unlike drafts in the NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB, there wasn’t a combine, of sorts, where he could show off his talents. Everything was reliant on past game film compiled into highlight videos. 

White added that, despite getting recognized and drafted to the big leagues, there was not a feeling of completion. Rather, it was more of “now the hard work is just beginning.”

White hasn’t played rugby forever. He began in 2022, his senior year of high school. While he was a multi-sport athlete at Niagara Falls High School, his playing career began with Grand Island High School. The Vikings had a rugby team with players from multiple high schools in the area, as the sport was and is still niche at the high school level. 

White said he got the inspiration to play from his father, who played his entire life – meaning he was around the pitch frequently. 

From there, White extended his playing resume by joining the Niagara Wasps in Ontario – seasons in which he said only increased his passion for the sport. 

“That was really where this love kind of kicked in,” White said. “Playing social men's league rugby for the Wasps in the offseason really enforced that love, true passion and desire to keep playing. You go up there and it’s just guys getting off their 9-to-5 or a 12-hour shift laying concrete and they’re still showing up and still having a smile on their face. … It really gave a euphoric feeling.”

From a development standpoint and where he is today as a player, he gave a ton of credit to his alma mater. 

Like Bonaventure, the Chicago Hounds are a very talented team. Last season, they were 12-0 including playoffs, on their way to a MLR title.

White said playing in an environment like Bonaventure helped prepare him for a culture like Chicago’s. 

“I feel like the past four years at Bonaventure have been a very winning program mentality being one of the top four teams every year. So, that kind of winning mentality and winning expectation is already kind of engraved into me and I’m very grateful for (that),” White said. 

His college coach, Daniel Neighbours, thought it was awesome for White to get drafted to Chicago and hoped that his last four years around Bonaventure’s culture would help as he moved forward into the next stage of his career. 

Neighbours additionally said that, on top of being a big, strong, athletic player, it was White’s overall character that made him a great asset to the Bonnies roster. 

“He’s a really coachable kid who came in wanting to improve and wanting to grow as a player and be the best version of himself that he could be,” Neighbours said. “His work ethic was really good. His devotion and dedication to everything we were doing was good. He had the qualities of someone who was going to grow and keep getting better.”

Before White dove into rugby, he was a member of the soccer and baseball teams at Niagara Falls. Coach Rob Augustino got to see White on both of those teams and echoed a lot of what Neighbours said. 

“For soccer, he was a very good goalie at that. He was also the glue guy of the team – told jokes or funny stories all of the time and kept things light with the team, but was a beast on the field. With baseball, he came in every day determined to improve and be his best daily,” Augustino said. 

As he moves forward, White said it was an honor to get drafted, but he is looking forward to the challenge the next level brings. 

The MLR draftee added that there is usually a rookie camp in December that he is looking forward to. 

As White steps into this next chapter, Neighbours message to him was quite simple: Be yourself. 

“Keep being you. Keep being coachable and be a sponge,” Neighbours said. “Go in there knowing you are going to be in an environment that is not only really challenging and tough, but it’s an environment that is going to help you grow as a player and as a human being, as well. 

One thing White hoped would come out of this is that awareness grows in the Western New York area regarding the sport of rugby. 

“It’s not the fact that there’s no rugby to be played, it’s just that more people need to know about it,” he said. “Selfishly, I’m hoping that there is a kid out there that one day will start playing rugby maybe because of me or because of some of the programs I’ve been involved in.”

The Hounds season starts around the end of March and beginning of April. White joins a team that includes MLR Player of the Year Brock Webster and Forward of the Year Mason Flesch, and looks to repeat its 2026 title-clinching season.