Head Coach Sione Fukofuka and the USA Women’s Eagles staff arrive in Chula Vista this week, inviting 40 US-based prospects from the extended player pool to the Elite Athlete Training Center for an early season identification camp.
With a mix of capped USA Eagles, college standouts and WER prospects all assembling for the six-day training environment, this camp signifies the official start to 2025 for the Women’s Eagles, supporting squad selections for this year’s test match schedule and Rugby World Cup.
Curriculum across the six days will consist of combine-like programs, giving Fukofuka and the coaching staff a marker on fitness and proficiencies within the US-based player pool. Coaches will run a series of fitness tests, game models and a final-day scrimmage to evaluate the above, along with off-pitch meetings to continue development of the broader squad.
Fukofuka said on the assembly, “2025 is an exciting year for the Women’s National Team, with the Pacific Four Series and Rugby World Cup on the horizon. The camp in Chula Vista allows us to launch our 2025 campaign with a combination of High Performance squad members, wider training squad members and pathway players from the U20s and U23s. As a coaching staff we are looking at the physical capacity of the players through our testing protocols, their core skills and decision making through closed and open activities. Lastly we’ll hold a possibles vs probables game to close out the camp.
“This assembly provides valuable performance data that the coaching staff will use to depth chart the players and compare across the player pool. We have the opportunity to spend time with some of our younger players across the pathway, in addition to players identified across the latter part of 2024 who may feature in the USA senior team over the next 12 months.”
| Name | Position | School/Region |
|---|---|---|
| Maya Learned | Prop | Colorado |
| Reece Woods | Prop | Sacred Heart Univ. |
| Olivia Woods | Prop | Sacred Heart Univ. |
| Mikaela Hall | Prop | Queens |
| Caitlin Weigel | Prop | New York |
| Jordynn LeBeau | Prop | Dartmouth College |
| Saher Hamdan | Hooker | Colorado |
| Sam Brackett | Hooker | Twin Cities |
| Hope Cooper | Hooker | Bay Area |
| Nafi Fitisemanu | Hooker | Havard Univ. |
| Rachel Ehrecke | Lock | Colorado |
| Evelyn Ashenbrucker | Lock | Bay Area |
| Marisa Hall | Lock | Mid West |
| Emerson Allen | Lock | Twin Cities |
| Jenny Kronish | Lock | Boston |
| Malia Isaacs | Back Row | Boston |
| Freda Tafuna | Back Row | Lindenwood Univ. |
| Nikki Lynch | Back Row | Brown Univ. |
| Emma Cantrell | Back Row | Colorado |
| Carson Hann | Back Row | Colorado |
| Kapoina Bailey | Back Row | Colorado |
| Cindy Taulava | Back Row | Dartmouth College |
| Cassidy Bargell | Scrumhalf | Boston |
| Taina Tukuafu | Scrumhalf | Bay Area |
| Sadie Schier | Scrumhalf | Dartmouth College |
| McKenzie Hawkins | Fly Half | Colorado |
| Kristin Bitter | Fly Half | Colorado |
| Nicole Heavirland | Fly Half | USA Sevens |
| Joanna "Nana" Fa'avesi | Fly Half | USA Sevens |
| Tiahna Padilla | Center | Boston |
| Jenni Laferriere | Center | Boston |
| Jade McGrath | Center | Bay Area |
| Amy Brice | Center | Lindenwood Univ. |
| Kayla Lawson | Wing | Twin Cities |
| Erica Coulibaly | Wing | Colorado |
| Cheta Emba | Wing | Unattached |
| Katie Lohaus | Wing | Boston |
| Jetta Owens | Fullback | New York |
| Aly Cunningham | Fullback | Sacred Heart |
Head Coach | Sione Fukofuka
Assistant Coach | Kittery Wagner Ruiz
Assistant Coach | Sarah Chobot
Assistant Coach | Katie Dowty
Athletic Performance Coach | Charles Dudley
Assistant Performance Coach | Eduard Van Rooyen
Analyst | Caitlin Singletary
Lead Athletic Trainer | Emily Lauer
Sports Physical Therapist | Natalie Frizzell
Team Manager | Lindsay Wilson
