Full Circle: Will Sherman’s Journey from Sydney Revelation to Charlotte

When the first overall pick in the 2025 MLR Draft learned the news, he was in the same city where his father first discovered rugby. Now the 22-year-old lock brings a UCLA All-American pedigree and an Australian finishing school education to Anthem RC’s transformed forward pack.

When Will Sherman’s phone lit up on draft night last August, he was staying with teammates at Randwick Rugby Club in Sydney. The news — selected first overall by Anthem Rugby Carolina — arrived in the same city where his father Wade first discovered rugby as a wide-eyed fourteen-year-old. “It was a full circle moment,” Sherman says. “Learning I was drafted in the city where my dad first learned about the sport — it was remarkable.”

That circular journey encapsulates something larger about American rugby’s trajectory. As the 22-year-old lock prepares for his first professional season, Sherman represents exactly the kind of player Anthem’s groundbreaking partnership between MLR, USA Rugby, and World Rugby was designed to develop: a homegrown American talent with international experience, elite physical tools, and years of peak rugby ahead of him.

The hockey convert (H5)

Sherman’s path began on frozen rinks in Salt Lake City. “Hockey was my life,” he admits. “But around sophomore or junior year of high school, I realized Division I hockey wasn’t happening right away. I also started growing into my frame — rugby became more fun when I was winning those collisions.”

At East High School, he discovered rugby’s brotherhood. “You feel like it’s a second family,” he explains. “You have family for life, anywhere you go.” That sense of belonging would connect UCLA, Randwick, and now Charlotte.

The UCLA standard (H1)

At UCLA, Sherman encountered a program punching above its weight. As a club sport without NCAA varsity status, the Bruins couldn’t “tag” players for admission like rival Cal Berkeley. Yet under head coach Harry Bennett, UCLA developed a “trailblazer mindset” that produced victories over Oxford, a top-ten national ranking, and multiple number one overall draft picks — a feat no other school has managed.

Bennett professionalized UCLA’s approach with the “1%-ers”: being fifteen minutes early, bringing notebooks to meetings, and prioritizing recovery. Those habits proved essential when Bennett encouraged Sherman to seek international experience, effectively building him a bridge to Australia.

Randwick’s finishing school (h3)

That bridge led to two transformative months at Randwick RFC. Founded 121 years ago, the Sydney club has produced Wallabies legends from David Campese to George Gregan. Sherman arrived alone and initially daunted. “I didn’t know anyone,” he recalls. “But as soon as I rocked up to training, everyone made me feel super welcome.”

The rugby provided no comfort zone. “It’s very fast — they focus on speed, keeping the ball alive,” Sherman says. His education peaked in 2nd Grade with a Man of the Match display featuring thirty-six tackles, leading all players in a defensive masterclass.

“In Australia, the mentality is all about work rate — grit and toughness,” Sherman explains. “As an aspiring second row, being a workhorse is my bread and butter.”

Before Australia, Sherman toured South Africa with the USA U23s as vice captain, working with Agustín Cavalieri (“Cuca”)— now his head coach at Anthem. That continuity matters. “I learned more from Cuca on the technical side of being a forward in those few weeks than I probably learned my whole time at UCLA,” he admits. Having already built that coaching relationship gives Sherman a head start that most rookies don’t get.

The engine room

Ask Sherman to explain the scrum to American audiences unfamiliar with rugby’s most demanding set piece, and his answer reveals both the poetry and the pain of his position. “Imagine the heaviest load you’ve ever felt coming down on your spine while having to keep every muscle in your body tensed for twenty seconds,” he says. “If you’re not coming out of a scrum seeing stars and almost blacking out, you’re not doing it right.”

It’s the intensity of that moment — eight forwards on each side generating forces that would flatten most humans — that Sherman wants new fans to appreciate. “When it’s at a deadlock, the force exactly equals each other,” he explains. “Look closely and you’ll see people’s legs bouncing, bodies shaking. Then watch how they react getting up off the ground. That’s probably the hardest part of the game.”

He’s passionate about preserving rugby’s physicality. “The scrum is such an important part of the game.” For a former hockey player who traded ice for grass, Sherman has become the scrum’s unlikely evangelist.

Built to compete

Sherman arrives at Anthem during the most transformative period in the franchise’s young history. With sixteen-plus new signings, ten capped USA Eagles, and a coaching staff led by Cavalieri from day one, the 2026 squad has been assembled with a clear purpose: to compete immediately while continuing to develop American talent for the international stage.

Sherman’s response when asked about his expectations is immediate: “I hate losing more than I like winning. I’m going to do everything I can to make a positive impact — pushing teammates in training, ensuring ‘no reps off.'” The accountability runs both ways. “I want my teammates to hold me accountable, and I’ll do the same for them.”

He frames the challenge through his core rugby value — brotherhood. “Team success is a result of team culture,” he says. “That willingness to put your body on the line for your teammates — it’s different from American football or basketball, which can be more individual-focused.” With ten capped Eagles on the roster — including veterans like Luke Carty and Moni Tonga’uiha — Sherman believes that culture is already taking shape.

He’ll lock down alongside an elite second-row room: Sam Golla (2023 number one pick), English lock James Scott, and South African Johan Momsen. Three consecutive number one overall picks in the same forward pack is unprecedented in MLR. “I’m excited to learn from guys with professional experience,” Sherman says, “especially James Scott and Johan Momsen.”

Looking forward

Sherman’s first professional match comes March 28 at California Legion against former UCLA roommate Josh Cox. “He’s got a good step, but if I can catch him, it’s going to be a problem for him,” Sherman jokes.

Beyond the season opener lies a longer vision. He speaks passionately about the 2031 Rugby World Cup on American soil as rugby’s breakthrough moment in this country. “Every player on the field has to be able to do it all — pass, run, tackle,” he says. “Rugby players are the most well-rounded athletes.”

He models his game on hybrid forwards like South Africa’s Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ireland’s Tadhg Beirne. “I’d love to see myself as a 4/6,” he says. “Being able to play anywhere in the back five is super beneficial for Eagles aspirations.”

The circle that began with Wade Sherman’s teenage discovery in Sydney now opens anew with his son’s professional debut in Charlotte — measured not just in results, but in the distance traveled from ice rinks to engine rooms, from one country’s rugby tradition to another’s rugby future.