Erich Storti: Finding His Stage in Charlotte

Anthem RC’s number one pick brings a national championship, an MBA, and a rugby family legacy that runs three generations deep. After training alongside professionals in Australia and Italy, the 24-year-old center is ready to lead the franchise’s most talented roster yet.

Erich Storti didn’t grow up wanting to play rugby. He grew up immersed in it — attending Saint Mary’s College matches as a baby while his father Marty coached on the sideline, wrestling with his younger brother Mario in the dead ball area without really understanding what was happening on the pitch. Rugby was the backdrop to his childhood in Concord, California. It just took a while to become the main event.

“My dad kind of let us find our own way,” Storti says. “He wasn’t going to pull us out of something we enjoyed.”

That something, for most of his youth, was football, basketball, and baseball at De La Salle High School. He played quarterback in a triple option offense, reading defenses in ways that would prove remarkably transferable. But when he didn’t make the varsity baseball team his junior year, his coach delivered a suggestion that would change the trajectory of American rugby: “Your dad played rugby — maybe you should try it.”

Within five years, he would be a national champion, a First-Team All-American, and the number one overall pick in the MLR Collegiate Draft.

The Saint Mary’s standard

Storti’s father Marty had played football, baseball, and rugby at Saint Mary’s before heading overseas to play club rugby in Christchurch, New Zealand. He returned to coach at the school for nearly twenty years and was instrumental in hiring Tim O’Brien — the Hall of Fame coach who has since led the Gaels to four national championships.

“Tim is the ultimate culture builder,” Storti says. “Just a really high IQ, almost unconventional in how he coaches.”

Under O’Brien, Storti became the analytical cornerstone of a leadership trio dubbed the “three-headed dragon” — alongside the fearless Kaipono “Pono” Kayoshi and the instinctive Inoke “Junior” Waqavesi Jr. Where Pono threw outrageous offloads from number eight and Junior beat defenders with pure flair, Storti was the dependable one, a role that earned him the moniker Mr. Perfect. Even in jest that name has never sat well with Storti, who has always placed the needs of the team first.

That honest leadership carried Saint Mary’s to the 2024 national championship — with Storti scoring a try in the title game against Navy and earning First-Team All-American honors. He left with a bachelor’s in Economics (Data Science minor), an MBA completed with honors, and the distinction of being the second Saint Mary’s player selected first overall in the MLR Draft.

A quarterback’s mind on a rugby pitch

Storti’s analytical approach sets him apart. Where most players talk about instinct, he talks about tendencies, pictures, and problem-solving.

“If we hit two short balls and their defensive line gets shorter, then there’s space wide,” he explains. “I watch film for their breakdown tendencies — are they running through their ten mostly? Their nine? It helps me build background information before we even kick off.”

That cerebral approach deepened during the off-season. A month training with the Brumbies in Canberra gave him exposure to Super Rugby professionalism; a separate month with Zebre in Parma, Italy, broadened his understanding of European structures.

“The most impactful thing was seeing how professional they all were,” he says of the Brumbies. “Their preview and review processes — that’s what I’m bringing with me this season.”

Built for Anthem’s mission

Storti’s rookie season confirmed what the draft position promised. In thirteen games before a season-ending hand surgery, he ranked seventh in the entire league in offloads, second on the team in carries, and earned MLR First XV honors in Weeks 3 and 7. He scored his first professional try in the season opener against San Diego and formed a productive center partnership with Junior Gafa, the 2024 MLR Rookie of the Year.

The hand surgery in May was calculated — Storti chose to get healthy for the USA Eagles summer tour rather than play through diminished. He went on to earn caps against Belgium and Spain at American Legion Memorial Stadium, then featured against England in Washington, D.C.

The connection to Anthem’s coaching staff runs deep. Brendan O’Meara, now the club’s head attack coach, taught Storti how to kick and pass at Saint Mary’s. That reunion is part of what makes the 2026 roster feel different — sixteen-plus new signings, ten capped USA Eagles, head coach Agustín Cavalieri setting the program from day one, and a backline featuring Luke Carty, Tom Pittman, and Conner Mooneyham.

“I think it’s going to be the most competitive MLR season yet,” Storti says. “We’ve got a really good squad and we’re excited for the future.”

More than what we do

At twenty-five, Storti works as in Commercial Real Estate alongside his rugby career. His brother Mario is captaining Saint Mary’s in his final season. His father’s legacy at the program stretches across three decades. And his understanding of professional sport goes beyond physical preparation.

“Rugby is what we do, not who we are,” he says. “That was a big realization. It’s something I remind myself of constantly.”

But when Saturday comes, the switch flips. Process over results. Fight over fear. The underdog mentality that defined 2025 now channeled through a roster built to break through.

“Come out, bring a friend, get excited,” Storti says. “We’ve been working really, really hard. Get loud.”

Mr. Perfect is ready. And this time, the roster around him is too.