On Sunday, May 31, Northern California will play the Pacific Northwest in a U23 selection match at Heart Health Park in Sacramento, Calif. Coaches will be vetting talent for the Pacific Coast Grizzlies squad that will head to Clearwater, Minn., on June 19-21 for the USA Rugby U23 All-Star 15s Tournament, a major selection venue for the USA Pathways. This Sunday’s match kicks off at 2 p.m. PT and it’s a double-header, as the Bay Area Breakers and Chicago Tempest will follow at 5 p.m. PT in the teams’ first Women’s Elite Rugby game of the 2026 season. Buy tickets. [lead photo: Mike Conners @mikeconnersphoto23]
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A series of tryouts and development camps named both the NorCal and Pacific Northwest squads, and a combination of coaching staffs will oversee the Pacific Coast Grizzlies U23 team that is selected to Minnesota. The 2026 tournament was originally supposed to be held in Washington but the location ended up being cost prohibitive, and the move to Clearwater followed. The Pacific Coast Grizzlies are the reigning Tier 2 champions, having beat the Pacific South (aka, SoCal) 63-12 in 2025.
https://navysports.evenue.net/events/GR-CAMP
NorCal has 23 players heading to Sacramento this weekend, and the squad has a nice spread of teams represented. DI Stanford University leads all selections with six players, while fellow Pacific Mountain Rugby Conference teams Fresno State (4), Cal (2), UC Santa Cruz (2) and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also named players to the travel team. Division II West Coast Women’s Rugby Conference is also nicely showcased, with CRAA DII champion San Jose State University (2), Univ. Nevada Reno (2) and Santa Clara University owning roster spots. UC Santa Barbara sent Svara Deshmukh, and senior clubs San Jose and Berkeley also put U23 talent to the team.
Jane Bassil – Cal
Lilan Blevins – Fresno State
Zorah Coulibaly – Fresno State
Svara Deshmukh – UC Santa Barbara
Cara Feit – Stanford
Molly Fleming – Santa Clara Univ
Lauren Grove – San Jose Seahawks RFC
Tora Hoar Vea – Berkeley All Blues RFC
Audrey Kaplan – Stanford
Lillian McDaniel – UN Reno
Victoria Milev – San Jose State
Esther Morrison – Cal
Kaitlyn Mundello – Fresno State
Sydney Nauss – UC Santa Cruz
Chisa Ogaki – Stanford
Lacey Quintanilla – UC Santa Cruz
Ania Simmons – San Jose State
Vivian Studdert – Stanford
Ellablu Wagner – Cal Poly SLO
Leila Wang Gaouette – Stanford
Journey Washingtonhigh – Stanford
Aleigha Wheeland – UN Reno
Brenna Williams – Fresno State
The Pacific Northwest is also 23 players strong. Collegians comprise the bulk of the roster, as one might expect, but there are also U19s playing up and senior club rugby players pursuing their next-level aspirations.
DI Western Washington University (4), Oregon State University (4), Boise State University (4) and Univ. Oregon (3) have multiple members on the Pacific Northwest squad. American International College, the reigning NCAA DII varsity 15s champ and CRC Premier 7s champ, has sent Azariah Walker who is originally from Federal Way, Wash.
Remember: Due to the timing of the event, collegians can play for their current team’s region or hometown region. That is also the case for Isabelle Sandoval, a current San Diego Surfers player and Univ. Oregon alum, and one of five senior club members on the squad. Seattle RFC (3) and Portland RFC have added players, too.
On the opposite end of the age spectrum are Stitch Savelio and Gianna Veetutu, who played their regular-season ball with the Rugby Washington title-winning Kent Crusaders, a U19 club. Veetutu is a known entity, having represented the USA U18 7s team in New Zealand, among other elite and international showings.
Coaches Gabby Simmons and Juliana Vazquez lead the team, and Hannah Nguyen supports as manager.
Alina Ampeh – Seattle RFC
Holly Bazigan – Boise State
Keeahna Clary – Western Washington Univ
Kitty Fettel – Portland RFC
Maizy Groff – Boise State
Ryan Jansen – Univ Oregon
Amanda Koop – Oregon State
Willow Kruta Nichols – Western Washington Univ
Hadley Mahloch – Oregon State
Chayse McCann – Univ Oregon
Caley Newcomer – Oregon State
Aubrey Phillips – Boise State
Clementine Radoff – Western Washington Univ
Envee Sakhouen-Hem – Seattle RFC
Isabelle Sandoval – San Diego Surfers
Stitch Savelio – Kent Crusaders U19
Kayla Stanley – Oregon State
Jay Tarka – Univ Oregon
Tee Taupe – Seattle RFC
Mackenzie Thornton – Boise State
Gianna Veetutu – Kent Crusaders U19
Azariah Walker – American International College
Aven Webb – Western Washington Univ
The USA Rugby U23 All-Star 15s Tournament takes a different format in 2026 and provides more game time for the eight regionally based select sides. Read the Pacific South roster release for a bit more detail and stay tuned for more squad announcements.
