TUKWILA, WASHINGTON (January 20, 2022) – The Seattle Seawolves have signed San Diego Legion and Central Washington University alumni wing Cole Zarcone through 2022. The football crossover thrived as a Wildcat before making his Major League Rugby (MLR) debut in 2021 for Western Conference rivals, San Diego Legion.
“Cole’s passion to represent the Seawolves, his home team, was abundantly clear from our very first meeting,” said Seawolves director of rugby and head coach Allen Clarke. “He’s a fantastic young man with a great work ethic, aptitude, and ambition to succeed. His coaches at Central Washington University, where he was first introduced to the game five years ago, are to be congratulated for their invaluable contribution in his journey. He brings added firepower to our back three for the MLR 2022 season.”
Originally from Camas, Washington, Zarcone grew up as a multisport athlete and played football from the age of six through to Central Washington University’s program. With aspirations of being a professional athlete potentially coming to a dead end after football not panning out the way he expected at CWU––rugby busted open a new path. With a family nudge from his brother, Zarcone spent time learning the game in 2016 before successfully making the Wildcats’ varsity rugby team. Zarcone played four years for CWU, earning a handful of accolades during his rise into rugby. He was CWU’s Back of the Year in 2017, a 3x Academic All-American 2018-20, 2x 7s CWU Player of the Year 2018-19, Team Captain in the 2019-20 season, and a 2020 Finalist for the Rudy Scholz College Player of the Year Award. San Diego selected Zarcone in the 2020 MLR Draft with their second-round pick as the packed-with-pace wing debuted in MLR in 2021. Zarcone scored against Seattle in both of their match ups in his debut season. After the season, Zarcone played his 2021 Club 7s season in the Seattle area under the Washington Athletic Club banner and competed at the USA National Rugby 7s Championship at Starfire Stadium in August under head coach and Seawolf alumni, Shalom Suniula. Another professional opportunity panned out for Zarcone in the first-ever Premier Sevens competition in September. He represented the Locals in the PR7s inaugural championship tournament in Memphis, Tennessee and played against other MLR talent, including Seawolf Tommy Clark and Seawolf alumni Peter Tiberio. The 5’11, 202 lb. back-three player brings his energy, hard running lines, and hunger to improve to the Seawolves backline.
“Seattle is home I’m so thankful for the opportunity to play for the Seawolves,” said Zarcone. “I am excited to grow as a rugby player and as a man within this organization. I’m ready to bring the shield back to Seattle.”
The Seawolves are set to face Seattle Rugby Club on January 22 and the Hartford Harpooners on January 28 as their two preseason matches. Regular season play will begin February 6 as Seattle welcomes the Toronto Arrows to Starfire Stadium in Tukwila. 2022 season and half-season memberships, as well as group and single-match tickets, are on sale now and can be purchased here.
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