One of the strange things about high school rugby in the Midwest is that several leagues toil in relative obscurity.

This is because some leagues are relatively small or don’t have a results or standings portal that fans can follow or they play a schedule not synchronized with other regions because of weather or, like Iowa, they concentrate on sevens.

That’s why the two-day Midwest Regional Cup all-star tournament, which kicks off this Saturday in Fishers, IN, is so important. These players often don’t get seen at a national level until now, and USA Rugby and college scouts have a wealth of talent coming out of Michigan, Iowa, and the lower divisions of Ohio and Indiana.

Watch the Midwest RCT LIVE on FloRugby

Teams to Watch: Boys Tier 1

Celtic Ohio was born out of the desire for players from the two leading programs in the state, St. Ignatius and St. Edward, to play at the all-star level. It has since expanded to include players from other teams in Northern Ohio but still has a high percentage from Ed’s and Ignatius. Flyhalf Alex Chura and prop Juan Pen are players who have been starting for Ignatius since their sophomore years and are poised to be noticed. Same goes for St. Edward’s Charlie Green. Then you have players like John Stuhldreher, also of Ignatius, who missed a chunk of the high school season due to injury and are just itching to play.

Coaching the Celtic team is Jack Bradfield, who graduated from St. Ed’s last year and is back in Ohio helping his old teammates.

The Florida Dragons are an odd group in that many of the players for the state champion Jupiter Sharks are quite young and likely to play at the Tier 2 level. So it makes for a very diverse team under coach Jeffrey Oxenreider.

Nebraska is another state that doesn’t cross over and tour outside the region, so this is the team’s chance to make an impression. West Omaha United provides the majority of players, but a few come from Iowa, where the league plays only sevens. This is a unique chance for players to show they have 15s abilities, too. 

Wisconsin showed very well at the Rocky Mountain Challenge last year, with prop Trevor Buteyn and halfback Case Fleck back for another go. This Wisconsin team will be tough to break, but it's worth noting that it lost to Michigan this past weekend in a warmup.

Thrilling 27-26 victory over Wisconsin today for the Michigan Select Boys. Charles Allen scores at the death off a Wisconsin penalty and Jonathon Viaud-Murac slotted the conversion! GreAt back and forth game by both sides.

— Rugby Michigan (@RugbyMichigan) June 16, 2018

Teams to Watch: Girls Tier 2

Indy Speed is quick—yes we know the name doesn’t mean this team is fast, but it's fast regardless—while the Michigan team has shown some superb physicality over the years. Columbia Central from Tennessee has all kinds of pace, and it brings that pace to the Tennessee Tri-Star lineup.

The Real Stars Of Tomorrow?

Most scouts are actually looking at the Tier 2 group. This is where the freshmen and sophomores are, and if you are thinking about a major touring side or the High School All-Americans, you want to identify those players when they are young. This is where the Jupiter Sharks players will shine for Florida. Fort Hunt, a national title contender as a high school club, has its youngsters in Tier 2—watch out for Nathaniel Lang. Indiana and Missouri have joined forces to make the Show Me Hoosiers. The key, either way, is to get these talents on the field.