Hounds Extend US Eagle Mark O’Keeffe

CHICAGO, Il.- The Chicago Hounds today announced that the team has signed wing Mark O’Keeffe to a contract extension through the 2026 Major League Rugby season. The MLR veteran now enters his eighth year in the league and fourth season as a Chicago Hound. He is currently on tour with the US Eagles for the fall international fixtures.

The Hounds first drafted O’Keeffe in the 2022 MLR Dispersal Draft and signed him on December 16, 2022. Throughout his three seasons with the Hounds, O’Keeffe has appeared in 37 games with 27 starts, totalling 1,667 meters on 192 carries (8.6 meters-per-carry). He’s made 13 clean breaks and beaten 86 defenders while scoring six tries for 30 points. Defensively, he’s completed 156 of his 183 tackle attempts, including 10 dominant tackles.

In 2025, O’Keeffe had seven starts in his 12 appearances and played 514 minutes. He beat 18 defenders on 37 carries and averaged over six meters-per-carry. This came off the back of an offseason that included his international test rugby debut last November. Prior to the Hounds, O’Keeffe played for Austin, Atlanta, and New York.

He earned First-Team All-MLR honors in 2022, his lone season in Austin, recording over 1,200 meters with a career-high eight tries, including three seven-pointers, for 46 points. This was after an impressive 2021 season in Atlanta that earned O’Keeffe Second-Team All-MLR honors. He helped Atlanta to an MLR Championship game appearance against Los Angeles. He first entered the league in 2019 with then-Rugby United New York and spent two seasons there.

Over the course of his career, O’Keeffe appeared in 83 games (69 starts) and scored 138 points via 26 tries. He carried the ball 484 times for 4773 meters (9.9 MPC), made 42 clean breaks, and beat 186 defenders. On defense, he is credited with 442 tackles on 524 attempts.