Hounds Sign Baska to Contract Extension

CHICAGO, Il.- The Chicago Hounds agreed to terms on a new deal with scrumhalf Michael Baska, the club announced today. In 70 career-appearances with 32 starts, Baska registered over 3,100 minutes of Major League Rugby action across his seven years in the league.

Baska first signed with the Hounds ahead of the 2023 season, returning to the league after spending a year with Rouen Normandie in France’s Pro D2 league. The scrumhalf made his Chicago debut in the Hounds’ first official MLR contest on February 18, 2023 against Old Glory DC, becoming Chicago Hound No. 10.

Baska would go on to appear in all 16 contests that season, starting nine games and logging over 800 minutes of action. He completed 536 of his 617 pass attempts and gained over 200 meters on just 39 carries. As a ball carrier, he beat six defenders and made one clean line break.

Baska added six additional caps to his Hounds’ career totals in 2024, featuring at both scrumhalf and wing. After a season spent splitting time between the two positions, Baska primarily played scrumhalf this past year. The Overland Park, Kansas native earned 12 caps with a pair of starts in 2025. Baska attempted 281 passes in his 441 minutes of game time, completing 279 of those passes.

He first joined the league in 2018 after a successful collegiate career at Lindenwood University, signing with the New Orleans Gold for MLR’s inaugural season. He spent two years in New Orleans before signing with the Utah Warriors ahead of the 2020 campaign. In 2021, his second year with the Warriors, Baska helped Utah to a Western Conference title game appearance, starting all 13 of his appearances.

To date, Baska attempted 2,102 passes and completed 1,867 successfully. He scored 49 points via eight tries, including a seven-pointer, two successful conversion kicks, and one successful penalty kick.

Most recently, the scrumhalf was named to the USA Eagles Travelling Squad for their fall test matches. He has been featuring in the Eagles’ player pool for the last few years after making his debut against England on the Fourth of July in 2021.