The rise of Kaylen Thomas: Meet the Eagles' newest sevens star

It finally feels like Kaylen Thomas is at home on the HSBC SVNS Series.

Up to this point we had only seen flashes of what the promising USA Women’s Eagles Sevens player had in her locker. Including in her debut as a teenager at the 2024 edition of SVNS Hong Kong.

Thomas only took up rugby in 2020 but is living up to the athletic potential that helped the Tennessee native become a state and region wrestling champion, state champion in flag football and an All-State bronze medallist in track and field.

If it were not for injury, last season should have been Thomas’ breakout year in the wake of the USA’s Olympic bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Thomas was primed for plenty more minutes on the turf until a dislocation in her wrist in a semi-final clash against Australia in Cape Town ended her 2024/25 campaign before it had really begun.

In fact, while her Eagles teammates were playing New Zealand in the women’s final at DHL Stadium, Thomas was going into emergency surgery. Two pins were inserted in her wrist in South Africa. Two months later those pins were removed in San Diego. Then followed seven months of rehabilitation.

“Like nine months in total of recovery, for a wrist, which is crazy,” Thomas told RugbyPass.

“I got swung down in a tackle, I fell and I dislocated the lunate bone in my wrist. That was right after the Olympics, and I was finally going to get my chance. Then it was taken away with a little fall. It was pretty frustrating.”

In the time off Thomas certainly kept herself busy. She enrolled at a community college in Chula Vista and completed an associate’s degree in kinesiology. She intends to enrol at San Diego State University later this year.

Since getting back on the Series with the USA, Thomas has been the player to watch in Emilie Bydwell’s team. She marked her return in Dubai with a try in the team’s tournament opener and has hardly looked back since.

Ahead of this weekend’s event in New York, Thomas has crossed the tryline on 21 occasions and registered scores in 15 of her team’s 25 games so far this term.

While those numbers may seem otherworldly, so far as Thomas is concerned there are still improvements to be made.

“I feel like I’m alright,” Thomas smiled. “I just feel like there’s still some work to do. I am doing alright, but I feel like that my teammates are just setting me up. I’m doing my job, basically.

“My job is to catch the ball, run fast and score. They’re just setting me up. I haven’t done anything. I’m not impressed.”

It may not surprise anyone at this point that Thomas brands herself as a “perfectionist”. When asked why, the 21-year-old revealed that it all began with wanting to beat her older brother. At everything. From grades to a footrace.

The drive be the best is indicative of the competitive nature inherently in Thomas’ possession. In a USA team currently third in the overall Series standings, it is one of the reasons she has been a key player for the Eagles this season. Even if she does have a list of areas to improve.

 

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“On my attack I could do a better job of winning my one-on-one’s,” Thomas said. “I have my individual goals; my ball transfer, fending is a little shaky and being more physical. Because all I’m doing is running and scoring.

“That’s why I’m bored. I just catch the ball and run. Then on defence, I keep losing my leverage. Being more physical and dominant.

“Before tournaments we have our one-on-ones with coach Emilie or coach Rocky (Tony Roques, assistant coach) and I use those goals for the weekend.

“That’s when I usually get really frustrated with myself. Especially if I’m not seeing any progress. Emilie was telling me the other day all these goals are meant to be achieved over time.

“I just like to see a little bit of progress. If I’m not seeing any progress, I get frustrated.”

“This kid’s going to be really special”

From the moment USA Rugby first spotted Thomas, they knew they had a one-of-a-kind talent on their hands.

Just a year after taking up rugby she was invited to an U18 camp before playing for the age grade team in 2021 and 2022. In 2023 she was a U20 international.

It was in the U23 sevens programme that Thomas truly found her feet. In 2022 and 2023 she represented the Falcons and for the 2023/24 season was a part of Emilie Bydwell’s wider Eagles squad.

At the team’s Chula Vista training centre Thomas got to learn from the likes of Naya Tapper and Lauren Doyle on a daily basis. Being amongst a team on a collision course with Olympic glory was an education like no other.

Talent such as Thomas’ could only ever be contained to practice for so long. Which is why her dislocated wrist was such a disappointment. It is probably described by her head coach best.

“It was a bummer,” Bydwell sighed.

Bydwell’s eye for talent is like no other. Over the past two years the 40-year-old has almost overhauled her Olympic bronze medal winning squad. This weekend in New York a strong performance in front of a home crowd will see the team end the Series season in third. Behind only the indomitable New Zealand and Australia.

 

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Last weekend in Vancouver we got a real idea of the grit this Eagles squad has at its disposal. Thomas, perhaps unsurprisingly at this stage, was at the heart of it.

In the bronze medal match against France the scores were level at 14-14 at the break. It was only after the introduction of the 21-year-old alongside team captain, Kristi Kirshe, that the Eagles locked up a 35-21 win. Thomas scored two tries in the final two minutes.

Stood on the sideline in British Columbia, Bydwell clearly had a sense of satisfaction as the player she has seen mature for the past two years had a significant impact on a match. The same player, who not that long ago, was studying how USA greats laid the foundations for their own success.

“I have this memory of Kaylen,” Bydwell smiled. “I think it was November or October, she’d been in for a couple of months. We just started playing and all of a sudden, she was holding the edge down.

“Naya (Tapper) couldn’t get around her. We were all just like, this kid’s going to be really special. She did have to work really hard last year. She had to get her head down.

“Since she’s been back in, she’s doing everything we knew she could do, with 50 per cent more potential on top of there.

“I think you just see how she’s growing in her self-belief and her understanding of what she can do to be successful.

“The France game, (Thomas and Kirshe) came in together and took over the game. To have a 21-year-old that’s got that capability is really exciting. She’s a really important part of what we’re doing here.”

“Be the reason.”

Earlier this week Thomas got to catch up with her former teammate, and idol, Tapper as the good and great of USA Rugby have descended upon New York.

It will be the first time that a Series tournament has been held on America’s east coast. Up to this point only Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas have hosted events.

Sports Illustrated Stadium is the venue that South Africa, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia will make their final claims for top spot in the men’s and women’s standings this weekend.

For the USA there is a slightly different feel for this tournament. Yes, the team want that podium finish. Bydwell and Kirshe said so in their Thursday afternoon press call. But it is also an opportunity to inspire and showcase their values as Highwoman.

 

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It is a term that the Eagles have adopted for some time. It is a word that encapsulates bravery, resilience, selflessness, confidence and integrity within its nine digits.

Match minutes in front of a home crowd is a rare thing for teams on the Series. Their influence immeasurable. It is not something that New Zealand, Argentina, Japan or Great Britain get to experience. Making the most of it matters and, with an Olympic Games coming to Los Angeles in 2028, it is never too early to pick up a few new supporters.

“A lot of us have our family and friends coming,” Thomas said. “We’ve had our meetings and Emilie really wants us to stand together and showcase the Highwoman and what we think the best version of America is.

“Be the example. Be the reason young girls want to come to this event, want to come and play rugby and represent America.”

It is hard to believe that only four months ago the new Series season began in Dubai.

Soon enough the HSBC World Championship will kick into gear at its stops in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux.

Before Thomas can think about any of that, it is all about this weekend and the Eagles keeping themselves accountable.

“We always want to look back and be like, are we playing to our values?” she said. “Are we playing connected and together? We talked a lot about our connection on the field, because you’re only as good as your teammates.

“If you aren’t all on the same page, then we’re not being as successful as we want to be in delivering on outcomes.”