Sione Tuihalamaka (born September 18, 1991) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

player. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, and professionally with the

Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...

and

Los Angeles KISS The Los Angeles Kiss (stylized as LA KISS) were a professional arena football team based in Anaheim, California, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Kiss joined the AFL as an expansion team after Los Angeles' previous franchise ( ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He played rugby for the

San Diego Breakers The San Diego Breakers were an American professional rugby union team based in San Diego, California, that competed in PRO Rugby. The team played its home games at Torero Stadium. History PRO Rugby announced on January 22, 2016 the addition o ...

PRO Rugby The Professional Rugby Organization, known as PRO Rugby, was an American professional rugby union competition. PRO began play in April 2016 with five teams and ceased operations by January 2017. The competition was sanctioned by USA Rugby and b ...

, and the

San Diego Legion The San Diego Legion are an American professional rugby union team based in San Diego, California, that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team plays its home games at Torero Stadium. The Legion began play in the league's inaugural 2018 ...

and

LA Giltinis The LA Giltinis were a Major League Rugby team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. The team was announced in 2020 and entered the league in the 2021 season as an expansion franchise. Owned by Adam Gilchrist and Loyals Rugby, the t ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR) is a professional rugby union competition in the United States. The league comprises 11 teams. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned ...

(MLR).

Early life

Tuihalamaka played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

for Junípero Serra High School in

Gardena, California Gardena is a city located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 61,027 at the 2020 census, up from 58,829 at the 2010 census. Until 2014, the U.S. census cited the City of Gardena as the ...

. He was named All-Del Rey League Lineman of the Year and first-team defense in 2008. He earned Daily Breeze All-Area honors in 2007 and 2008. Tuihalamaka was also named MaxPreps Division 3 First-Team All-State and PrepStar All-West his senior year, recording 83 tackles and thirteen sacks.

American football

Tuihalamaka played for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

from 2009 to 2013. He played in 50 games for the Wildcats, recording career totals of 121 tackles and seven sacks. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2009. Tuihalamaka was assigned to the

of the

(AFL) on April 8, 2015. He was placed on reassignment on May 26, 2015. On June 10, 2015, he was assigned to the

of the AFL. Tuihalamaka was placed on recallable reassignment on July 7, 2015.

Rugby union

Tuihalamaka began playing

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

for the

in 2016. Tuihalamaka continued his rugby career with the

, of

, in 2018.

Personal life

Sione is of Tongan descent. His brother Apaiata and cousin Vuna Tuihalamaka also played for the Arizona Wildcats. Vuna later signed with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

References

External links

College statsNFL Draft Scout
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuihalamaka, Sione Living people 1991 births Players of American football from Hawthorne, California American football defensive ends Arizona Wildcats football players Portland Thunder players Los Angeles Kiss players San Diego Breakers players San Diego Legion players Junípero Serra High School (Gardena, California) alumni LA Giltinis players Rugby union props Rugby union players from California Sportspeople of Tongan descent American people of Tongan descent