The national sevens team is organized by USA Rugby, and was led by Head Coach Mike Friday from 2014-2024, when he resigned and was replaced by Simon Amor.

The team also participates in major tournaments every four years, such as the Summer Olympics, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, and the Pan American Games.

The national sevens team has drawn a number of crossover athletes from other sports, the most prominent examples being Perry Baker (American football) and Carlin Isles (track).

The U.S. had some initial success during the early years of the tournament led by Jovesa Naivalu, who held the record for most tries scored until broken by Zack Test.

The 2007–08 season was a turning point for the U.S. team, qualifying for 6 of the 8 series tournaments, and defeating France and Samoa en route to placing sixth at the 2007 South Africa Sevens.

The IRB rewarded the Eagles' success by promoting the U.S. to "core" team status for the 2008–09 season, meaning that the U.S. automatically plays in all 8 tournaments without having to go through qualifying rounds.

Nese Malifa's 30 points in that tournament helped the U.S. reach the semifinals, their best result to that time on home soil.

Led by Matt Hawkins and Nese Malifa, the team finished ninth to win the Bowl in the 2010 USA Sevens.

The U.S. then advanced to their first ever Cup final at the 2010 Adelaide Sevens, scoring upset wins against England, Wales and Argentina.

Bright spots for the season included the emerging leadership of Shalom Suniula (captain), Zack Test (team leading 21 tries) and Colin Hawley.

[8] The U.S. team fared poorly during the 2013–14 Series under new coach Matt Hawkins, finishing the season in 13th place.

[9] Hawkins was blamed for the exodus of several veteran players, such as Colin Hawley and Shalom Suniula, and was asked to step down at the end of the season.

The team capped off the season by winning the 2015 London Sevens after defeating Australia in the cup final, the first time the U.S. has won a World Series tournament.

In the first tournament in Dubai, Baker suffered a concussion, and the rest of the team limped to a last place finish.

The team then won the 2018 USA Sevens, the first time the U.S. won their home tournament, boosted in large part by Perry Baker, who led all scorers with 8 tries; Baker, along with forwards Ben Pinkelman and Danny Barrett all made the tournament Dream Team.

*At the start of the 2016–17 season, the plate and shield awards were abandoned, with the bowl replaced by the Challenge Trophy.

Note: Caps reflect the total number of SVNS events competed in as of the 2023 South Africa Sevens.

For particularly high-profile tournaments such as the Olympics, the U.S. sometimes draws from American players who are playing rugby professionally abroad.

The inclusion of rugby sevens in the Olympics had greatly expanded funding available to the sport in the U.S.[23] The large pool of American football players who may be unable to earn professional contracts in the NFL meant there may be athletes with skills that could transfer to rugby union.

[29] At the 2019 Games, a weakened U.S. side that left its regular starters at home defeated Brazil 24–19 to take the bronze medal.

* – Played as the USA Cougars[38] The following tables show the U.S. career leaders in major statistical categories in the World Rugby Sevens Series.