For the 2014–15 season, Hughes was named team captain for the 2014 Gold Coast Sevens in October 2014, even though at 21 he was the youngest player in the team. Hughes again captained the USA 7's team to a sixth place finish in the 2015/2016 season, becoming the highest points scorer in the world for the year. Hughes was the U.S. starting scrum-half at the 2016 Summer Olympics.