2026 Tampa Bay Rowdies season
| 2026 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Patrick Zalupski | |||
| Head coach | Dominic Casciato | |||
| Stadium | Al Lang Stadium | |||
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The 2026 Tampa Bay Rowdies season will be the Tampa Bay Rowdies' seventeenth season of existence, their tenth in the United Soccer League, and eight in the USL Championship. Including the previous Tampa Bay Rowdies, this will be the 33nd season of a franchise in the Tampa Bay metro area with the Rowdies moniker. Including the now-defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny, this will be the 38th season of professional soccer in the Tampa Bay region.[1]
Following the 2025 season, with both changes to the coaching staff and ownership, Tampa Bay started a reset by announcing their end of season roster decisions, only keeping eight players moving towards the 2026 season.[2]
Club
Roster
- As of February 13, 2026[3]
| Squad No. | Name | Nationality | Position(s) | Since | Date of birth (age) | Signed from | Games played | Goals scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||
| 1 | Jahmali Waite | 
|
GK | 2026 | December 24, 1998 |  El Paso Locomotive FC
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| 24 | Austin Pack |
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GK | 2026 | February 15, 1994 | Tormenta FC
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| Defenders | ||||||||
| 3 | Brian Schaefer |
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DF | 2026 | April 17, 2002 | FC Cincinnati
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| 5 | Yanis Leerman | 
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DF | 2026 | June 15, 1998 | Loudoun United FC
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| 20 | Charlie Ostrem |
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DF | 2026 | October 12, 1999 | Union Omaha
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| 22 | Gennaro Nigro |
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DF | 2026 | May 29, 2000 | Las Vegas Lights FC
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| 26 | Dion Acoff |
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DF | 2026 | September 23, 1991 | Union Omaha
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| 27 | Laurence Wyke | 
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DF | 2025 | September 20, 1996 | Phoenix Rising FC
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| 55 | Leland Archer | 
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DF | 2026 | January 8, 1996 | Charleston Battery
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| 62 | Nathan Dossantos | .svg.png){kind=small}
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DF | 2026 | April 11, 1999 | Charleston Battery
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| Midfielders | ||||||||
| 4 | Lewis Hilton |
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MF | 2020 | October 22, 1993 | Saint Louis FC
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| 8 | Pedro Dolabella | 
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MF | 2026 | July 29, 1999 | North Carolina FC
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| 13 | Louis Perez |
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MF | 2026 | July 11, 1997 | North Carolina FC
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| 16 | Marco Micaletto | 
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MF | 2026 | January 19, 1996 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
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| 19 | Alex Mendez |
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MF | 2025 | September 6, 2000 |  FC Juárez
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| 23 | Max Schneider | 
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MF | 2026 | July 28, 2000 | Union Omaha
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| 30 | Sebastian Cruz |
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MF | 2026 | July 31, 2000 | AV Alta FC
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| Forwards | ||||||||
| 7 | Evan Conway |
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FW | 2026 | November 7, 1997 | North Carolina FC
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| 9 | MD Myers |
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FW | 2026 | April 5, 2001 | Charleston Battery
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| 10 | Russell Cicerone |
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FW | 2026 | November 17, 1994 | Sacramento Republic FC
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| 11 | Gino Vivi | 
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FW | 2026 | December 20, 2000 | LA Galaxy
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| 14 | Karsen Henderlong |
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FW | 2026 | September 24, 2000 | FC Naples
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| 21 | Endri Mustali |
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CF | 2024 | June 7, 2007 | Tampa Bay United Rowdies SC
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Team management and staff
| Front Office | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Patrick Zalupski
|
| Co-chairman | Ken Babby
|
| Co-chairman | Brian Auld
|
| President | Ryan Helfrick
|
| Head of Soccer Operations |  Nico Castillo
|
| Coaching Staff | |
| Head Coach | Dominic Casciato
|
| Assistant Coach | Yann Ekra
|
| Assistant Coach | John Pascarella
|
| Assistant Coach |  Ladule Lako LoSarah
|
| Assistant Coach | Andrew Fox
|
| Goalkeeping Coach | Stuart Dobson
|
Non-competitive fixtures
Pre–season
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Location | Result | Scorer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 23 | New York City FC | Al Lang Stadium | Tampa Bay, Florida | 2–2 | Dolabella 12' Myers 14' |
| January 28 | St. Louis City SC | Al Lang Stadium | Tampa Bay, Florida | 2–2 | Myers 35' Álvarez 78' |
| February 7 | Philadelphia Union | Al Lang Stadium | Tampa Bay, Florida | 0-2 | |
| February 14 | CF Montréal | Al Lang Stadium | Tampa Bay, Florida | ||
| February 18 | FC Naples | Al Lang Stadium | Tampa Bay, Florida | ||
| February 21 | USF | Al Lang Stadium | Tampa Bay, Florida | ||
| February 21 | Sarasota Paradise | Al Lang Stadium | Tampa Bay, Florida | ||
| February 28 | Sporting Club Jacksonville | Al Lang Stadium | Tampa Bay, Florida |
Competitive fixtures
USL Championship
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Miami FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Rhode Island FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Sporting Club Jacksonville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) head-to-head points; 2) head-to-head goal differential; 3) points-per game within conference; 4) total wins; 5) total goal differential; 6) total goals scored; 7) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 8) disciplinary points; 9) coin toss or drawing of lots
Matches
On December 16, 2025, the USL Championship released the regular season schedule for all 25 teams.[4]
| Win | Draw | Loss |
- ^ Tampa Bay Rowdies's score written first
USL Cup
On December 16, 2025, USL Championship announced the format for the third iteration of the USL Cup, that will feature all 43 teams from its league and USL League One. Of note is the match on April 25, 2025, which will be the first time Tampa Bay will face Sarasota Paradise of League One.[5]
Standings
Group stage
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Matchday | Date | Opponent | Venue | Location | Result[a] | Scorers | Attendance | Referee | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 25 | Sarasota Paradise (USL1) | Al Lang Stadium | St. Petersburg, Florida | |||||
| 2 | May 16 | Miami FC (USLC) | Pitbull Stadium | Miami-Dade County, Florida | |||||
| 3 | June 6 | Sporting Club Jacksonville (USLC) | Hodges Stadium | Jacksonville, Florida | |||||
| 4 | July 11 | FC Naples (USL1) | Al Lang Stadium | St. Petersburg, Florida |
- ^ Tampa Bay Rowdies's score written first
U.S. Open Cup
On December 4, 2025, U.S. Soccer announced the format for the 2026 U.S. Open Cup. To prevent any scheduling conflict with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Open Cup was being reduced to 80 teams with seven rounds of play, rather than the eight rounds as it had in 2025. Because of this USL Championship was only given 17 slots based on 2025 standings. Tampa Bay did not qualify for one of those slots and will not partake in the competition this year.[6]
References
- ^ Wiser, Nanette (February 24, 2025). "Rowdies set to celebrate 50 years in St. Petersburg". TBNweekly. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
- ^ "Rowdies Announce Roster Decisions for 2026 Season". Tampa Bay Rowdies. November 24, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
- ^ "Roster". USL Championship. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
- ^ "Rowdies Announce 2026 Schedule". Tampa Bay Rowdies. December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
- ^ "Prinx Tires named entitlement partner of USL Cup". USL Championship. December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
- ^ "Format, Schedule and Participating Teams Finalized for 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup". United States Soccer Federation. December 4, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025.