2026 Tampa Bay Rowdies season

Tampa Bay Rowdies
2026 season
ChairmanPatrick Zalupski
Head coachDominic Casciato
StadiumAl Lang Stadium
USL Championship5th, Eastern Conference
Top goalscorerMarco Micaletto (1 goal)
Biggest winBIR 0–1 TBR (8/7)

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 March 7, 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 (1998-12-24) December 24, 1998 El Paso Locomotive FC 1 0
24 Austin Pack GK 2026 (1994-02-15) February 15, 1994 Tormenta FC 0 0
Defenders
3 Brian Schaefer DF 2026 (2002-04-17) April 17, 2002 FC Cincinnati 1 0
5 Yanis Leerman DF 2026 (1998-06-15) June 15, 1998 Loudoun United FC 0 0
20 Charlie Ostrem DF 2026 (1999-10-12) October 12, 1999 Union Omaha 1 0
22 Gennaro Nigro DF 2026 (2000-05-29) May 29, 2000 Las Vegas Lights FC 0 0
26 Dion Acoff DF 2026 (1991-09-23) September 23, 1991 Union Omaha 1 0
27 Laurence Wyke DF 2025 (1996-09-20) September 20, 1996 Phoenix Rising FC 1 0
36 Alex Rodriguez[a] DF 2026 age=19 Tampa Bay Rowdies Academy 0 0
37 Jesse Tita[a] DF 2026 age=19 Tampa Bay Rowdies Academy 0 0
55 Leland Archer DF 2026 (1996-01-08) January 8, 1996 Charleston Battery 0 0
62 Nathan Dossantos DF 2026 (1999-04-11) April 11, 1999 Charleston Battery 1 0
Midfielders
4 Lewis Hilton MF 2020 (1993-10-22) October 22, 1993 Saint Louis FC 1 0
8 Pedro Dolabella MF 2026 (1999-07-29) July 29, 1999 North Carolina FC 1 0
13 Louis Perez MF 2026 (1997-07-11) July 11, 1997 North Carolina FC 1 0
16 Marco Micaletto MF 2026 (1996-01-19) January 19, 1996 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 1 1
23 Max Schneider MF 2026 (2000-07-28) July 28, 2000 Union Omaha 1 0
30 Sebastian Cruz MF 2026 (2000-07-31) July 31, 2000 AV Alta FC 1 0
Forwards
7 Evan Conway FW 2026 (1997-11-07) November 7, 1997 North Carolina FC 0 0
9 MD Myers FW 2026 (2001-04-05) April 5, 2001 Charleston Battery 0 0
10 Russell Cicerone FW 2026 (1994-11-17) November 17, 1994 Sacramento Republic FC 1 0
11 Gino Vivi FW 2026 (2000-12-20) December 20, 2000 LA Galaxy 0 0
14 Karsen Henderlong FW 2026 (2000-09-24) September 24, 2000 FC Naples 1 0
21 Endri Mustali CF 2024 (2007-06-07) June 7, 2007 Tampa Bay United SC 0 0
  1. ^ a b USL Academy Contract

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 2–2 Henderlong 34'
Cicerone 71'(p)
February 18 FC Naples Al Lang Stadium Tampa Bay, Florida 3–0 Schneider 13'
Mendez 46'
Cruz 73'
February 21 USF Al Lang Stadium Tampa Bay, Florida
February 21 Sarasota Paradise Al Lang Stadium Tampa Bay, Florida 1–0 Dolabella 65'
February 28 Sporting Club Jacksonville Al Lang Stadium Tampa Bay, Florida 1–0 Dolabella 45+4 (p)

Competitive fixtures

USL Championship

Main article: 2026 USL Championship season

Standings

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
3 Detroit City FC 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 3 Playoffs
4 Charleston Battery 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
5 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
6 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 2 1 1 0 4 4 0 3
7 Brooklyn FC 2 1 1 0 1 3 −2 3
Updated to match(es) played on March 14, 2026. Source: USL Championship Standings
Rules for classification: 1) total wins against conference opponents; 2) goal differential against conference opponents; 3) goals scored against conference opponents; 4) head-to-head points against conference opponents; 5) points per game against conference opponents; 6) points per game against non-conference opponents; 7) fewest disciplinary points; 8) 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
Matchday Date Opponent Venue Location Result[a] Scorers Attendance Referee Position
1 March 7 Birmingham Legion FC Protective Stadium Birmingham, Alabama 1–0 Micaletto 57' 4,787 Brad Jensen 5th, Eastern Conf.
2 March 21 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
3 March 28 Loudoun United FC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
4 April 4 Sporting Club Jacksonville Hodges Stadium Jacksonville, Florida
5 April 11 Oakland Roots SC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
6 April 18 Charleston Battery Patriots Point Soccer Complex Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
7 May 2 Indy Eleven Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
8 May 9 Rhode Island FC Centreville Bank Stadium Pawtucket, Rhode Island
9 May 20 New Mexico United Isotopes Park Albuquerque, New Mexico
10 May 23 Phoenix Rising FC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
11 May 30 Louisville City FC Lynn Family Stadium Louisville, Kentucky
12 June 10 Charleston Battery Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
13 June 13 Hartford Athletic Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
14 June 20 Brooklyn FC Maimonides Park Brooklyn, New York
15 July 4 Lexington SC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
16 July 25 Miami FC Pitbull Stadium Miami-Dade County, Florida
17 August 1 Louisville City FC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
18 August 8 Orange County SC Championship Soccer Stadium Irvine, California
19 August 15 Rhode Island FC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
20 August 22 Detroit City FC Keyworth Stadium Hamtramck, Michigan
21 August 29 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Highmark Stadium Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
22 September 5 Brooklyn FC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
23 September 12 Hartford Athletic Trinity Health Stadium Hartford, Connecticut
24 September 16 Loudoun United FC Segra Field Leesburg, Virginia
25 September 19 Birmingham Legion FC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
26 September 26 San Antonio FC Toyota Field San Antonio, Texas
27 October 3 Miami FC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
28 October 10 Indy Eleven Carroll Soccer Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
29 October 17 Detroit City FC Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
30 October 24 Sporting Club Jacksonville Al Lang Stadium St. Petersburg, Florida
  1. ^ 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
  1. ^ Tampa Bay Rowdies's score written first

U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2026 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]

Statistics

Top scorers

Rank Position Number Name USLC USL Cup Total
1 MF 16 Marco Micaletto 1 0 1
Total 1 0 1

Top assists

Rank Position Number Name USLC USL Cup Total
1 MF 16 Pedro Dolabella 1 0 1
Total 1 0 1

Disciplinary record

No. Pos. Player USLC USL Cup Total
     
1 GK Jahmali Waite 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
3 DF Brian Schaefer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 MF Lewis Hilton 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
5 DF Yanis Leerman 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 FW Evan Conway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 MF Pedro Dolabella 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
9 FW MD Myers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 FW Russell Cicerone 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 FW Gino Vivi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 MF Louis Perez 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
14 FW Karsen Henderlong 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 MF Marco Micaletto 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 DF Charlie Ostrem 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
21 FW Endri Mustali 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 DF Gennaro Nigro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 MF Max Schneider 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 GK Austin Pack 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
26 DF Dion Acoff 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
27 DF Laurence Wyke 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 MF Sebastian Cruz 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 MF Micah Burton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 DF Alex Rodriguez 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
37 DF Jesse Tita 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
55 DF Leland Archer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
62 DF Nathan Dossantos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0

Awards and honors

USL Championship Team of the Matchday

Matchday Player Opponent Position Ref
1 Max Schneider Birmingham Legion FC MF [7]

References

  1. ^ Wiser, Nanette (February 24, 2025). "Rowdies set to celebrate 50 years in St. Petersburg". TBNweekly. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  2. ^ "Rowdies Announce Roster Decisions for 2026 Season". Tampa Bay Rowdies. November 24, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  3. ^ "Roster". USL Championship. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  4. ^ "Rowdies Announce 2026 Schedule". Tampa Bay Rowdies. December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  5. ^ "Prinx Tires named entitlement partner of USL Cup". USL Championship. December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ "USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 1". USL Championship. March 10, 2026. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
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