Building an expansion side in a lower league is a challenge. Unlike MLS, there’s no expansion draft, so managers need to build the club using available free agents and the transfer market.
On the flip side, there is never a shortage of free agents in the USL leagues, and a new club can attract some of the top players, if they’re willing to pay. Enter One Knoxville SC.
The club had one advantage from the start, the fact that they existed as a USL League Two club in 2022. They had the structure, organization and contacts coming into their promotion to USL League One. They’ve been able to build a roster that seems to have a win now mentality.
Here we take a deep dive into where they are so far for 2023, and where we see this collection of free agents, transfers and new professionals fitting in.
Read more: Making Sense of North Carolina FC’s Roster Depth
4-2-3-1 Setup
While we don’t know how coach Mark McKeever will set up the lineup, we’ll go with 4-2-3-1 as our sample. Given the current roster, it makes the most sense. Of course, as One Knox fills out the squad, and actually trains and practices together throughout the pre-season and the first few matches, this is subject to change.
Strikers and Attackers
Ilija Ilić and Jake Keegan get the front spots, however let’s not forget Ahinga Selemani, who will most certainly compete for one of these positions. While Ilić brings plenty of higher level experience, his playing career is winding down, and he is also serving as assistant coach. In that scenario, we’d expect him to step back in favor of Selemani or others. But for opening day, let’s give it to Ilić.
Midfield Wingers
Rounding out the wings, we’ll have to go with Frank Ross and Jimmie Villalobos. And in the defensive midfielder slots, the obvious choices are USL Championship vets Angelo Kelly-Rosales and Yesin van der Pluijm.
Defenders
In the back, the club signed a mix of proven USL League One defensive stars (Jordan Skelton, Jalen Crisler), a right back who trained with and made three appearances with 2022 USL Championship powerhouse Louisville City (Jan-Erik Leinhos) and some first time professionals. We’ll go with the professional veterans first, putting Leinhos as right back, and Skelton and Crisler in the middle. Both of the central defenders normally play right center, but we’re going to have to be flexible in Knoxville. I think given their skills, they can be interchangeable.
Of the remaining first time pros, we’ll stick Kyle McDowell at left back. His scouting reports indicate he is a strong two-way presence in the backfield, so unless there are some more veteran signings, it’s his spot to lose.
Bench Support
On the bench we have one veteran, Selemani, who I would expect to quickly take over for Ilić, or form a rotation with Ilić and Keegan depending on the week. That’s a pretty good rotation to have up front, especially with Frank Ross and Jimmie Villalobos on your sides.
Then we have a group of young, hungry first time professionals, some of whom have prior experience with the club in USL2. Andreassen in particular is a USL2 side fan favorite, who scored 9 goals in 2022 and would be ready to prove his skills in a professional level if given the chance.
We’ll circle back on this as the season approaches and the roster fills in a bit more. But for now, this is a pretty solid preview lineup for One Knox.