Welcome to another edition of the League One Updater power rankings! Moving forward, we plan to make this a weekly event on Monday mornings.
Of course, pre-season rankings are based more on what we know about each club’s 2023 lineups and management. Some clubs have announced far more complete lineups than others since League One Day One. This week, NCFC maintains its top position, with Richmond Kickers, One Knox and Greenville Triumph moving up after making some solid roster additions. And Greenville, it’s about time! Your Move, Lexington.
Note: all additions and departures are since the last ranking.
1) North Carolina FC
Last week: 1
Key additions: Mikey Maldonado (signed)
Key departures: none
Ongoing needs: backup goalkeeper
Goalkeeper: Nicholas Holiday
Defenders: DJ Benton, Gustavo Fernandes, Britton Fisher, Max Flick, Nelson Flores, Daniel Navarro, Jordan Skelton, Christian Young
Midfielders: Luis Arriaga, Mikey Maldonado, Pecka, Jaden Sevania, Raheem Somersall
Forwards: Shak Adams, Oalex Anderson, Cole Frame, Marvin Mariche, Garrett McLaughlin, Rafa Mentzingen, Preston Popp
NCFC did not rest over the last week, signing midfield star Mikey Maldonado away from Forward Madison. They remain atop our rankings based on the overall completeness of their lineup and the ongoing targeted improvements.
2) Richmond Kickers
Last week: 3
Key additions: Nil Vinyals (re-signed)
Key departures: none
Ongoing needs: backup goalkeeper, defenders, supporting midfielders and forwards
Goalkeepers: Akira Fitzgerald
Defenders: Nathan Aune, Michael Hornsby
Midfielders: João Gomiero, Chandler O’Dwyer, Nil Vinyals
Forwards: Matt Bentley, Owayne Gordon, Emiliano Terzaghi
While the loss of Ethan Bryant and the potential loss of Jonathan Bolanos still present a challenge, Richmond did lock down core midfielder Nil Vinyals last week. This is huge, considering the demand for playmaking midfielders throughout the league. Vinyals had 5 goals and 5 assists in 2022, and may be expected to step up his production if Bolanos indeed does not return to Richmond. Until Tormenta FC makes a similar move, Richmond jumps ahead.
3) Tormenta FC
Last week: 2
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Ongoing needs: backup goalkeeper, supporting defenders and midfielders, backup support in general
Goalkeepers: Pablo Jara
Defenders: Jake Dengler, Deshawon Nembhard
Midfielders: Chris Heckenberg, Tobias Otieno
Forwards: Kingsford Adjei, Arthur Bosua, Kazaiah Sterling
No moves since the last ranking, but the defending champs do return a mighty core. Will be interesting to see who supports it. They promised another roster announcement this afternoon.
4) Greenville Triumph
Last week: 11
Key additions: Aaron Walker, Brandon Fricke, Evan Lee, Lucas Coutinho, Jacob Labovitz, Venton Evans, Alex Cox-Ashwood, Nate Shultz, Jamie Smith, Jared Mazzola
Key departures: Jimmy Filerman, Peter Pearson, Nico Brown, Miles Fenton
Ongoing needs: goalkeeper, wingers, support for all positions
Goalkeepers: Jared Mazzola
Defenders: Brandon Fricke, Evan Lee, Nate Shultz, Jamie Smith
Midfielders: Lucas Coutinho, Venton Evans, Aaron Walker
Forwards: Jacob Labovitz, Alex Cox-Ashwood
Greenville Triumph FINALLY announced a roster update on Friday that saw a large portion of their starting core returning. There is an obvious question on goalkeeping, and the club could use some wingers, but this is a solid returning group around which to build over the next couple of months.
5) Charlotte Independence
Last week: 4
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Ongoing needs: goalkeeping, supporting cast
Goalkeepers: none
Defenders: Hector Acosta, Shalom Dutey
Midfielders: Omar Ciss, Clay Dimick
Forwards: Khori Bennett, Tresor Mbuyu
No moves from Charlotte either, and the goalkeeping is a huge missing piece to their puzzle. Still, the core returnees are solid enough to build around.
6) Forward Madison
Last week: 5
Key additions: none
Key departures: Mikey Maldonado
Ongoing needs: goalkeeping, midfielders, and backups all around
Goalkeepers: none
Defenders: Jacob Crull, Timmy Mehl, Mitch Osmond, Stephen Payne
Midfielders: none
Forwards: Nazeem Bartman, Christian Chaney, Dererk Gebhard
After making a splash early on, Forward Madison has been quiet. Considering they lack any goalkeepers to backstop their strengthened defense, or any midfielders to support their dynamic forwards, the club is due for some announcements. This week saw second team all league midfielder Mikey Maldonado depart for NCFC, making the midfield question even more pressing.
7) Union Omaha
Last week: 6
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Ongoing needs: backup goalkeeper, defenders, forwards, supporting defenders and forwards; head coach
Goalkeepers: Rashid Nuhu
Defenders: Shaft Brewer, Jr.
Midfielders: Dion Acoff, Joe Brito, Yoskar Galván-Mercado, Luis Gil, Eddie Gordon, Ryen Jiba, JP Scearce, Chavany Willis
Forwards: Noe Meza
The obvious good here is the fact that in a league full of teams searching for goaltenders and midfielders, the Owls have a solid core locked down there. But the status of Ryen Jiba remains up in the air as to whether or not he will be transferred to Minnesota United FC. And can Noe Meza carry the scoring? This is a make or break year for the club that has only seen success since it joined the league in 2020, but struggled down the stretch in 2022. Oh, did we mention the club has yet to replace former head coach Jay Mims, who resigned on December 16? They maintain their just-outside-the-playoff-bubble ranking based on the returning squad, but this is truly a club that could go either way in the next few weeks.
8) One Knoxville SC
Last week: 10
Key additions: Jimmie Villalobos
Key departures: none
Ongoing needs: experienced goalkeeper, supporting cast
Goalkeepers: Peter Swinkels
Defenders: Jalen Crisler, Jan-Erik Leinhos, Kyle McDowell, Sean O’Hearn, James Thomas
Midfielders: Angelo Kelly-Rosales, Frank Ross, Yesin van der Pluijm
Forwards: Ilija Ilic, Jake Keegan, Ahinga Selemani, Jimmie Villalobos, Matthew Vowinkel
Expansion side One Knox SC moves up a few places in the rankings after signing away forward Jimmie Villalobos from Red Wolves SC. While the club will still need to prove its cohesiveness once the season begins, Villalobos is yet another top-tier player with experience playing with successful clubs. His addition to the squad only helps.
9) Hailstorm FC
Last week: 7
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Ongoing needs: backup goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders, forwards, supporting cast
Goalkeepers: Johan Peñaranda
Defenders: Rob Cornwall, Brecc Evans
Midfielders: Jackson Dietrich, Stefan Lukic, Destan Norman
Forwards: Trevor Amann, Irvin Parra
The 2022 expansion side barely missed the playoffs, and then shedded a few key members of their core. They did not make any new moves since the last ranking, and need to build around those who remain.
10) Fuego FC
Last week: 8
Key additions: Alexis Cerritos
Key departures: none
Ongoing needs: backup goalkeeper, more defenders, supporting midfielders, goal scoring forwards
Goalkeepers: Mitch North
Defenders: Jordan Chavez, François Dulysse
Midfielders: José Carrera-García, Alexis Cerritos, David Diaz, Cherif Dieye
Forwards: Villyan Bijev
Fuego FC re-signed Alexis Cerritos, who made 12 starts and logged over 1,000 minutes in 2022. However, the club still has a lot of defensive and offensive holes after a mediocre season. Adding José Carrera-García and locking down a midfield core is an excellent start, but they’re going to need to feed assists to more than just Villyan Bijev if they expect to compete for a playoff spot this year.
11) Red Wolves SC
Last week: 9
Key additions: Pedro Hernandez
Key departures: Jimmie Villalobos
Ongoing needs: backup goaltender, defenders, midfielders, goal scoring forwards, support for all positions
Goalkeepers: Carlos Avilez
Defenders: Nico Cardona, Aaron Lombardi
Midfielders: Moe Espinoza, Pedro Hernandez, Ualefi
Forwards: Alex Tejera
Another week, another member of the 2022 core signed away on free agency. Jimmie Villalobos and his four goals now bring the total accounting of goals lost from 2022 to an astounding 45. The club did bring back supporting midfielder Pedro Hernandez, who may get an elevated role on this squad. They also promised another midfielder announcement later today. There is still time and still some available talent, but for now it’s not looking great for a repeat run in Chattanooga.
12) Lexington SC
Last week: 12
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Ongoing needs: a squad
Lexington SC have yet to announce any roster decisions. Their first announcement is set for later today, so we’ll see what happens over the next week.