Welcome to another edition of the League One Updater power rankings! Not much movement this week, as rosters are largely set, and the first few (mostly secretive) pre-season friendlies got underway. Union Omaha made the biggest moves with the signings of Joe Gallardo and Alexis Souahy, and came out on top in a friendly against MLSNP side Sporting Kansas City II.
Note: all additions and departures are since the last ranking.
1) North Carolina FC
Last week: 1
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Nick Holliday, Tor Saunders
Defenders: DJ Benton, Luke Croll, Gustavo Fernandes, Britton Fisher, Max Flick, Nelson Flores, Daniel Navarro, Christian Lue Young
Midfielders: Luis Arriaga, Mikey Maldonado, Pecka, Louis Perez, Raheem Somersall, Jaden Servania
Forwards: Shak Adams, Oalex Anderson, Cole Frame, Marvin Mariche, Garrett McLaughlin, Rafa Mentzingen, Preston Popp
Preseason: University of North Carolina (1-1), One Knoxville SC (2-1), NYCFC II, Charleston Battery, Columbus Crew 2, Loudoun United, Charlotte Independence
First regular season match: vs. Tormenta FC, 3/17
NCFC took the first friendly from One Knox SC on goals from Shak Adams and Oalex Anderson. The 2022 and 2021 last-place finishers still look the strongest going into 2023.
2) Tormenta FC
Last week: 2
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: TJ Bush, Pablo Jara
Defenders: Nick Akoto, Jake Dengler, Preston Kilwien, Colin Mocyunas, John Murphy Jr, Deshawon Nembhard
Midfielders: Mukwelle Akale, Elijah Amo, Matheus Cassini, Pedro Fonseca, Chris Heckenberg, Jackson Khoury, Tobias Otieno
Forwards: Kingsford Adjei, Arthur Bosua, Kazaiah Sterling
Preseason: Georgia Southern University (0-0), Georgia State University (2-1), Tampa Bay Rowdies, Charleston Battery, Stetson University
First regular season match: at North Carolina FC, 3/17
Tormenta FC tried their roster out on a couple of university squads and will get a big test against the mighty Tampa Bay Rowdies of USLC this week.
3) Union Omaha
Last week: 5
Key additions: Joe Gallardo, Alexis Souahy
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Rashid Nuhu
Defenders: Shaft Brewer, Jr., Luca Mastrantonio, Marco Milanese, Stefan Muller, Junior Palacios, Alexis Souahy
Midfielders: Dion Acoff, Joe Brito, Conor Doyle, Joe Gallardo, Yoskar Galván-Mercado, Luis Gil, Eddie Gordon, JP Scearce, Chavany Willis
Forwards: Steeven Dos Santos, Noe Meza
Preseason: Sporting Kansas City II (3-2), FC Tulsa, University of Tulsa, Creighton University, Iowa Western Community College, University of Nebraska Omaha, Iowa Western Community College, Bellevue University, St Louis City 2
First regular season match: vs. Forward Madison, 3/26
Union Omaha decided they were not done with their offensive blitz and brought in Joe Gallardo, who led Richmond Kickers in goals in 2019 before trying his hand in Mexico. The former USA youth national player should fit in nicely as part of an attacking trio with Steeven Dos Santos and Noe Meza.
And because it’s Omaha, the club decided to strengthen its already solid backline with the addition of Alexis Souahy. The 28-year-old center-back has 106 appearances in USLC and spent 2022 with New Mexico United where he made 23 appearances and 19 starts.
For a club that seemed on edge only a few weeks ago, they now go into the season with a fairly stacked roster. Oh, and they defeated MLSNP side Sporting Kansas City II in a pre-season friendly.
Read more: Owls Sign Midfielder, Defender (Who Gives a Hoot)
4) Greenville Triumph
Last week: 3
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Ben Hale, Jared Mazzola
Defenders: Noah Franke, Brandon Fricke, Evan Lee, Tyler Polak, Nate Shultz, Jamie Smith, Daniel Wu
Midfielders: Devin Boyce, Lucas Coutinho, Venton Evans, Allen Gavilanes, Noah Pilato, Tevin Shaw, Aaron Walker
Forwards: Jacob Labovitz, Alex Cox-Ashwood
Preseason: Charlotte Independence (0-1), Anderson University, Atlanta United 2, Crown Legacy
First regular season match: vs. Richmond Kickers, 3/25
Greenville dropped its first friendly to Charlotte Independence. Plenty of time to figure things out.
5) One Knoxville SC
Last week: 4
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Sean Lewis, Peter Swinkels
Defenders: Gabriel Claudio, Jalen Crisler, Dani Fernandez, Jan-Erik Leinhos, Kyle McDowell, Sean O’Hearn, Jordan Skelton, James Thomas, Derek Waldeck
Midfielders: Sam Fletcher, Callum Johnson, Angelo Kelly-Rosales, Frank Ross, Yesin van der Pluijm
Forwards: Sebastian Andreassen, Ilija Ilic, Jake Keegan, Ahinga Selemani, Jimmie Villalobos, Matthew Vowinkel
Preseason: North Carolina FC (1-2), Louisville City, Atlanta United II, Chattanooga FC, Columbus Crew II
First regular season match: vs. Lexington SC, 3/18
One Knox SC officially played its first match, a preseason friendly against NCFC. Midfielder Callum Johnson had the lone goal on an assist from Derek Waldeck in a 2-1 loss.
6) Forward Madison
Last week: 6
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Bernd Schipmann
Defenders: Sam Brotherton, Jacob Crull, Timmy Mehl, Mitch Osmond, Stephen Payne
Midfielders: Eric Conerty, Aiden Mesias, Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu, Jayden Onen
Forwards: Nazeem Bartman, Christian Chaney, Mauro Cichero, Dererk Gebhard, Francis Jno-Baptiste
Preseason: Minnesota United FC 2, Chicago Fire II, Indy Eleven, DePaul University
First regular season match: at Union Omaha, 3/26
Forward Madison enters the season with what appears to be a very much new and improved roster. The club with the best home attendance certainly owes it to the fans at this point, having never made the playoffs.
7) Hailstorm FC
Last week: 7
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Edward Delgado, Johan Peñaranda
Defenders: Rob Cornwall, Brecc Evans, Leo Folla, Lucky Opara, Arthur Rogers
Midfielders: McCain Clarke, Jackson Dietrich, Enock Kwakwa, Stefan Lukic, Destan Norman, Nortei Nortey
Forwards: Trevor Amann, Mark Hernandez, Billy King, Irvin Parra, Valentin Sabella, Ryan Wittenbrink
Preseason: Harpos FC (4-0), Colorado Springs Switchbacks (1-2), University of Denver, Peak XI FC, UC Colorado Springs, Colorado Rapids 2, CSU Pueblo
First regular season match: at Red Wolves SC, 3/25
Jackson Dietrich scored the lone goal in the club’s 2-1 loss to USLC side Colorado Springs Switchbacks.
8) Richmond Kickers
Last week: 8
Key additions: Ethan Vanacore-Decker
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Akira Fitzgerald, Will Palmquist
Defenders: Nathan Aune, Dakota Barnathan, Chris Cole, Simon Fitch, Michael Hornsby, Jake Mecham
Midfielders: João Gomiero, Zaca Moran, Chandler O’Dwyer, Justin Sukow, Nil Vinyals
Forwards: Kharlton Belmar, Matt Bentley, Owayne Gordon, David Olsen, Luke Pavone, Emiliano Terzaghi, Ethan Vanacore-Decker
Preseason: Loudoun United (1-1), Virginia Commonwealth University (3-3), DC United, Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University, James Madison University, Crown Legacy FC
First regular season match: at Charlotte Independence, 3/18
What we know about super-secretive pre-season so far: João Gomiero has two goals in two matches. The first-time pro has some big shoes to fill here, but so far is showing he might be up to the task. Next up, the club faces MLS side DC United in another closed-door friendly.
9) Charlotte Independence
Last week: 11
Key additions: Joel Johnson
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Austin Pack
Defenders: Hector Acosta, Shalom Dutey, Joel Johnson, Carson Talboys
Midfielders: Luis Álvarez, Omar Ciss, Clay Dimick, Miguel Ibarra
Forwards: Khori Bennett, Tresor Mbuyu, Gabriel Obertan
Preseason: UNC Charlotte (1-1), Grenville Triumph (1-0), Crown Legacy FC, Columbus Crew 2, North Carolina FC
First regular season match: vs. Richmond Kickers, 3/18
The Jacks still need to fill in their roster, but the addition of defender Joel Johnson and a 1-0 win over Greenville in the pre-season could be a boost of confidence for this core and the remaining trialists.
10) Red Wolves SC
Last week: 9
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Carlos Avilez, Ricardo Jerez, JD Meyers
Defenders: Nico Cardona, Aaron Lombardi, Manuel Madrid
Midfielders: Josue Cartagena, Christian Enriquez, Moe Espinoza, Pedro Hernandez, Ryley Kraft, Felipe Liborio Jr., Yahir Paez, Ualefi, Walter Varela
Forwards: Mayele Malango, Chevone Marsh, Ropapa Mensah, Alex Tejera
Preseason: Huntsville City FC, Lexington SC, FC Cincinnati 2
First regular season match: vs. Hailstorm FC, 3/15
Red Wolves SC will begin their slate of pre-season friendlies later this week hosting new MLSNP side Huntsville City FC.
11) Lexington SC
Last week: 10
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Austin Causey, Amal Knight
Defenders: Erick Ceja Gonzalez, Owen Green, Kimball Jackson, Franky Martinez, Terique Mohammed
Midfielders: Phila Dlamini, Kaelon Fox, Diallo Irakoze, Seo-in Kim, Charlie Machell, Pierre Mané, Tate Robertson, Don Smart
Forwards: Khalid Balogun, Will Baynham, Nico Brown, Ates Diouf, Jalen James, Drew Patterson
Preseason: University of the Cumberlands (2-0), Columbus Crew 2 (0-2)
First regular season match: at One Knoxville, 3/18
Lexington SC continues to play around with lineups in their friendlies. Good thing there is plenty to play with here for coach Sam Stockley.
Read more: Lexington SC Player Profiles at Crane Kicks Lex
12) Fuego FC
Last week: 12
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
Goalkeepers: Ofak Antman, Mitch North
Defenders: Jordan Chavez, Abdul Razak Cromwell, François Dulysse
Midfielders: Diego Casillas, José Carrera-García, Alexis Cerritos, Mouhamed Dabo, David Diaz, Cherif Dieye, Ozzie Ramos
Forwards: Villyan Bijev
Preseason: Andrew Alcocer Academy, Oakland Roots, LA Galaxy II, Sacramento Republic FC, SD Loyal, Loyola Marymount, LAFC 2
First regular season match: vs. North Carolina FC, 3/22
A quiet week in the Central Valley aside from some assistant coaching announcements.