2026 Richmond Kickers season

Richmond Kickers
2026 season
Chairman22 Holdings, LLC
ManagerDarren Sawatzky
StadiumCity Stadium
USL League OneN/A
U.S. Open CupTBD
Prinx Tigres CupGroup stage

The 2026 Richmond Kickers season will be the club's 34th season in existence, their eigth season in USL League One, and their 22nd season in the third tier of American soccer. The Kickers are led by seventh-year head coach, Darren Sawatzky.

This is the first season since 2019 without Emiliano Terzaghi. This will also be the first season since 2021 without Simon Fitch or Chandler O'Dwyer in their squad.

Background

Main article: 2025 Richmond Kickers season

The 2025 season was the club's 34th season of existence, their sixth season in USL League One, and sixth year under head coach Darren Sawatzky. The Kickers worsened from the previous season getting of 8 wins, seventeen losses, and five draws. With Darwin Espinal being the top goalscorer with nine goals.They failed to reach league playoffs for the first time since 2023 by finishing in 13th.

Outside of USL League One, the Kickers participated in the U.S. Open Cup and the USL Cup. The Kickers lost the first round in the U.S. Open Cup loosing to Virginia Dream 3–0 and also got eliminated in the group stage of the USL Cup.

Transfers

Transfers in

Date Position No. Name From Fee/notes Ref.
December 2, 2025 FW – Tarik Pannholzer None Free [1]
December 4, 2025 DF – Mujeeb Murana [2]
December 9, 2025 DF – Ethan Kos Birmingham Legion [3]
December 11, 2025 GK – Yann Fillion None [4]
December 17, 2025 DF – Sam Layton GC Knights [5]
December 18, 2025 DF – Daniel Moore Crown Legacy [6]

Transfers out

Date Position No. Name To Fee/notes Ref.
November 30, 2025 GK 1 Pablo Jara None Free [7]
DF 25 Marcelo Lage New York Cosmos Free [8]
DF 14 Guilherme Franca None Free [7]
DF 16 Klaidi Cela None Option declined [7]
DF 5 Maxi Schenfeld None Free [7]
DF 4 Simon Fitch None Free [7]
DF 6 Ryan Baer Tacoma Defiance Return from loan [7]
MF 11 Rivendi Pierre-Lewis None Option declined [7]
MF 17 James Vaughan None Free [7]
MF 20 Adrian Billhardt Union Omaha Free [7]
MF 33 Matt Bulduc None Free [7]
FW 27 Chandler O'Dwyer Sarasota Paradise Option declined [9] [7]
FW 32 Emiliano Terzaghi None Free [10]
FW 40 Nick Sarrantakos Richmond Strikers Academy contract expired
MF 42 Grafton Kahl Richmond Strikers Academy contract expired
DF 39 Brendan Dobzyniak Richmond Strikers Academy contract expired
DF 41 Andrew Richman Richmond Strikers Academy contract expired
December 1, 2025 MF 18 Jonathan Kanagwa None Option declined [7]

Competitions

USL League One

Table

Main article: 2026 USL League One season
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
11 One Knoxville SC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 Portland Hearts of Pine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 Richmond Kickers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 Sarasota Paradise 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 South Georgia Tormenta FC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Updated to match(es) played on December 16, 2025. Source: USL League One
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) points earned against top four finishers; 6) disciplinary points; 7) drawing of lots.
March 7 1 AV Alta v Richmond Kickers Lancaster, CA
TBD EDT Stadium: Lancaster Municipal Stadium
March 21 2 Richmond Kickers v FC Naples Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
March 27 3 One Knoxville v Richmond Kickers Knoxville, TN
TBD EDT Stadium: Covenant Health Park
April 4 4 Richmond Kickers v Tormenta Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
April 11 5 Spokane Velocity v Richmond Kickers Spokane, WA
TBD EDT Stadium: One Spokane Stadium
April 18 6 Richmond Kickers v Union Omaha Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
May 1 7 Richmond Kickers v Westchester Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
May 9 8 Greenville Triumph v Richmond Kickers Mauldin, SC
TBD EDT Stadium: GE Vernova Park
May 23 9 Tormenta v Richmond Kickers Statesboro, GA
TBD EDT Stadium: Tormenta Stadium
May 27 10 Chattanooga Red Wolves v Richmond Kickers East Ridge, TN
TBD EDT Stadium: CHI Memorial Stadium
May 30 11 Richmond Kickers v Athletic Club Boise Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
June 10 12 Athletic Club Boise v Richmond Kickers Boise, ID
TBD EDT Stadium: Les Bois Park
June 13 13 Corpus Christi v Richmond Kickers Corpus Christi, TX
TBD EDT Stadium: Corpus Christi Sports Complex
June 20 14 Richmond Kickers v Fort Wayne Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
June 24 15 Portland Hearts of Pine v Richmond Kickers Portland, ME
TBD EDT Stadium: Fitzpatrick Stadium
July 3 16 Richmond Kickers v Sarasota Paradise Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
July 15 17 Forward Madison v Richmond Kickers Madison, WI
TBD EDT Stadium: Breese Stevens Field
July 18 18 Richmond Kickers v Spokane Velocity Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
July 25 19 Charlotte Independence v Richmond Kickers Charlotte, NC
TBD EDT Stadium: American Legion Memorial Stadium
August 1 20 Richmond Kickers v AV Alta Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
August 5 21 Richmond Kickers v New York Cosmos Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
August 16 22 Union Omaha v Richmond Kickers Omaha, NE
TBD EDT Stadium: Morrison Stadium
August 22 23 Richmond Kickers v Portland Hearts of Pine Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
August 29 24 Richmond Kickers v Forward Madison Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
September 2 25 Fort Wayne v Richmond Kickers Fort Wayne, IN
TBD EDT Stadium: Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
September 12 26 Richmond Kickers v Chattanooga Red Wolves Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
September 16 27 Westchester v Richmond Kickers Mount Vernon, NY
TBD EDT Stadium: The Stadium at Memorial Field
September 19 28 Richmond Kickers v Charlotte Independence Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
September 26 29 New York Cosmos v Richmond Kickers Paterson, NJ
TBD EDT Stadium: Hinchliffe Stadium
October 3 30 Richmond Kickers v One Knoxville Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
October 7 31 FC Naples v Richmond Kickers Naples, FL
TBD EDT Stadium: Paradise Coast Sports Complex Stadium
October 11 32 Sarasota Paradise v Richmond Kickers Lakewood Ranch, FL
TBD EDT Stadium: Premier Sports Campus
October 17 33 Richmond Kickers v Corpus Christi Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
October 24 34 Richmond Kickers v Greenville Triumph Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium

USL Prinx Tigres Cup

April 25 1 Richmond Kickers v Charlotte Independence Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
May 16 2 Richmond Kickers v Charleston Battery Richmond, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: City Stadium
June 6 3 Loudoun United v Richmond Kickers Leesburg, VA
TBD EDT Stadium: Segra Field

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of December 18, 2025. Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.
No. Pos Nat Player Total USL1 USL.1 Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Prinx Tigres Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2 MF  USA Dakota Barnathan 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
3 MF  USA Hayden Anderson 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
7 FW  USA Landon Johnson 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
9 FW  USA Josh Kirkland 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
10 MF  GER Nils Seufert 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
19 FW  HON Darwin Espinal 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
34 DF  USA Beckett Howell 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
35 GK  USA James Sneddon 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
38 DF  USA Griffin Garnett 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
  • Source:

References

  1. ^ Di Gangi, Gabriella (December 2, 2025). "Richmond Kickers Sign Dynamic German Winger Ahead of 2026 Season". Richmond Kickers.
  2. ^ Di Gangi, Gabriella (December 4, 2025). "Richmond Kickers Sign Houston Dynamo Academy Product Mujeeb Murana". Richmond Kickers.
  3. ^ Di Gangi, Gabriella (December 9, 2025). "Richmond Kickers Sign Hard-Nosed Central Defender Ethan Kos". Richmond Kickers.
  4. ^ Di Gangi, Gabriella (December 11, 2025). "Richmond Kickers Sign Veteran Canadian Goalkeeper Yann Fillion". Richmond Kickers.
  5. ^ Di Gangi, Gabriella (December 17, 2025). "Richmond Kickers Sign Australian Defensive Anchor Sam Layton". Richmond Kickers.
  6. ^ Di Gangi, Gabriella (December 18, 2025). "Richmond Kickers Sign Dynamic Left Back Daniel Moore". Richmond Kickers.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Di Gangi, Gabriella (November 18, 2025). "Richmond Kickers Announce Initial Roster Decisions for 2026". Richmond Kickers.
  8. ^ Patterson, NJ (December 12, 2025). "New York Cosmos continue to bolster roster ahead of USL League One debut with three additional signings". New York (NY) Cosmos.
  9. ^ USL, Digital (December 15, 2025). "Sarasota Paradise Announces the Signing of Midfielder Chandler O'Dwyer". Sarasota Paradise.
  10. ^ Ashton, Alex (October 28, 2025). "Emiliano Terzaghi Hits Free Agency". Beyond The 90'.

2026 USL season by team

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.