PAWTUCKET. R.I. – Rhode Island FC announced on Thursday the club had signed midfielder Jojea Kwizera ahead of its inaugural season in the USL Championship. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

Kwizera joins Rhode Island having spent the past two seasons with Club de Foot Montreal of Major League Soccer. Selected in the First Round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft after his college career at Utah Valley University, the 25-year-old made 13 appearances across the regular season and playoffs for Montreal in MLS while also making a pair of appearances in the Canadian Championship.

A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kwizera attended West Jordan High School in Price, Utah before attending UVU, where he became the first player in program history to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft. Kwizera led the Western Athletic Conference with 11 assists in the 2021 season while also notching five goals before joining the professional ranks.

During his time at UVU, Kwizera also competed in USL League Two for Salt City SC, for which he recorded four appearances during the 2021 campaign.