PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC announced on Thursday the club had re-signed defender Luke Biasi to a one-year contract with a club option for the 2025 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

Biasi spent his first two professional seasons with the Hounds and grew into a regular role playing as both a left back and right back. He made 42 regular season appearances over the past two campaigns, including 28 in 2023 as the Hounds won the USL Championship’s Players’ Shield.

“Luke had a very strong season in 2023 and continues to mature as a player,” said Hounds Head Coach Bob Lilley. “His work ethic and versatility are greatly valued by the club, and he is capable of making those around him better.”

Last season, Biasi won 33 tackles and recorded 20 clearances and 23 interceptions as one of the team’s most reliable options as an outside back. He also has four assists since turning pro, all coming last season, when he finished third on the team in that category.

A Buford, Ga., native, Biasi came to the Hounds at the beginning of the 2022 preseason, signing his first pro deal after a college career that started at Memphis and finished as a grad transfer with Syracuse.

Analysis

Luke Biasi earned a regular spot in Pittsburgh’s defensive rotation a season ago and should be expected to take another step forward in starts and minutes in Year 3 with the club after making 14 starts in the past campaign. The 24-year-old sported an interception rate of 1.49 interceptions per 90 minutes – among the highest in the Championship last season among outside backs – and he recorded a Goals Added mark of +2.46.

With the Hounds also set to return Dani Rovira for the new season, the side should have its two starting outside backs in position among the 12 returning players for the 2024 campaign.