ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Rowdies announced on Monday the club had acquired goalkeeper Jordan Farr via transfer from fellow USL Championship club San Antonio FC. The transaction is pending league and federation approval and per club policy, terms of the transfer were undisclosed.

Farr joins the Rowdies having recorded 26 shutouts in 68 appearances across all competitions for San Antonio. The 29-year-old emerged as one of the league’s top goalkeepers during a career-best year in 2022 in which he claimed the USL Championship’s Goalkeeper of the Year award. Farr equaled the league’s single-season regular season shutout record with 15 clean sheets to help SAFC earn the Players’ Shield, and posted two more shutouts in the postseason as San Antonio won the Championship title.

“We’re delighted to bring Jordan on board in Tampa Bay,” said Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson. “As a recent league champion, he adds valuable experience and a winning mentality to our roster. His skills on the field are obvious to everyone around the league, but we also believe his character as a teammate will make him a tremendous addition to our locker room.”

Farr has made 99 appearances in the Championship across the regular season and playoffs overall in his career, having joined Indy Eleven in 2018 before making his league debut for the club the following year. He has posted a career save percentage of 73.4 percent on 251 saves, 36 shutouts, and a career goals-against average of 0.92.

“My one message to Rowdies fans would be I’m ready to give all of myself to the community, the organization, and the team,” said Farr. “My greatest hope is to bring championship success. I feel like we’ve been close the past few years and I’m excited to hopefully be a factor that could push us over that threshold. I think it’s possible to win the Players’ Shield and the USL Championship playoffs with the group we have. I’m extremely excited to get out there and start working with the boys.”

Analysis

The Tampa Bay Rowdies’ acquisition of Jordan Farr fills a position of need for the side with the apparent departure of last year’s starter Connor Sparrow, and does so with one of the league’s top shot-stoppers in recent years. While his 2022 campaign was a career year for Farr, he’s consistently delivered when called up after starting his career as a back-up at Indy Eleven.

Farr’s career Goals Prevented mark sits at -4.67, and even in a season in which his save percentage dropped below 70 percent for the first time in 2023, he was still in the black in that category, making key saves among his eight shutouts.

Despite that, San Antonio has seemed ready to move on since late last season when Nick Marsman was brought in and backstopped the side into the playoffs. This offseason’s addition of Pablo Sisniega – previously of Charlotte FC – continued that trend. Now Farr’s path heads in a new direction where he’ll aim to remain among the best-regarded goalkeepers in the league, while San Antonio’s new likely starter begins under the spotlight to live up to his predecessor.