PAWTUCKET, R.I. – Rhode Island FC announced on Tuesday it had signed midfielder Maxi Rodriguez for the upcoming 2025 USL Championship season, pending league and federation approval. Rodriguez becomes RIFC’s first new signing for the 2025 season.

Rodriguez brings a wealth of professional experience, including six seasons in the USL Championship and League One. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Rodriguez spent the last four seasons with Detroit City FC, where he most recently led Le Rouge to a third-place finish in the Eastern Conference and was named a 2024 USL Championship All-League First Team selection.

“Maxi is a creative player that brings veteran USL Championship experience to our team as we look to build off our inaugural season and play our first season in The Stadium at Tidewater Landing,” said Rhode Island FC Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith. “He is a playmaker that always finds ways to score and make everyone around him better.”

Rodriguez led Detroit in goals (10) and assists (9) in 2024, appearing in 34 of the teams’ 35 matches. The midfielder made 31 starts, going the distance in 17 matches to log 2,753 minutes, third-most on the team.

The 2022 and 2023 USL Championship seasons saw similar production levels from the Texas native. In 2023, Rodriguez helped Le Rouge to the biggest upset of the postseason when Detroit took down No. 1 overall seed and USL Championship Players Shield winners Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the opening round. Rodriguez capped off the memorable season with four goals and three assists in 2,907 minutes across 32 starts and 34 appearances.

In DCFC’s inaugural season in the USL Championship the year prior, Rodriguez led the team in goals (9), passes (1,487), interceptions (56), tackles (104), duels (392) and duels won (228). He was named to the league’s Team of the Week six times throughout the season, including one Player of the Week nod after recording the club’s first hat trick in a professional league match. One of Rodriguez’s most memorable highlights of 2022 was his performance against the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer in the U.S. Open Cup. The playmaker scored two second-half goals including a late penalty to see Detroit City FC advance to the Round of 32.