The past two weeks have seen a small slowdown in transactions around the USL Championship, but also contained some of the biggest names changing places that we’ve seen so far this offseason, including some major moves for recent defensive standouts.

Here are 10 transactions that caught our eye from the holiday seasons as clubs continue to build out their squads for the 2025 campaign.

1. Alex Crognale signs with San Antonio FC

The big number to consider on Alex Crognale this offseason is – as disappointing as 2024 was for Birmingham Legion FC overall – the 30-year-old was the highest rated center back in the USL Championship in American Soccer Analysis’ Goals Added metric, measuring a +7.99 rating. That also rates as the highest in ASA’s database, going back to 2017.  

When your team doesn’t make the playoffs, though, it’s hard to be in contention for awards, but it feels surprising that Legion would allow Crognale to walk given the qualities he’s shown over the past five seasons. That’s potentially to San Antonio’s gain, particularly in Crognale’s ability to distribute out of the back as well as win possession. In tandem with longtime SAFC standout Mitchell Taintor at the center of defense, Crognale will be a big part of the club’s rebuild after its own playoff miss this past season.

2. Kendall Burks signs with Lexington SC

The player Crognale is theoretically replacing in San Antonio’s back line in Kendall Burks, who has made the move to new USL Championship arrival Lexington SC as a free agent. Burks filled up the stat sheet with San Antonio, leading the league with 176 clearances and 138 aerial duels won and ranking second with 65 interceptions.

Burks is currently the centerpiece LSC Head Coach Terry Boss is likely to build around with fellow center backs Danny Barbir and Xavier Zengue also arriving this offseason. As a stay-at-home defender, the 25-year-old has a solid pedigree, having previously been a First Round selection in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft by Chicago Fire FC and trained with Nottingham Forest during the winter prior to his signing with the Fire. That’s something Lexington is going to lean on heavily as it makes the step up.

3. Akeem Ward signs with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC

Akeem Ward feels like the sort of shrewd veteran signing Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC has become very good at in recent seasons, like that of Duke Lacroix two seasons ago, which quietly add a high-quality piece to the lineup that’s going to fit nicely into the club’s established system. Over the past two seasons at Memphis 901 FC, Ward ranked fifth among full backs in the USL Championship with a +11.07 Goals Added mark while logging 66 appearances and 5,728 minutes of action.

The 28-year-old logged three goals and five assists in Memphis and could have been considered unlucky not to have a higher assists total having logged 72 chances created and 8.45 Expected Assists over the two campaigns. Add the leadership qualities he’ll add to the Switchbacks locker room, this looks like another really sharp add for the defending title holders.

4. Charleston Battery sign Douglas Martinez Jr.

It’s impossible to say one player is going to be the replacement for Nick Markanich as he departs the Charleston Battery – as Moneyball says, they’re going to have to try to replace his attacking in the aggregate – but Douglas Martinez Jr. could be a very useful piece to that end with a solid record in the Championship as well as senior international credentials with Honduras.

The 27-year-old’s high point in the Championship came in 2019 when he was a central part of Real Monarchs SLC’s title-winning side, recording 17 goals and seven assists in 25 appearances across the regular season and playoffs. A hybrid winger/forward, Martinez’s ability to stretch the field with his speed on the right side was key during Indy Eleven’s run to the U.S. Open Cup Semifinals this past season. The goal should be for a season with 10+ goal contributions as part of what should still be a strong attacking group.

5. Monterey Bay FC signs Ethan Bryant

It’s a sign of the times that Ethan Bryant’s debut for San Antonio FC during the 2018 season was a long time ago, and yet the central midfielder is only 23 years old as we enter the new year. He’s still the youngest goalscorer in SAFC’s history, too, but there’s a lot to like about how Bryant’s game has matured as he joins a Monterey Bay side that’s in the middle of a major overhaul this offseason.

After heading overseas from San Antonio, Bryant returned with the Richmond Kickers in USL League One and earned Young Player of the Year award in 2022 before being transferred to Sporting Kansas City II. The past two seasons didn’t see him make the jump to the First Team from the reserves, but putting up 13 goals and eight assists in under 3,000 minutes says something, even if its in MLS NEXT Pro. Bryant rated seventh among central midfielders in the league over the past two seasons at a +8.64 Goals Added mark while logging substantially fewer minutes than those above him. If MBFC is going to break through this year, he could have a big role to play.

6. Lexington SC signs Alfredo Midence

From one League One Young Player of the Year to another, with the 2024 winner Alfredo Midence getting the chance to step up as he joins Lexington SC for the new season. The Honduran winger delivered plenty for Central Valley Fuego FC in his first professional season, earning the League One Golden Playmaker award with eight assists as well as notching two goals and proving one of the best one-on-one players in the league, ranking second with 43 completed dribbles at a 55.8 percent success rate.

The big question for the 22-year-old D.C. United Academy product is whether he can translate those numbers to the Championship with less than 1,500 minutes under his belt across the regular season and USL Jägermeister Cup. Midence’s eight assists came on 39 chances created and an Expected Assists mark of 3.9xA, which ranked seventh in League One. There’s clear potential here, but of the sort that will require more work to be fulfilled in his new environment.

7. Rhode Island FC signs Hugo Bacharach

This should feel like a familiar signing in the USL Championship at this point. A high-end college and USL League Two prospect gets selected in the First Round of the Major League SuperDraft, can’t quite break through, and for a handful of reasons gets released after one season to sign with a USL Championship club and build a new path forward. Hugo Bacharach fits that bill – the Spaniard’s status taking an international slot at Minnesota United FC was likely a strike against his retention – but that could be very much to RIFC’s benefit.

After all, Bacharach has the credentials to be a fine signing. The 23-year-old was voted USL League Two’s Defender of the Year and Great Lakes Player of the Year competing for the Flint City Bucks in 2023 before a stellar senior season at the University of Indiana, where he earned All-Big Ten honors. It’s easy to see potential parallels between Bacharach and fellow Spaniard Arturo Ordóñez, who’s quickly become one of the Championship’s best defenders.

8. Phoenix Rising FC acquires Carl Sainte on loan

Phoenix Rising has a strong contingent of players coming back for new Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah’s first season in charge, but the Norwegian manager has now also brought in a couple of young players he’s familiar with that could make an impact this season at 38th St. and Washington. After winger Hope Avayevu, the latest is Carl Sainte, who arrives on loan from FC Dallas looking to make the next step forward in what’s a very promising career.

The 22-year-old has already made 20 appearances for the Haiti Men’s National Team while making a handful of appearances with Dallas as well as regularly appearing for reserve team North Texas SC in MLS NEXT Pro since a 2022 transfer from New Mexico United. Sainte logged 33 appearances in MLSNP over the past two seasons, putting up a +3.51 Goals Added mark as a defensive midfielder. The interesting element will be whether he sticks in a holding role or sees time at center back – excellent FC Dallas blog Third Degree believes that’s his long-term position – which is where Kah’s experience having worked with Sainte before at NTSC will make for a potentially smooth transition this offseason.

9. New Mexico United signs Luiz Fernando

With 23 goals and 20 assists in almost 200 appearances across the regular season and playoffs in his career, Luiz Fernando hasn’t impacted the scoresheet as much as you might have expected during his career in the Championship. Over the past three seasons with Memphis 901 FC, however, he’s started to push through and become an impact winger that can provide finishing and creativity on the left flank.

The 27-year-old notched 15 goals and 10 assists for Memphis on an 11.5 Expected Goals and 9.86 Expected Assists mark, but his speed and ability to stretch play also proved valuable as Memphis became a consistent playoff presence. The Brazilian logged a +16.77 Goals Added mark over the past three seasons in the league, placing him in the Top 10 among wingers in that span, and he’ll now bring those qualities to New Mexico United where he could be a tremendous counterweight to Mukwelle Akale on the right side.

10. Las Vegas Lights FC re-signs Christian Pinzón

Las Vegas Lights retained another member of its successful turnaround season when it inked Christian Pinzón to a new contract that also includes a club option for the 2026 season. The Mexican was productive for the Lights when available this past season, logging four goals and three assists in 1,446 minutes of action, or effectively a goal contribution just over every other game.

That’s basically been the 26-year-old California native’s pace since he landed in the Championship with Rio Grande Valley FC midway through the 2022 season, with his availability being the caveat. Pinzón has averaged a goal contribution every 206.4 minutes over his career but hasn’t logged more than 1,530 minutes – or 50 percent of a regular season’s minutes. If Pinzón can stay healthy and a consistent starter, his attacking numbers could make a serious rise in the coming campaign.