TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Rowdies announced on Friday the club had signed defender Robert Castellanos for the 2025 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

Castellanos will return for his second stint in Tampa Bay after previously spending the 2022 season with the Rowdies on loan from Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC. The 26-year-old center back has spent the last two seasons in MLS with Sporting KC, where he appeared in 33 matches and scored two goals across all competitions.

“We’re absolutely delighted to get Robert in the squad,” said Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson. “When we found out he might be available we pushed really hard to make it happen and get him in. Credit goes to [Head of Soccer Operations] Nico Castillo and the staff for pushing to get him because I think he can be a massive player for us. The center of the back three is important to how we want to play.

“Speaking to the guys who were here in 2022, they all spoke highly of him, as did everyone in Kansas City I spoke with. So, we’re really pleased to have him back with the Rowdies.”

A native of Southern California, Castellanos signed his first professional contract at 18 years old with former USL Championship club the LA Galaxy II after developing through Nomads SC in San Diego and Liga MX side Atlas’ youth academy. Following one season in Los Angeles, Castellanos moved on for a three-season stint with Rio Grande Valley FC, notching two goals in 37 appearances for the club before signing with Nashville at the start of 2021.

Following his first season in Nashville, Castellanos was loaned to the Rowdies during the 2022 season. While an injury in Tampa Bay’s season opener sidelined him for most of the campaign, Castellanos was able to return for the final months of the season to make 12 more appearances and solidify a starting position for all three of the Rowdies postseason contests.