The Charleston Battery unveiled Cal Jennings as the club’s newest signing on Tuesday morning with the two-time Championship All-League selection’s arrival sending a shot across the bows of the Battery’s Eastern Conference rivals.

Jennings’ move from the Tampa Bay Rowdies to the Lowcountry isn’t the only major forward signing we’ve seen this offseason that’s taken a standout from one club in the Championship to another.

Here’s our ranking of the five most notable moves of that kind heading into the 2025 campaign.

1. Cal Jennings – Tampa Bay Rowdies to Charleston Battery

Ever since Cal Jennings caught fire for Memphis 901 FC with nine goals in nine games at the end of the abbreviated 2020 regular season, there has been no-one more prolific than the Georgia native across the Championship’s regular season and playoffs. Jennings’ 66 goals have come at a strike rate of a goal every 139.7 minutes, a mark he lowered with the Tampa Bay Rowdies over the past two seasons while bagging 35 goals in 67 league appearances.

The 27-year-old’s arrival at the Charleston Battery this preseason after taking a run at a return to Major League Soccer is one of the signings of the offseason and could make a critical difference in what’s shaping up to be an epic Eastern Conference battle this season. On past form, meanwhile, Jennings could be among the top five goalscorers in league history once the campaign is over.

2. Ronaldo Damus – Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC to Birmingham Legion FC

When it comes to a gun for hire in the USL Championship this decade, there’s hardly been a better option than Ronaldo Damus. Over three seasons, including two in which he’s been part of a title-winning squad in 2021 at Orange County SC and last year at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, the Haitian international has racked up 47 goals across the regular season and playoffs at a strike rate of a goal every 157 minutes.

That’s the sort of scoring punch Birmingham Legion FC is hoping can lead the side back from missing the playoffs for the first time in club history a season ago, and potentially position Damus in the Top 20 in the Championship’s regular season scoring list by the end of the campaign at the end of just his fourth season in the league.

3. Augustine Williams – Indy Eleven to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

If there’s anything to know about Augustine Williams, it’s that the Sierra Leone has been one of the most consistent goalscorers in the Championship since entering his prime. Over the past three seasons he’s surged into the Top 10 in the Championship’s all-time goalscoring list, moving to 76 regular-season goals by putting up 39 across the past three campaigns to reach that mark by the age of 27 years old.

What’s more, he’s simply a magnet for chances. Williams’ 39 regular season goals have come on an Expected Goals mark of 39.44xG, an example of how consistently he gets into good scoring positions. For a Hounds side that’s regularly had to find a replacement for a double-digit goalscoring departure, it doesn’t get much better than this, and marks a statement for the club as it enters the new year as arguably its biggest free agent signing ever.

4. Edward Kizza – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC to Indy Eleven

Going in the opposite direction in free agency to the Boys in Blue was Edward Kizza, whose career-best 12 goal campaign helped carry Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC into the playoffs a season ago. The 26-year-old trebled his highest scoring campaign of four goals in 2023, putting up a strike rate of a goal every 212.7 minutes during the campaign, but it seems sustainable with the native of Uganda, having posted a 10.63xG in the campaign.

The hope for Indy will be last year wasn’t a one-season overperformance and that Kizza will continue to come into his own this year. As part of a crowded center forward room, he’s scored twice so far this preseason to make a case to be part of the starting rotation, but it’s certain his performance and that of Williams will be getting extra scrutiny if one jumps out to a fast start.

5. Tristan Trager – Monterey Bay FC to Orange County SC

There’s a perfectly good argument that Tristan Trager doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the players on this list, but there’s something intriguing about what the 25-year-old has done when on the field over the past three seasons at Atlanta United 2, the Charleston Battery and Monterey Bay FC.

Over that span, Trager has bagged 21 regular season goals and has done so at a strike rate of a goal every 193.7 minutes – about a goal every other game. That’s directly ahead of the strike rates of players like Romario Williams (195.7), JJ Williams (197.5) and Evan Conway (203.7) among players who’ve scored at least 20 goals in the past three years and gives a hint as to what Trager could be possible of as he arrives in Orange County this season aiming for his first season with double-digit goals.