LAS VEGAS – Las Vegas Lights FC announced on Tuesday announced the club had acquired forward Johnny Rodriguez via transfer from Oakland Roots SC and signed him to a two-year contract with a club option for the 2027 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

Rodriguez joins the Lights having scored 12 goals in each of his last two seasons with Roots in the USL Championship while also adding four assists. The 26-year-old is Roots’ all-time leading goal scorer and has the most appearances in club history, having logged 28 goals and seven assists in 108 appearances in the USL Championship over the past four seasons.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Johnny to the club. After tracking him for a long time, it’s exciting to be able to bring one of your top transfer targets to Las Vegas,” said Lights Sporting Director Gianleonardo Neglia. “Johnny has clearly been one of the best strikers in the league over the past two seasons and at 26 years old, he can lead the line at his peak for many years to come. Adding him to this team, alongside the rest of the moves we made this offseason, elevates the roster and puts us in a position to compete for trophies.”

Analysis

Without question, this is a move that will send shockwaves through the Western Conference, particularly given its arrival 11 days before the start of the 2025 season. The potential impact for the Las Vegas Lights’ attack is clear as Rodriguez becomes the potential successor to Khori Bennett in the club’s attacking line after his consecutive 12-goal campaigns for Oakland Roots in the past two seasons.

The 26-year-old’s ability to deliver in a challenging attacking campaign was the brightest light for Oakland headed into the offseason, with Rodriguez’s career-high 15 goal contributions having seen him contribute directly to 40.5 percent of Roots’ goals in the regular season last year. Adding him to an attack that also includes the creativity of Valentin Noël (10 goals, 7 assists) should help Las Vegas maintain their attacking potential moving into the new season.

As important is where this leaves Oakland, which has now overhauled its attacking lineup significantly over the past six months. From José Sinisterra’s arrival late last season to the addition of center forward Peter Wilson and the likes of EJ Johnson and Jürgen Damm, Roots are going to have a completely new look in the attacking third. We’ll see how that comes together when the season kicks off in a couple of weekends time.