Welcome to the latest installment of the players you need to know at every club in the USL Championship as we continue the countdown to the start of the 2025 season on Saturday, March 8.

Today we’re headed to the forward line where we find a combination of established standouts – some returning, and some in new locations for 2025 – and some intriguing newcomers that could prove crucial to the success of their clubs in the upcoming campaign.

Our picks for the Western Conference are below, for our picks in the Eastern Conference, click here.

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC – Yosuke Hanya

Making the step up to the USL Championship after a dominant campaign in MLS NEXT Pro in 2023 for Colorado Rapids 2 proved a challenge at times for Yosuke Hanya, who logged five goals and two assists while helping Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC to its first league title. But when he was at his best, including the Championship Final before his participation was cut short due to injury, the 26-year-old showed how influential he could be.

That makes the upcoming campaign in which Hayna returns to the Switchbacks on loan from the Rapids 2 one filled with promise, but only if the Japanese winger can produce his best more consistently. Hanya’s ability to take on defenders on the right flank was admirable, but his dribble success rate of 37.5 percent on 33 completed dribbles could be improved. So should his total of 23 chances created in 33 appearances, which resulted in a 1.82 Expected Assists mark. With the departures the Switchbacks have seen this offseason in attack, getting into the penalty area more consistently is going to be important after averaging only 2.81 touches in the attacking penalty area per 90 minutes this past season.

Hanya has shown the potential for what he can deliver. As the Switchbacks defend their title, they’ll need more production to keep the side ticking over in the attacking third.

El Paso Locomotive FC – Amando Moreno

As arguably the biggest arrival of the offseason last year in El Paso as he made the jump across the Derby del Camino Real from New Mexico United, Amando Moreno had plenty of expectation on him going into 2024. His campaign – which saw the El Salvador international record six goals and one assist – ended up being somewhat underwhelming as Moreno was shuffled into different positions trying to unlock his best work.

At 5-foot-7, Moreno never quite fit into the center forward role he started the season in for Locomotive, and it’s arguable the best position he could be employed in would be as a second striker with a No. 9 to play off. That’s been the manner in which he’s produced his best two seasons in the Championship, having Greg Hurst as a foil when he bagged 10 goals and five assists for New Mexico in 2023 and putting up 11 goals and four assists alongside the duo of Tom Barlow and Brian White with the New York Red Bulls II in 2018.

With options to lead the line having arrived this offseason like veteran Frank Lopez, it could offer Moreno the chance to find the pockets of space in which he can operate best. If Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera can find the right balance, it would be an important boost for a side that scored only 27 goals a season ago.

FC Tulsa – Kalil ElMedkhar

Over the past two seasons when Kalil ElMedkhar was on the field for Loudoun United FC, his ability to contribute in the attacking third was undeniable. Across 50 appearances he logged 23 goals contributions, notching 14 goals and nine assists for the side after his arrival from FC Dallas prior to the 2023 season.

The challenge for the 25-year-old has been staying on the field. ElMedkhar has averaged a goal contribution every 129.7 minutes, but he’s also only logged 2,984 minutes of action – an average of 59.7 minutes per appearance. That’s been the rub for the former Philadelphia Union Academy product, who lit up the scoreboard a season ago with six goals and four assists but only saw 861 minutes of action.

The potential ElMedkhar offers is clear, and for a side like FC Tulsa that has looked to bolster its attack as former Championship striker Luke Spencer takes the helm made him one of the club’s important offseason arrivals. The hope will be ElMedkhar can stay fully fit, because if he can, it could result in a tremendous campaign.

Las Vegas Lights FC – Johnny Rodriguez

Whatever has befallen Oakland Roots SC over the past two seasons, the one consistent has been Johnny Rodriguez. With more than 100 appearances for the club – dating prior to its arrival in the USL Championship in 2021 – the Madera, Calif. native has emerged as one of the most consistent forwards in the league, which is what made his late offseason move to Las Vegas Lights FC one of the biggest surprises we’ve seen in the build-up to the campaign.

Rodriguez arrives in Las Vegas as the presumptive replacement for the departed Khori Bennett and does so with a stellar resume. He notched 12 tallies at a strike rate of 197.8 minutes per goal while also chipping in three assists a season ago. That carried Oakland into the playoffs despite an attack that scored only 37 goals in the regular season, with Rodriguez contributing to 40.5 percent of the side’s scoring output.

What’s more, there was the potential for more from Rodriguez in 2024. His shooting accuracy rate dipped below 50 percent for the first time in the Championship a season ago as he logged a career-best 12.79 Expected Goals. With that as the backdrop, and if he settles into his new environment quickly, he could help the Lights at least match the heights they achieved a season ago as he forges a new path individually.

Lexington SC – Cameron Lancaster

When it comes to assessing Cameron Lancaster’s 2024 season with Lexington SC, we’re given a bit of a conundrum. What do you make of a campaign in which one of the USL Championship’s best finishers recorded 13 goals across all competitions, but generally didn’t provide much besides doing what he’s been proven to do best in his career?

In the bigger picture, Lancaster’s underlying numbers weren’t great. He rated a -1.87 Goals Added vs. an average striker in League One per American Soccer Analysis, and you could argue his goal total was inflated by some outstanding finishing – his 11 goals across League One and the USL Jagermeister Cup came on an Expected Goals mark of 4.57xG and 36 touches in the opposition penalty area.

But that’s part of the genius of the 32-year-old, who returns to the Championship having previously scored 89 goals across the regular season and playoffs in 185 appearances at a strike rate of a goal every 115.7 minutes. When you can do the hardest thing to do in the sport with that consistency, the rest might not matter at all.

Monterey Bay FC – Luther Archimède

Last year was going to be the opportunity for Luther Archimède, who had posted six goals in each of the prior two campaigns in limited minutes for Sacramento Republic FC at a strike rate of a goal every 153.5 minutes ahead of his move to fellow Northern California club Monterey Bay FC.

Then, having logged only 315 minutes of action and having yet to find the net for his new club, the Guadeloupe international’s season was brought to a premature end by a knee injury. Archimède’s comeback this season from that injury, then, is a second chance at that new opportunity to establish himself as a front-line starter for a team in Monterey Bay that desperately needs the sort of attacking boost he could provide.

While the side has added some new pieces to its attacking corps, most notably Swedish striker Adam Larsson, the 25-year-old should get opportunities this season. Hopefully, he’ll have better fortune and take the chance to flourish.

New Mexico United – Mukwelle Akale

When Mukwelle Akale found himself on the scoresheet for New Mexico United during the 2024 USL Championship season, it typically meant good things were happening for the side overall. In the seven games in which the right winger posted either a goal or assist, United went 6-1-0. While there was plenty of credit to go around in the best campaign in club history, Akale was a key figure, leading the side in Goals Added at a +7.04 mark while delivering key moments in the regular season and playoffs.

What’s important to note, though, is that Akale could have been more prolific than the four goals and five assists he ended the Championship campaign with. Despite posting a 66.7 percent shooting accuracy rate, the 28-year-old was somewhat snakebit, logging just a 9.5 percent shot conversion rate which was key to his underperformance of a 7.02 Expected Goals mark in 33 appearances.

If Akale can shake that off this season and keep being the proactive attacking force he established himself as at Isotopes Park this past season, it should be positive news for New Mexico’s attacking corps.

Oakland Roots SC – Peter Wilson

With the surprise departure of Johnny Rodriguez this preseason, the new-look squad Oakland Roots SC has put together could be even more reliant on Liberian international Peter Wilson to hit the ground running as he lands in the United States for the first time.

The 28-year-old certainly has a decent level of pedigree. As a younger player he recorded 19 goals and eight assists in Sweden’s top flight for GIF Sundsvall before more recently moving to FK Jerv when the club was in Norway’s top flight, notching two goals in 10 appearances at that level. Jerv’s fortunes unfortunately took a turn for the worse following his arrival, not helped when Wilson was sidelined for much of the 2023 campaign with a ruptured patella tendon.

Despite the club’s drop into the Norwegian third tier, Wilson bounced back in impressive fashion over the past year. He bagged 18 goals in 23 appearances for Jerv in the past campaign, leading the side to the promotion playoffs before bagging two goals in the opening round two-legged playoff before Jerv was defeated in its bid for promotion in the Final. After Oakland’s attacking struggles a season ago, Wilson could be one of the key figures in leading the club in the final third this season.

Orange County SC – Tristan Trager

Tristan Trager was arguably the brightest player in Monterey Bay FC’s attack a season ago with the 25-year-old’s eight goals and two assists contributing to more than one-third of the side’s Western Conference-fewest 29 goals in the regular season campaign.

The challenge for Trager – and a theme that ran through the club’s attacking corps for much of the season – were the injuries that limited him to only 1,256 minutes of action. Had that not been the case, and had Trager maintained close to his strike rate of a goal every 157 minutes, the story could have been different for MBFC as it pursued its first postseason berth.

After an offseason move to Orange County SC, though, Trager will be hoping to have put his injury problems behind him as he joins an attack that could see him break into double-digits for the first time in his career. While he’ll have competition to be OCSC’s starting No. 9 from fellow SoCal native Ethan Zubak, there’s the potential for the 2021 title holders to be one of the more entertaining attacking sides in league this season.

Phoenix Rising FC – Damian Rivera

With two of the league’s top goalscorers ahead of him on the depth chart, Damian Rivera didn’t get a lot of minutes during his loan stint with the Tampa Bay Rowdies from the New England Revolution a season ago, but he sure made the most of them. The 22-year-old’s five goals and two assists as a substitute led all players in goal contributions off the bench across the regular season and playoffs and offered a glimpse of what the Rhode Island native can be capable of.

As he arrives at Phoenix Rising FC as an offseason signing, Rivera should have the chance to make an even bigger mark this season. Ending the year with six goals and three assists overall, all his attacking metrics showed the potential of more to come as he completed 2.40 dribbles per 90 minutes and had a shooting accuracy rate of 54.5 percent.

Add his ability to press defensively – an essential attribute in the Rowdies’ structure last season – and Rivera brings an exciting all-around package to his new club. Given the chance at more minutes, he could thrive.

Sacramento Republic FC – Trevor Amann

Trevor Amann could hardly have made a more auspicious start to his Sacramento Republic FC career than bagging a pair of goals in his debut for the club last opening day against Orange County SC. The 2023 League One Player of the Year was ready to meet the moment and delivered five goals in his opening 10 league appearances overall as Sacramento made an impressive start to the season.

In the second half of the campaign, however, Amann’s production dropped off precipitously, which resulted in the lanky center forward being used primarily as a substitute. The 26-year-old didn’t find the net in his final 15 appearances of the season, including a blank across 120 minutes in Republic FC’s playoff elimination in Las Vegas to end the campaign with nine goals and two assists in 34 appearances.

Finding a way to get Amann reactivated to his early-season form is going to be front and center for Sacramento this season, and with new Head Coach Neill Collins’ blueprint for attacking soccer there’s the potential for a big leap forward for the 6-foot-1 marksman. If Amann makes the jump many were expecting him to last year, it should push Sacramento back into contention for the Players’ Shield.

San Antonio FC – Juan Agudelo

As poorly as things played out for San Antonio FC as the 2024 season progressed, one of the bright spots was Juan Agudelo, who in his first season at the club produced a decent return of eight goals and four assists while ranking second to playmaker Jorge Hernandez with a +8.46 Goals Added mark.

The question remains for the 32-year-old former United States international as to whether he can be a front-line striker at the USL Championship level. While Agudelo’s ability to score and create has been visible during his time with Birmingham Legion and SAFC with 20 goals and 15 assists in 93 appearances, over three years he’s yet to record a season with double-digit goals. He also remains below-par compared to his underlying numbers with his 20 tallies coming off an Expected Goals mark of 25.73xG.

For a team in San Antonio expecting to rebound under new Head Coach Carlos Llamosa, having Agudelo show added sharpness in front of goal than his 38.9 percent shooting accuracy a season ago could end up a crucial ingredient to the side challenging for a top-four finish again.