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This offseason has produced some major attacking overhauls at clubs around the USL Championship.

Front and center are the Tampa Bay Rowdies, whose additions of MD Myers, Russell Cicerone, Karsen Henderlong and Evan Conway have been part of a large roster revamp under new Head Coach Dominic Casciato.

Moves like those of Myers and Cicerone – and those of players like Rubio Rubín to El Paso Locomotive FC, Phillip Goodrum to Lexington SC, and Khori Bennett to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC – have created a knock-on effect.

For Sacramento Republic FC, it has meant an overhaul of its own in its attacking corps as Head Coach Neill Collins begins his second season at the helm.

• COMING UP SHORT: As a group, Sacramento was solid in the attacking third in 2025. The side ranked seventh in Expected Goals at 41.38xG and found the net 44 times in 30 regular season games, tied for ninth in the league. That said, in the biggest games of the season – the USL Cup Final against Hartford Athletic and the USL Championship Playoffs against Orange County SC – the side drew blanks, resulting in Athletic lifting the cup and OCSC eliminating the West’s No. 2 seed in a penalty shootout.

• FIND THE MAIN MAN: While the collective was solid, there wasn’t one standout the side could rely on to find the net. Cicerone led Sacramento with eight goals in the regular season, and while Bennett produced five goals at a strike rate of a goal every 124 minutes after his mid-season introduction, no-one outside that duo had a strike rate under a goal every 250 minutes.

• OFFSEASON ARRIVALS: The combination of departures to other clubs and the retirement of club legend Rodrigo Lopez means Republic FC’s leading returning goalscorers are forward Dominik Wanner and wingback Jack Gurr, each of whom had three regular season goals in 2025. In their stead have arrived forwards Forster Ajago and more recently Kyle Edwards, acquired via transfer from Hartford after a career-best 2025 campaign, and winger Mayele Malango via transfer from Monterey Bay FC. 

As Sacramento began preseason training this week, Collins noted that there is still work to be done to complete the squad ahead of the start of the campaign against reigning Western Conference title-holder FC Tulsa on Saturday, March 7.

“There’s definitely a couple of important pieces that we still need to add,” Collins told assembled media. “I think in the center of the park, obviously lost three or four guys that have done very well for this club, that we need to try and replace, so that's an area. Then I think as well, just at the top end of the pitch, still an attacking player probably short to just give us a full complement.”

After Republic FC’s overall success in Collins’ first campaign, there should still be optimism the side can find another gear. His track record with the Tampa Bay Rowdies was excellent – in four full-length campaigns between 2019-23 the club recorded at least 55 goals each year – so the brand of attacking soccer Collins is aiming to bring to Heart Health Park should come to pass.

The manner through which Collins pulls together his collection of new pieces, though, might be the biggest key to Sacramento finding the success it seeks.

“I think Forster and Kyle will give us a couple of different attributes, the goalscoring particularly,” said Collins. “But then also we tried to inject some more speed, some more pace in respect to being able to go 1v1 in duels, and I think Mayele and Pierre [Reedy] will give us that, and Arturo [Rodriguez] will give us some creativity.

“I think the bigger thing is always about making the team greater than the sum of its parts. These guys come in to play a role, but then hopefully together, they're even better.”