Earlier this week marked the start of preseason for the reigning USL2 Champions. Led by new head coach James Riley, this group of players and staff will look to replicate the success of the 2023 season.
A combination of returners and newcomers make up a highly competitive and deep roster that prioritizes local soccer talent both on the pitch and amongst the technical staff.
Ahead of the May 19th season opener against the Tacoma Stars, we talked to coach Riley about his expectations, and what to look out for as the club begins its title defense.
Photo courtesy of Blake Dahlin.
Key Returners
The 2024 roster is headlined by the number of returners from last season’s title-winning team. In a league where continuity is hard to find, Ballard FC has done just that. Despite heading into just their third season, they will have some grizzled veterans compared to most USL2 sides. The roster includes 16 returners, with eight players who will play in their third season with Ballard.
When asked about the importance of these returners Riley lauded praise upon them, “their experience and understanding of our team’s dynamics are invaluable. Their leadership on and off the field helps foster a winning culture.” Riley also mentioned key returners such as Peter Kingston, Christian Engmann, and Taketo Onodera who are among the eight players returning for a third straight season. Kingston was recently named by USL2 as one of the top 15 players to watch in this upcoming season.
Starting in goal, Ballard FC will have the services of both Pierluca Carnovale and Conrad Lee again this season. Although primarily backups last season, both of the Ballard High School graduates saw USL2 action and will look to compete for more minutes as 2023 starter Lars Helleren has moved on and signed for the Tacoma Defiance.
Across the backline, five of the eight rostered defenders return from last season. These five are Christian Engmann, Leo Burney, Lesia Thetsane, Khai Brisco, and Demian Alvarez. Any combination of Engmann, Burney, and Alvarez made for a stout center back pairing last season with Brisco and Thetsane providing both offense and defense from the fullback positions. Last season, Thetsane was named to the USL2 “Team of the Year” and will look to continue that success this summer.
In midfield, Kingston and Onodera are joined by fellow returners Joe Dale, Jibril Rodet, and Cameron Yriondo. After a breakout season with Seattle Pacific University last fall, Yriondo entered the transfer portal and will play in the ACC next season with the University of Virginia. But before that, Yriondo and the rest of this group are poised to have a big summer filled with creating opportunities for the attack.
Up top, a core group of four returns which includes Alex Mejia, Charlie Gaffney, Kojo Dadzie, and Charlie Holmes. Mejia and Gaffney have been an integral part of the Ballard attack since the club’s inception and will look to do that once more in 2024. Dadzie and Holmes had tremendous college seasons, both earning league honors. Dadzie was named First Team All-Ivy and earned a transfer to Penn State University where he will play next Fall. Holmes received Third Team All-Patriot League honors with Bucknell and an also earned a transfer as he will play for the University of Connecticut next season.
New additions
Complimenting these returners are exciting new players looking to put on a show for the Ballard faithful. Riley already sees progress with team chemistry, noting that “the synergy between our returning players and the new additions is already palpable in training sessions.”
One of the big question marks this season will be goalkeeper due to the departure of Helleren. To answer this, Ballard FC have added two new goalkeepers alongside Carnovale and Lee to compete for the starting spot. Adam Braman is a Mercer Island graduate who spent time at both Seattle University and Midwestern State before transferring to the University of Wisconsin. Alongside Braman is Charlie Lanphier, a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) champion with Seattle University that also has past USL2 experience with FC Olympia (formerly Oly Town FC).
Outside of the goalkeeping spot, Riley mentioned that he has his eyes on University of Washington trio Chris Meyers, Richie Aman and Sean Sent. Meyers and Aman both received PAC-12 honors last fall while Sent had a career year, appearing in ten matches and scoring his first career goals.
Riley also name-dropped Syracuse University forward Daniel Burko and San Diego State University forward Austin Brummett as ones to watch. Burko transferred to Syracuse in January after a great season with Lincoln Memorial University where he won Division Two Southeast Region Player of the Year. Brummett, a New Hampshire native, moved to Seattle to join the Sounders Academy in high school and has completed his sophomore season with San Diego State University (SDSU) where he scored seven goals in 2023.
Local Ties and Collegiate Chemistry
A key part of this 2024 roster is team chemistry, which is aided by the fact that so many of these players are college teammates. Locally, the roster includes six players from last fall’s University of Washington team, four from Seattle University, and three from Seattle Pacific. The six Washington players include returning trio Kingston, Dale and Brisco as well as new additions Meyers, Aman and Sent. Seattle University had Onodera, Alvarez, Lanphier, and Hammond on their roster last fall. At Interbay Stadium, both Ray Mendez and Yriondo bossed the midfield together while Isaac Ketcham played fullback for Seattle Pacific with Carnovale set to join their roster in the fall.
Even farther away this trend continues with duos at an additional three universities. Burney and Gaffney play together at the University of Pennsylvania. Midfielder Cameron Cruz joins Rodet to create a Grand Canyon University duo. Lastly, Brummett joins Engmann as the second SDSU player on the roster.
A Group of Winners
Obviously 16 of these players won a USL2 Championship last year, but that is not where the winning stops for this group.
This roster includes five PAC-12 Champions, five WAC Champions, three Ivy League Champions, and more. The roster is also led by five time U.S. Open Cup winner and MLS Cup Champion James Riley, creating a winning culture both from back to front and top to bottom.
Riley and his team look to add to that winning culture again this year, but he knows they cannot do it alone, “I invite our fans to rally behind this talented group. Your support is not just important—it’s everything to us. Together, I believe we can achieve extraordinary things once again.”
Extraordinary things ahead at Memorial Stadium.
