
Club acquires 2024 USL Championship All-League First Team selection
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (Dec. 3, 2024) – Rhode Island FC announced today it has signed midfielder Maxi Rodriguez for the upcoming 2025 USL Championship season, pending league and federation approval. Rodriguez becomes the first new signing for the 2025 season and 25th all-time acquisition for RIFC.
Originally from San Antonio, Rodriguez brings a wealth of professional experience, including six United Soccer League seasons across the Championship and League One. Rodriguez spent the last four seasons with Detroit City FC, where he most recently led Le Rouge to a third-place finish in the Eastern Conference and was named a 2024 USL Championship All-League First Team selection.
“Maxi is a creative player that brings veteran USL Championship experience to our team as we look to build off our inaugural season and play our first season in The Stadium at Tidewater Landing,” said Rhode Island FC Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith. “He is a playmaker that always finds ways to score and make everyone around him better.”
Rodriguez led Detroit in goals (10) and assists (9) in 2024, appearing in 34 of the teams’ 35 matches. The midfielder made 31 starts, going the distance in 17 matches to log 2,753 minutes, third-most on the team.
The 2023 and 2022 USL Championship seasons saw similar production levels from the Texas native. In 2023, Rodriguez helped Le Rouge to the biggest upset of the postseason when Detroit took down No. 1 overall seed and USL Championship Player’s Shield winners Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the opening round. Rodriguez capped off the memorable season with four goals and three assists in 2,907 minutes across 32 starts and 34 appearances.
In DCFC’s inaugural season in the USL Championship the year prior, Rodriguez led the team in goals (9), passes (1,487), interceptions (56), tackles (104), duels (392) and duels won (228). He was named to the league’s Team of the Week six times throughout the season, including one Player of the Week nod after recording the club’s first hat trick in a professional league match. One of Rodriguez’s most memorable highlights of 2022 was his performance against the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer in the U.S. Open Cup. The playmaker scored two second-half goals including a late penalty to see Detroit City FC advance to the Round of 32.
Before Le Rouge moved up to the USL Championship, Rodriguez made 30 appearances across the 2021 National Independent Soccer Association fall and spring seasons. With seven goals in 17 appearances during the fall season, Rodriguez finished fourth in the league’s Golden Boot race and earned All-League First Team honors.
Prior to his move to the Motor City, Rodriguez played in the inaugural 2019 USL League One season with the Richmond Kickers. He made 23 appearances, recording one goal and 17 chances created in a holding midfield role that also saw him record 35 interceptions, 159 recoveries and a 70.5 percent tackle success rate.
Rodriguez began his professional career in 2017 with San Antonio FC, playing in 16 regular season USL Championship matches. Playing in his hometown, Rodriguez would go on to make 32 league appearances across his two SAFC seasons, recording one goal and 1,319 minutes of action while helping the club reach the semifinals of the 2017 USL Championship Playoffs. The defensive midfielder also bagged one goal in five U.S. Open Cup appearances across 2017-2018.
At the collegiate level, Rodriguez played four seasons at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. He made 53 starts in 60 appearances for the 49ers, recording two goals and four assists in 1,380 minutes. He was twice named to the Conference USA All-Conference Team as a junior and a senior.
Name: Maxi Rodriguez
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-11
Weight: 173
Birthday: Aug. 9, 1995
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
Previous teams: Detroit City FC, Richmond Kickers, San Antonio FC