27-year-old shot stopper will return to round out RIFC’s goalkeeper core in 2026
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (Jan. 15, 2025) – Rhode Island FC announced today it has re-signed goalkeeper Will Meyer for the 2026 USL Championship season, pending league and federation approval. The 27-year-old Cleveland, Ohio native will return to RIFC for a second season after initially signing with the club ahead of the 2025 campaign.
Meyer signed for Rhode Island FC on Feb. 10, 2025, after spending two seasons in MLS Next Pro. His professional career began when he was selected with the 10th pick of the second round in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft by Nashville SC. After moving to the New York Red Bulls, he made his professional debut on August 21, 2023, for the club’s MLS Next Pro Reserve side, making four saves in a 4-2 win over Atlanta United 2. He made two appearances for Red Bulls II in 2023 before moving to New York City FC II in 2024, where he logged a career-high 702 minutes in 10 appearances for the MLS Next Pro side, keeping the first two clean sheets of his professional career.
Collegiately, Meyer split five seasons at the University of Louisville (2017-2019) and the University of Akron (2020-2021). At Akron, Meyer appeared in 27 matches for the Zips with eight clean sheets across his first two seasons, including a stretch of three consecutive shutouts in 2021. After starting all 18 games and making 45 saves en route to posting a 1.06 goals against average with six shutouts during his senior season in 2021, Meyer earned a MAC Player of the Week selection and First-Team All-Ohio honors. Prior to joining Akron, Meyer appeared in 15 matches for the University of Louisville, making 13 starts and keeping nine shutouts.
RIFC now has 23 players under contract for the 2026 season:
2026 RHODE ISLAND FC ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Koke Vegas, 13-Will Meyer, 29-Jacob Castro
DEFENDERS (9): 2-Dani Rovira, 3-Aldair Sanchez, 4-Hugo Bacharach, 5-Grant Stoneman, 6-Aimé Mabika, 15-Frank Nodarse, 22-Nick Scardina, 24-Karifa Yao, 32-Hamady Diop
MIDFIELDERS (6): 7-Dwayne Atkinson, 10-Agustín “Pity” Rodríguez, 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 19-Kevin Vang, 20-Zachary Herivaux, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson
FORWARDS (4): 8-Leo Afonso, 9-JJ Williams, 11-Noah Fuson, 27-Mathieu Ndongo
For Rhode Island FC news and updates, visit rhodeislandfc.com, subscribe to RIFC’s monthly newsletter, follow the club on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, X and LinkedIn, and download the official team app.
