USL Championship 2025 Season Previews - Backheeled
With a new USL Championship season starting this weekend, we’re dropping in-depth previews for all 24 teams.
John Morrissey
Where we left off last year
2024 season: 50 points, 6th in the Eastern Conference
In their first year under new manager Robbie Neilson, the Rowdies withstood a major injury to Forrest Lasso and hurricane-driven dislocation and still managed to win a playoff game. Sounds like a success, right?
There's still a nagging feeling that Tampa Bay could've done more in 2024. The Rowdies underperformed their expected goal difference by a 24-goal margin, one of the three biggest gaps since the inception of xG data at the USL level. Defensive lapses and streaky finishing let this team down - even if the ultimate results in Tampa Bay would be considered stellar in 90% of other markets.
