{"id":117047,"date":"2026-01-13T23:42:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T23:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/117047\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T23:42:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T23:42:56","slug":"rowdies-open-preseason-camp-with-roster-overhaul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/117047\/","title":{"rendered":"Rowdies open preseason camp with roster overhaul"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 The Tampa Bay Rowdies kickoff preseason training camp this week with a massive roster overhaul.<\/p>\n

Head coach Dominic Casciato said the shake-up was needed after the team missed out on a playoff spot for the first time since 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the biggest thing is we needed guys that were hungry to be here,\u201d Casciato said. \u201cHungry not just to represent the Rowdies, but hungry to win here. It was kind of needed, the overhaul. Now we\u2019re really fortunate to have guys that want to be here, give everything for the shirt and give us a team we can be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Casciato.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Kyle Burger \/ WFTS<\/p>\n

Of the 17 new players signed to the roster, the biggest offseason addition is forward MD Myers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully I\u2019m going to score a lot of goals on this field,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to celebrate in front of these fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myers has scored 36 goals over the last two seasons for the Charleston Battery, but is excited to join a Tampa Bay club with so much history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a club that my dad talked about watching,\u201d Myers said. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to be able to come here. I talked to Dom. He\u2019s really changing things around. I really like his style.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having an entire new roster can be a challenge, but newly-signed attacker Russ Cicerone said it can a good thing, especially, when they have a two month training camp to gel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt creates competition because there\u2019s no set spots, who\u2019s going to play,\u201d Cicerone said. \u201cIt\u2019s a fresh hunger, hungry faces that want to prove themselves. Show the staff and the fans what kind of players they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rowdies<\/p>\n

Kyle Burger \/ WFTS<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever you put a team together, the relationships are most important,\u201d Casciato added. \u201cEverybody has good players. But what differentiates those teams that win, and those teams that don\u2019t? To me, it\u2019s how connected the players are.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Saturday, Jan. 17, the Rowdies will host an open training session at Al Lang Stadium for the public. Players will be training from 10-11 a.m. and will meet with fans after for autographs and photos.<\/p>\n

The season opener will be on March 7 at Birmingham.<\/p>\n

Share Your Story with Kyle Burger

For Tampa Bay 28 Sports Anchor Kyle Burger, pride in our local teams goes beyond college and the pros. Sports connect us as communities and families. You can connect with Kyle to share your passion for your local athletes below.
.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Family mourns Brandon High School student killed by train<\/p>\n

Jewell McMillan, Jamar’s mother, tells Tampa Bay 28 reporter Annette Gutierrez she didn’t realize Wednesday night would be the last time she’d see her son alive<\/p>\n

‘I’m really heartbroken’: Family mourns Brandon High School student killed by train<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 The Tampa Bay Rowdies kickoff preseason training camp this week with a massive roster…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[205,11150,14998,2062,202,204,203,199,201,200,5910,22385,9659,208,9661],"class_list":{"0":"post-117047","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-abc-action-news","9":"tag-abc-action-news-sports","10":"tag-rowdies","11":"tag-soccer","12":"tag-st-pete","13":"tag-st-pete-headlines","14":"tag-st-pete-news","15":"tag-st-petersburg","16":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","17":"tag-st-petersburg-news","18":"tag-tampa-bay-28","19":"tag-tampa-bay-rowdies","20":"tag-tampa-bay-sports","21":"tag-wfts","22":"tag-wfts-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}