PITTSBURGH (Nov. 26, 2024) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has made its first roster moves of the offseason with 10 players from last year’s playoff-qualifying squad slated to return for the 2025 USL Championship season.
The returning group is led by two players who were already under contract on multi-year deals, midfielder and captain Danny Griffin and midfielder Kenardo Forbes, the Hounds’ all-time appearances and assists leader. An additional eight players had their option year picked up, meaning the Hounds will retain 10 of 17 players whose contract rights were held by the club.
Veteran midfielder Robbie Mertz leads the list of players who had their options picked up, bringing the Pittsburgh native back for a sixth season with his hometown team. Defender Luke Biasi will be back for a fourth year with the Hounds, as will the USL Championship Goalkeeper of the Year, Eric Dick, who will be returning for a second season in Pittsburgh.
The remaining players whose options were picked up are also going into their second seasons in Pittsburgh. Defender Sean Suber; midfielders Jackson Walti, Bradley Sample and Aidan O’Toole; and goalkeeper Jacob Randolph all were retained for 2025.
Seven other players from the 2024 team had their contracts expire and are now free agents. The Hounds are currently in negotiations with those players, as well as with free agents from outside the club, as the club looks to build a title-contending team for the 2025 USL Championship season.
About the returning players for 2025
• Biasi, 25, is one of the Hounds’ most tenured players with 80 appearances in his first three professional seasons. The defender has played extensively at every position across the back line and played a career-high 2,477 minutes — fourth on the team — in 2024.
• Dick, 30, put together one of the best goalkeeping seasons in Hounds history on his way to winning Goalkeeper of the Year and the Golden Glove. The shot stopper had a league-best .791 save percentage and 0.69 goals-against average while putting together 14 shutouts in 26 regular-season matches.
• Forbes, 36, is the most decorated player in Hounds history, holding club records for assists (55) and appearances (226) and earning All-League honors six times from 2018-23. The veteran, who also holds USL Championship career records for the same two categories, will enter his eighth season in Pittsburgh.
• Griffin, 26, enters his sixth year with the Hounds after becoming only the fifth player to reach 150 games played for the team. The holding midfielder has led the team in minutes in three of the past four seasons and scored a career-best four goals in 2024, his first season as the team’s captain.
• Mertz, 27, enters his sixth year with the Hounds across two stints with the team. Initially signing as a rookie in 2019, the midfielder and graduate of nearby Upper St. Clair High School now ranks in the top 10 in club history for assists (19) and appearances (135), and his 18 goals for the Hounds are 14th all-time.
• O’Toole, 23, played in six matches in a reserve role as a rookie out of the University of Denver. The midfielder/winger from Texas made his professional debut on April 6 against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
• Randolph, 23, served as one of the Hounds’ two backup goalkeepers in his rookie 2024 season out of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. The Louisiana native made four starts and recorded his first pro shutout on June 22 in a 0-0 draw at North Carolina FC.
• Sample, 23, was a regular on the team sheet and spot starter in the midfield as a first-year pro out of the University of Louisville. Originally from Illinois, he appeared in 30 of 34 regular-season games, scored one goal, and was second on the team with four assists.
• Suber, 23, joined the Hounds through free agency as a second-year pro, and he quickly moved into a regular starting role at center back. The Charlotte, N.C. native started 25 matches, playing 2,318 minutes and scoring his first two professional goals.
• Walti, 24, returned to Pittsburgh for his second pro season after playing a standout role in college for the University of Pittsburgh. The holding midfielder from Florida scored his first two professional goals and moved into a regular role in the second half of 2024, starting 16 of the team’s final 18 matches.
