January 26, 2023 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rowdies announced that the club has added forward Cal Jennings to the squad for the upcoming USL Championship season. The deal is pending league and federation approval.
Jennings has spent the last two years under contract with Major League Soccer’s LAFC, but the majority of his playing time has come on loan in the USL Championship at Las Vegas Lights FC, where he produced back-to-back 11-goal seasons. Last season, Jennings recorded a career-high six assists for Las Vegas, following up on his four assists the previous year.
“Without putting too much pressure on Cal, because he’s still a young player, but the reason that we made some of the decisions we made this offseason was to open up the opportunity for Cal to come in,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins.
“It’s about getting better, and I think Cal can help us get better. We can help him get better as well. He’s very quick. He’s very good at threatening defenses in behind. He’s a goal scorer and a hard-working player that showed a real desire to be here. He’s got big boots to fill. We were the top goal scorers in the league last year but we also feel that we missed a lot of chances as well. We’re hoping that Cal can get those opportunities and continue that goal-scoring form he’s had and develop the other parts of his game.”
Over the last three years, Jennings has proven to be one of the most consistent finishers in the league. Including his nine-goal season with Memphis 901 FC in 2020, Jennings has notched 31 goals in 59 USL Championship appearances at a strike rate of a goal every 143.3 minutes.
“I was looking for a good team, a team that can compete for championships, a team that has sustained success. The Rowdies have done this,” Jennings said. “I also wanted to find a team where I fit the system, where I could push to win the Golden Boot. As evidenced by last year and previous years, the Rowdies create a lot of chances. I’m hoping to even up that number.”
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Jennings played his college soccer at the University of Central Florida. He tallied 46 goals during his four-year career for the Knights and was named a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy in his senior season.
FC Dallas picked Jennings in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, but the young striker ended up signing his first professional contract with Memphis in the USL Championship. After a…