Most Improved defenders in USL Championship 2026

The most improved defenders in USL Championship in 2026, ranked on Field Insider.

Most improved goalkeepers in USL Championship Most improved midfielders in USL Championship Most improved attackers in USL Championship Best defenders in USL Championship Most in-form defenders in USL Championship Top-scoring defenders in USL Championship

At a glance

Kieran Sargeant of Lexington is the standout for raw talent across defenders in USL Championship, with a Field Insider Rating of 34.4, and K. Adams has been the form player this season, grading 27.8, and T. Maples leads the scoring with 3 goals.

The numbers a scout watches are the year-on-year jumps: S. Anderson has improved his Season rating most, up +19.3 on last season. Those are the players whose trajectory is bending upward fastest.

By our market-value index, S. Anderson of Hartford Athletic is the most valuable name in this group at 7.4.

Best talent

Kieran Sargeant34.4RTG

Tampa Bay Rowdies · 24/25→25/26

Most improved

S. Anderson+19.3SsN

Hartford Athletic · 24/25→25/26

14 players · ranked by most improvedCustomise →

	Player	Team
1	S. Anderson Full-back	Hartford Athletic	24	+19.3 24/25→25/26	23551.4%	3315.9%
2	R. Doghman Full-back	Orange County SC	29	+9.9 22/23→25/26	11825%	2135.4%
3	K. Burks Centre-back	Lexington	26	+8.2 23/24→25/26	14151.9%	2916.7%
4	N. Hämäläinen Full-back	New Mexico United	29	+6.2 22/23→25/26	10163.2%	2240.2%
5	A. Mabika Centre-back	Rhode Island	28	+6.2 24/25→25/26	10151.2%	2138.1%
6	M. Real Full-back	Hartford Athletic	27	+2.4 23/24→25/26	1128.9%	2436.5%
7	C. Gloster Centre-back	New Mexico United	26	+2.2 22/23→25/26	836.7%	2735.3%
8	L. Wyke Centre-back	Tampa Bay Rowdies	29	+0.5 20/21→25/26	68.5%	2143.7%
9	E. Bartlow Centre-back	Tampa Bay Rowdies	26	-2 24/25→25/26	747.8%	337.1%
10	G. Smith Centre-back	Charleston Battery	30	-6.3 20/21→25/26	554.3%	1655.7%
11	N. Gordon Centre-back	Monterey Bay	24	-7.6 21/22→25/26	561.8%	3050%
12	T. Leibold Full-back	Sacramento Republic	32	-10 24/25→25/26	661.3%	1732.4%
13	T. Brewitt Centre-back	Orange County SC	29	-10.9 23/24→25/26	569.4%	1831.6%
14	F. Lasso Centre-back	Tampa Bay Rowdies	33	-16 22/23→25/26	193%	960.6%