Top-Scoring defenders in USL Championship 2026

The top-scoring defenders in USL Championship in 2026, ranked on Field Insider.

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

43 players · ranked by top scorersCustomise →

	Player	Team
1	T. Maples Centre-back	New Mexico United	27	3	15	27
2	K. Tingey Centre-back	Oakland Roots	26	2	10	32
3	J. Scarlett Centre-back	Hartford Athletic	31	2	17	16
4	A. Crognale Full-back	San Antonio	32	2	13	16
5	D. Knutson Centre-back	Miami FC	29	2	15	21
6	W. Ackwei Centre-back	El Paso Locomotive	29	2	8	20
7	M. Mahoney Centre-back	Colorado Springs	31	2	14	16
8	R. Doghman Full-back	Orange County SC	29	2	11825%	2135.4%
9	S. Smart Centre-back	Las Vegas Lights	22	2	14	33
10	M. Bryant Centre-back	Detroit City	31	2	20	17
11	T. Leibold Full-back	Sacramento Republic	32	1	661.3%	1732.4%
12	Grayson Doody Centre-back	Orange County SC	24	1	5	30
13	R. Buckmaster Full-back	San Antonio	30	1	11	16
14	M. Taintor Full-back	San Antonio	31	1	10	15
15	W. Seymore Full-back	New Mexico United	34	1	15	8
16	C. Smith Full-back	Phoenix Rising	22	1	113400%	345.8%
17	J. Hafferty Full-back	Lexington	28	1	17	23
18	K. Awuah Full-back	Loudoun United	30	1	12	18
19	J. Akpunonu Centre-back	Charleston Battery	24	1	13	3311.6%
20	B. Ofeimu Centre-back	Indy Eleven	25	1	6	29
21	C. Gloster Centre-back	New Mexico United	26	1	836.7%	2735.3%
22	J. Lindsey Centre-back	New Mexico United	26	1	16222.4%	2723.2%
23	L. Wyke Centre-back	Tampa Bay Rowdies	29	1	68.5%	2143.7%
24	A. Guillén Centre-back	Tampa Bay Rowdies	33	1	5	11
25	C. Donovan Centre-back	North Carolina	30	1	8	16
26	P. Craig Centre-back	North Carolina	33	1	10	10
27	A. Ortíz Centre-back	El Paso Locomotive	34	1	289.1%	866.7%
28	L. Batista Full-back	FC Tulsa	28	1	15	21
29	M. Real Full-back	Colorado Springs	27	1	1128.9%	2436.5%
30	M. Traore Centre-back	Phoenix Rising	24	1	62650%	3020.2%
31	R. Flood Centre-back	Phoenix Rising	27	1	3	24
32	A. Rogers Full-back	FC Tulsa	29	1	16	20
33	O. Damm Full-back	FC Tulsa	23	1	20	32
34	X. Zengue Full-back	Lexington	25	1	4	30
35	S. Totsch Full-back	Louisville City	34	1	28	10
36	Jake Rufe Centre-back	Birmingham Legion	30	1	7	17
37	K. Greene Centre-back	Oakland Roots	33	1	16	11
38	N. Hackshaw Centre-back	Oakland Roots	30	1	14	18
39	B. Rendón Centre-back	Indy Eleven	26	1	9	27
40	P. Hogan Centre-back	Indy Eleven	28	1	7	22
41	J. Erlandson Centre-back	Loudoun United	27	1	4	23
42	B. Njie Centre-back	Hartford Athletic	31	1	2	14
43	Finn Sundstrom Full-back	North Carolina	19	1	14	34