Going for Larger Sample Size: Riverhounds lock up midfielder Bradley Sample to new deal

Riverhounds SC are back at it.

Following announcements in the past week of departures of three key players who were out of contract after the club’s 2025 USL Championship title run, the Riverhounds announced through a team release on Friday that they have agreed to a new deal with midfielder Bradley Sample.

Sample stays on with the Hounds with a two-year deal that includes a club option for 2028 and is pending USL and U.S. Soccer approval.

Sample, 25, spent his first two professional seasons with the Hounds after signing as a rookie out of the University of Louisville prior to 2024.

A regular on the team sheet since his arrival, Sample has been a valuable box-to-box presence whether as a starter or off the bench.

“Brad had a great first two years with us and was critical to our success through the playoffs this year. We couldn’t be happier to bring him back for 2026 and beyond,” Dan Visser, Riverhounds SC Sporting Director said through a team release.

In two seasons, Sample has made 68 appearances in all competitions with 39 starts for the Hounds. During the team’s title push at the end of 2025, the Illinois native started every one of the final 14 matches — regular season and playoffs — playing 380 of 450 possible minutes in the postseason.

With the Hounds, Sample has two goals and five assists — his first goal winning Goal of the Week during his rookie season — and he twice has earned USL Championship Team of the Week honors.

Sample is the first out-of-contract player to re-sign with the Hounds this offseason, bringing the current number of players announced to nine. The club is in advanced talks to re-sign more players from last season’s Championship-winning side to new deals for 2026 and beyond.

Riverhounds took their first step toward building next season’s roster, by announcing last Friday that they will be picking up 2026 contract options for four players and declining club options for six others.

The club picked up its team option to retain four players, center backs Guillaume Vacter and Beto Ydrach, outside back Perrin Barnes and midfielder Jorge Garcia. They will return in 2026 alongside four players already under contract: outside back Junior Etou, center back Illal Osumanu, midfielder Charles Ahl and forward Brigham Larsen.

The club declined its 2026 options on six players — Chase Boone, Jason Bouregy, Max Broughton, Bertin Jacquesson, Ben Martino and Augi Williams.

In addition, last Friday, goalkeeper Eric Dick announced he will not be returning to Pittsburgh (inked a new deal with hometown Indy Eleven), on Saturday, Sean Suber also announced he won’t be back (team TBA), then on Tuesday, Phoenix Rising SC announced the signing of Luke Biasi.

Thoughts on Hounds Re-Signing of Bradley Sample

Sample proved to be an integral part of the Hounds midfield, starting almost every match from August through the team’s Championship victory at Tulsa on November 22.

Like many quality players who brought into the club out of college, took some time to develop and getting comfortable with the system, but ultimately emerged as a solid, reliable contributor in the central midfield.  It was during the stretch of play when he took the starting job after Jackson Walti’s injury in August, where Sample blossomed as part of the central midfield pairing with Griffin, becoming much better in his two-way play, where he could be counted on as the reliable holding mid on top of the back three, but also in getting forward (think of his quality chance at the start of the Eastern Conference Semifinal vs Detroit).  Sample was — arguably — the Hounds’ best field player in the ECSF.

Sample is also the first play to be extended with a guaranteed contract through 2027 and that the team will hold a contract option for 2028.

Last season the Hounds started to offer more two-year contacts with a third-year team option, rather than one year with the second-year team option, as Junior Etou, Illal Osumanu, Charles Ahl and Brigham Larsen were all signed to such deals.

Key Numbers: 

2025 — 1,919 minutes played, one assist, one goal, started 23/31 matches, 81.7% passing accuracy, 15 chances created, 111 recoveries, FOTMOB Rating (6.87)

Riverhounds Off Season Roster Tracker

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 2026 roster (as of 12/1/2025)

1. Junior Etou — MF — (re-signed for 2025-26, contract option for 2027)
2. Illal Osumanu — D –(re-signed for 2025-26, contract option for 2027)
3. Charles Ahl –MF — (signed for 2025-26, contract option for 2027)
4. Brigham Larsen — F — (signed for 2025-26, contract option for 2027)
5. Jorge Garcia — MF — (signed for 2026, contract option for 2027)
6. Guillaume Vacter — D — (signed for 2026, contract option for 2027)
7. Beto Ydrach — D — (signed for 2026, contract option for 2027)
8. Perrin Barnes — D — (signed for 2026, contract option for 2027)
9. Bradley Sample — MF (signed for 2026-27, contract option for 2028)

Remaining players from Riverhounds 2025 roster who are out of contract

1. Danny Griffin — MF / Captain — one of the club’s cornerstones of the past five years. Griffin, a New England native, has been equal parts leader, ironman and a player who helped carry torch passed along from Kenardo Forbes in terms of executing principles of Lilleyball and provided exceptional leadership during could have been calamitous situation with Lilley being put on administrative leave.
2. Robbie Mertz — MF — even before this season and the recent remarkable postseason run which Mertz scored what may be difficult to find a bigger goal in the history of the club, the Upper Saint Clair native’s place in club history has already well-established. The question is, how much longer will the 28-year-old want to keep playing? He certainly performed at a very high level in 2025, at the top of the league in chances created.
3. Jackson Walti — MF — up until an injury in August, the former Pitt captain was having an outstanding season in his second year with the club and his third season as a professional. Usually thriving as a deep, holding midfielder, Walti grew into his role in the Riverhounds’ system. If the Hounds re-sign Walti and bring back Jacquesson, they’ll keep its Pitt pipeline intact, and who knows, maybe pick up another former talented Panther or two?
4. Aidan O’Toole — MF — came into the season expecting to have a bigger role, then succumbed to knee injury.  May have to work his way back into a USL roster next season.
5. Jacob Randolph — GK — two seasons as the primary back-up behind Dick and under the tutelage of Jon Busch certainly provided the young keeper with an excellent opportunity as an understudy.

Academy Contract 

1. Pablo Linzoain — M, F — (USL Academy Contract) — After starting with the first-team in 2024 under Academy Contract, the former Fox Chapel High School product transitioned to playing in College where he played 11 matches (four starts) at Davidson University.  It will be interesting to see if any current or prospective Academy players will be added to next year’s roster.

Players out of contract who announced they won’t return to Pittsburgh

1. Eric Dick — GK — Signed with Indy Eleven
2. Sean Suber — D — announced on December 6, he won’t return to club
3. Luke Biasi – D / W — Signed with Phoenix Rising FC

Analysis: Players With Expired Contracts

Even with the existing signings, forward, midfield and goalkeeper are all positional areas that hang by the balance heading into the offseason.

Danny Griffin and Robbie Mertz are two organizational pillars, and it would be very difficult to imagine this team moving forward even without one of them.  In 2021, Mertz went separate ways (to Atlanta United FC 2) in 2021 but came back halfway through 2022.  Griffin tested the MLS Next Pro waters in 2023 but came back two months into that season.

In each postseason during the Bob Lilley era, players who have completed All-USL level play or comparable, who have expired contracts have always signed elsewhere.

It’s been clear that the Riverhounds have maintained their business model.  Even without Lilley in the picture, Visser has stuck to the same plan.

Therefore, it should not be a surprise that Luke Biasi, Sean Suber and Eric Dick signed elsewhere.

Another thing to keep close tabs on…  USL Championship’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with the USL Players Association expires on December 31.  Both sides do not appear to be anywhere close in terms of negotiations. Mertz has been an active member of the USLPA — so it will be interesting to see if Mertz and some of the veteran players hold out until a new CBA is in place before signing any new contracts.  In an exclusive interview with Pittsburgh Soccer Now, Players Association Executive Director Connor Tobin shared that this may not be a factor and teams will still go about their business in signing players.  Still, it will be interesting to see how that affects free agent signings in December — particularly USL veterans like Mertz, Griffin and Dick.

Lilley and Visser have done wonders building around a young core and letting higher priced players go when their contracts are expired, while working around what — according to Transfermrkt.com rates as the roster with the lowest market value in the USL Championship.