Riverhounds captain Danny Griffin excited to return to club with a new contract

The Riverhounds took a big step in retaining an important cornerstone to the team, announcing through team release and social media that the club has agreed to terms with the captain of its Championship-winning squad, re-signing midfielder Danny Griffin for the next two seasons along with a club option for 2028. The deal is pending USL and U.S. Soccer approval.

“I am excited and buzzed to be coming back for another two, or hopefully three seasons in Pittsburgh,” Griffin told Pittsburgh Soccer Now soon after revealing he signed a new deal when recording an interview on Sounding Off on Soccer Podcast with John Krysinsky.

With the club option for 2028 could make Griffin — a Connecticut-raised midfielder who joined the Hounds in 2020 as a rookie — the longest-tenured player in club history by seasons played at the end of the new contract.

“Danny has been a massive part of our success over the last few years, both with his performance on the field and the leadership he brings to the group. Keeping him in Pittsburgh was a priority this offseason, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome him back,” Dan Visser, Riverhounds Sporting Director, said.

His 191 appearances for the team ranks fourth in club history, and he holds multiple club records for durability, including a team-record 3,055 minutes played (out of 3,060) in the 2022 regular season and the club mark for consecutive league matches played at 85.

The only Hounds league matches missed by Griffin came at the start of 2023, when he had a brief spell playing for Huntsville City FC in MLS Next Pro, and in 2024, when he missed two matches through injury to snap a personal streak of 134 straight league matches between the two teams.

The Hounds embarked on a remarkable Championship run after Head Coach Bob Lilley was put on administrative leave with three weeks remaining in the regular season, under Griffin’s captaincy, as the Hounds would not lose another match in 2025.  Griffin also had his most productive offensive season.

Griffin now joins Bradley Sample and Jackson Walti as the three players on the squad signed with guaranteed deals through 2027 and club options through 2028.

Two weeks after winning the USL Championship title, Griffin reflected on the accomplishment, redirecting praise to his teammates and coaches for sticking together.

“In all my years here, we’ve always remained a close-knit locker room,” Griffin stated.

“And the guys would demand more from each other. Guys would get on each other. Get after each other on what we needed to do. There are struggles in every season, but in those little moments, there are guys who stepped up and had each other’s back. That went a long way for everyone.”

View this post on Instagram

Sounding Off on Soccer Podcast: Danny Griffin reflects on Riverhounds’ first-ever League Title winning campaign

Initial Thoughts on Re-signing of Danny Griffin

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 and putting the principles of Lilleyball into play and provided exceptional leadership during what could have been calamitous situation with Lilley being put on administrative leave.

In 2025, Griffin who’s reliability on the ball (only dispossessed 34 times in 2025) in deeper positions was siphoned to become more influential in a role where he could explore and had freedom to get forward and higher more often (resulting in a career-high 93 touches in the opposition’s box), resulting in a career high five goals (previous seasons from 2020-24, Griffin scored 2-2-1-1-4 goals).

As a steward of the system, Griffin also showed his keen understanding of the game along with his versatility, having been utilized in almost every field position for the Hounds in his six-year tenure with the club, while serving mostly as box-to-box midfielder, Griffin also has moved into striker spot but filled in as center back (even doing so in the 2025 postseason).

Griffin has started 165 out of a possible 170 matches in Open Cup and League Competition through his career in Pittsburgh.

Key Numbers 

Climbing up the club’s charts in appearances (170) and minutes played (14,868). With the exception of the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020, his rookie year, Griffin has never played less than 2,300 minutes in a season.

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)
10. Jackson Walti — MF (signed for 2026, contract option for 2027)
11. Danny Griffin — MF / Captain (signed for 2026-27, contract option for 2028)

Remaining players from Riverhounds 2025 roster who are out of contract

1. 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
2. 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.
3. 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