Rhode Island FC have announced their second new signing for the 2026 season – Nick Scardina is coming to Rhode Island after Charlotte FC declined his option for the upcoming season.

Player Background

Scardina is 24 years old and hails from Portland, Oregon. He spent his youth career with the Portland Timbers before attending the University of Washington, where he was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference First Team in 2022. Scardina also made appearances with USL2 side PDXFC and the NPSL’s Crossfire during his time in Washington.

After his time in college, Scardina was selected 40th overall by Charlotte FC. He primarily played with Charlotte’s MLS Next Pro-affiliate, Crown Legacy FC, for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, before spending time with the first team in the 2025 season.

For those who are keeping score, Rhode Island FC clearly has a penchant for recent MLS SuperDraft picks who were competitive but couldn’t quite cut it as a full-time starter in MLS. Just a few names to mention who fit this mold… Morris Duggan, Hugo Bacharach, Hamady Diop, and the also-recently-signed Leo Afonso. That’s pretty elite company.

Recent History

In Scardina’s 41 appearances with Crown Legacy, he played a combination of positions up and down the right side of the field, everywhere from a traditional right fullback to a full-blown right winger. He chipped in with nine goals and seven assists, which is very solid output for someone who was spending almost half of his shifts as a defender.

Scardina played 800 minutes over 15 appearances with Charlotte FC last year, but appears to have been almost exclusively asked to play as a right fullback. Without intrinsic knowledge of the Charlotte FC roster, I can’t really explain why they would take a player with significant attacking promise and limit him in the fullback position.

This is great news for Rhode Island FC, however, who has historically not used fullbacks (with some exceptions). RIFC plays with wingbacks on either side, which utilizes the defensive skillset that Scardina clearly has, but also allows much more flexibility going forward.

Given that we really played the entirety of 2025 without a plan for either the right wingback OR the right-sided attacker position, the addition of Scardina (paired with other – hopefully – forthcoming signings) could be the answer on the right side that we haven’t had since Stephen Turnbull.

Player Comparison

Statistically, it’s hard to nail down Scardina due to his flexibility and evolution in positions throughout his career.

Comparing his 2024 MLS Next Pro season to Turnbull’s 2024 season with Rhode Island FC, and Aldair Sanchez’s 2025 season with Rhode Island FC:

A lot of these metrics can be explained by the fact that Scardina was often playing in a more attacking role than Turnbull or Sanchez were asked to play with Rhode Island FC. Of course, Scardina led the group with 1.84 Chances Created per 90 minutes, which is encouraging to see considering the importance of chance creation for the wingback position in Khano’s system – and the lack of chance creation last season.

Scardina and Sanchez attempted and succeeded at more crosses than Turnbull – while Scardina and Turnbull attempted and succeeded at more dribbles than Sanchez. So if we assume that Scardina may not cross quite as prolifically as Sanchez, and maybe not drive at his man quite to the extent that Turnbull did – but instead, as proficient at both approaches? He is looking like an exciting and dynamic addition to the side.

Finally, on the defensive side – unsurprisingly, Turnbull (a career right-back who was asked to play as a wingback) leads all three players in all major categories. However, I’m optimistic that Scardina will bring his experience from last season playing as a fullback in the MLS to this position, and continue to impress in duel-win percentage – as seen in the numbers above.

Vibe Check

All signs are pointing to Scardina being our number one right wingback option heading into the 2026 season. This was the single biggest gap in our roster for 2025, so I think it is a brilliant signing. Scardina also has the experience and versatility to fill in at other positions – he can play as a RB in a back four, and I wouldn’t even be shocked to see him pop up in the right-sided forward/attacking midfield position, based on his past experience.

We’ve seen two major departures this offseason in Maxi Rodriguez and Albert “Chico” Dikwa, but the two signings so far are addressing major positions of need. I’m liking the direction that the team is headed with signing young, fringe-MLS talent. I’d still like to see us bolster our forward depth with another starting-caliber player and maybe one more depth option, but this is a massive step in the right direction.