Clay Holstad Joins FC Dallas on Loan for the 2026 Season

Well, this is going to be the hardest blog to write in the history of Tide Talk but here goes nothing.

Today, Rhode Island FC announced the departure of all-action, all-league and all-nice guy Clay Holstad to FC Dallas on loan for the remainder of the season with an option to buy. While a loan means that anything can happen - with Clay's talent and work ethic, I'm assuming we're not seeing him back in Amber and Blue for the foreseeable future.

To try and summarize the level of loss this is for the team, club and community is nearly impossible but this writer will do his best.

He's Here, He's There...

If you've heard how Matt and I started podcasting together, you've heard that I used to write him novels on Reddit. This started after the first ever RIFC match where my top takeaway outside of the atmosphere was about this do-everything midfielder wearing number 12:

"Holstad was my standout performer. Thought he was left on his own a ton (see cons section) but brought a lot of calm and progression to our game"

r/rhodeislandfc

In the inaugural season for the club, Clay was one of the standout performers, playing in 38 matches, ranking in the top 10 in the league for FotMob rating for midfielders and notching 5 goals for the club - multiple of them goal of the season candidates and one goal of the season winner.

While the spectacular goals got the fans off of their feet, it was Clay's all action style of play, availability and never ending effort that made fans fall in love with the midfield general. As the team grew into the 2024 season, his partnership with Zachary Herivaux and Marc Ybarra, aka the Adult Midfield™️, propelled the team on a historic run all the way to the USL Championship finals.

It was no surprise that at the end of the season, the Rhode Island FC Supporter Group, Defiance 1636 voted Holstad their player of the season - something this blogger was heavily campaigning for.

Moving in to year 2, the fanbase was excited to hear that standouts Karifa Yao, Frank Nodarse and Clay Holstad signed multi-year contract extensions days before the season started - but that's where the good vibes fell off.

In a season with a stadium opening and high expectations leading up to it, the team never really found their stride - finishing the regular season in 7th place, sneaking into the playoffs over the final few matches. A far cry from a Supporter's Shield contender that we anticipated.

A massive reason for this falloff was the usage of Clay. A standout midfielder in year one, questionable roster building, injuries and Clay's incredible versatility forced Holstad to spend the majority of the season at right wing back. So much so, that the Tide Talk crew were happy for Clay anytime he was able to spend even 5 minutes a match in the center of the pitch.

This all came to a head in the Eastern Conference finals where Holstad didn't appear in the match until the 88th minute with The Tide falling 1-0. With such a rocky season, none of us would have been surprised if we saw the midfielder leave in the offseason.

Lucky for us, opening day came around and number 12 was back in the center of the pitch and back at his best for Rhode Island FC. Playing in 18 matches for The Tide, Holstad currently ranks 18th in the entire league in FotMob rating, already matching his career high in assists while tallying two goals. With his performances on the pitch, it's no surprise FC Dallas wanted to add him to their roster.

Man of the People

While the loss of Clay on the pitch will be immense, we can't overstate the loss off it. If you've ever been to autograph alley after a match, you know that one of the last players out there is always Clay Holstad. Whether The Tide won, lost, drew, encountered torrential rain or there were fireworks going on, Clay was always there until every last kid (and many times adults) got his autograph and got to talk to him.

He is a genuinely kind person who understands what this game is really all about. We wish Clay nothing but the best on his new endeavor and hope that he finds his way back to the Ocean State after he's won a Ballon d'or or two.

So what about RIFC?

Fair question! This obviously leaves quite the hole in our lineup. With the recent injuries to Holstad and Herivaux, The Tide have been incredibly reliant on the health of midfielders Amos Shapiro-Thompson and Hugo Bacharach. We've even seen fullback Dani Rovira and attacker Dwayne Atkinson debut in the middle of the pitch. While the duo, along with Kevin Vang have earned an opportunity, it would be incredibly surprising for Khano Smith and the front office to not bring in another natural midfielder to bolster the already thin position.

And, as always, once that signing comes through, come back to tidetalkri.com for our breakdown. Until then, this is what you'll find the Tide Talk crew up to.

From all of us, thanks for everything Clay.