Rhode Island FC 2026 Player Ratings Superlatives

Over the first three years of Rhode Island FC, we've learned that Player Ratings spark quite a bit of dialogue and debate - amongst not only readers, but also our internal team. While readers who comment typically get a much more thoughtful response, internal Tide Talk criticism is usually met with "well, you should have written them" (and oftentimes some form of expletive).

But over the full course of the season, I have to say that even I've been pleasantly surprised each year at how accurately they end up reflecting my feelings on individual players and the team itself.

Click below to see 2026 player ratings for the full season.

So - for 2026, what were some of the key takeaways, as viewed through the lens of the Player Ratings articles?

Most Valuable Player

Frank Nodarse (6.24)

Frank may have been the most talented player on the team all along, but this was the first season he played that way consistently, night in and night out.

He led all regulars in average rating, was rated in 34 of 37 matches, and collected the most 8s on the team (four of them). His average sat roughly 0.55 above the team's 5.69, and he never dipped below a 4.

Most Improved

Hugo Bacharach (6.03)

Our midfield general - the emergence of Hugo last season and this season made the loss of Clay Holstad significantly easier to stomach.

Hugo opened the year with a 4 and a string of 5s, averaging around 5.5 through his first 11 games. It was pretty clear (evidenced by him not starting our season opener) that he was re-gaining match fitness and still recovering from some kind of an injury. Over his last 21 he averaged about 6.3, with three 8s and almost nothing below a 5.

Most Likely to Go To Another School

Clay Holstad (6.18)

A 6.18 average over 17 rated games, with a high of 8, and then... just like that, he was gone. Clay was the second-best regular on the team before picking up an injury in mid-June, and eventually being sent on loan to FC Dallas. We'll always wonder what his final line would have looked like. Honorable mentions to JJ Williams (5.71), Hamady Diop and Logan Dorsey.

Best Supporting Cast (Honor Roll)

Karifa Yao (5.93), Nick Scardina (5.88) and Amos Shapiro-Thompson (5.85)

The next tier behind Frank and Hugo. They won't grab the headlines in quite the same way, but these were our next three most reliable players throughout the season.

Best Newcomer

Nick Scardina (5.88)

I was especially high on Nick Scardina coming into the 2026 season, and he proved to be everything we hoped for and more. He puts everything on the line defensively, and there are few greater joys than watching him bomb up the right flank into space in front of my seats in Section 205.

Most Volatile

Koke Vegas (5.80)

He owns the season's only 9 (thanks to his penalty kick game-winner over Brooklyn in the USL Cup), plus several 8s, and a few 4s. Nobody had a wider spread of scores from game-to-game than Koke.

Best Team Performance

1-0 @ Pittsburgh on 7/25 (6.58)

An outpouring of joy for the Rhode Island FC faithful as we finally beat (an admittedly Dick-less) Pittsburgh in the regular season - avenging our Eastern Conference Finals loss from 2025, and picking up an important three points on the road.

Runners-up: the US Open Cup opener against CD Faialense on 3/17 (6.56), 3-0 over Monterey Bay on 8/22 (6.46), 3-1 win @ LEX on 4/11 (6.42) and 4-1 home win over BKY on 5/23 (6.36).

Worst Team Performance

2-1 loss @ Portland Hearts of Pine on 5/16 (N/A)

Only one performance this year was so bad that I couldn't even bring myself to rate it. After beating Hartford on penalty kicks in our first group stage match of the USL Cup, Rhode Island FC and over 200 faithful fans traveled to lower-league Portland and got our doors blown off within 27 minutes. The less we talk about it, the better.

Other lowlights include: the 2-1 loss @ Sacramento on 7/8 (4.5), our 1-0 loss while up a man for 70+ minutes at Detroit City on 10/10 (4.5), losing 3-1 to Birmingham Legion at home on 5/2 (4.57), and losing 2-1 @ Miami in our third USLC match of the season on 3/28 (4.79)

Most Likely to Catch Senioritis

The entire second half of the season

The team averaged about 5.81 through mid-June and only 5.59 from July on. The last five games, on the other hand, averaged just 5.3 - capped by that dreadful 4.92 finale against Hartford Athletic. Everyone looked ready for "summer" break.

So, there you have it. The 2026 Player Ratings end-of-season wrap up. I'll say again (completely gratuitously) that I'm actually quite pleased with how accurately these line up with my feelings on this past season just based on the eye test.

It suggests that, while the Player Ratings articles are entirely arbitrary and very much open to debate (it's encouraged, in fact) - there MAY be some minor amount of method to the madness going on over here.

As always, I hope that you'll share your thoughts on what you do and don't agree with at the conclusion of the 2026 season!