ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The USL Championship announced today that Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato has been named USL Championship Coach of the Month for March.
This marks Casciato’s first Coach of the Month award since taking over for the Rowdies last July. He earned the honor after leading the Rowdies to a perfect start through the first month of the 2026 regular season, notching three consecutive victories for the club’s best start to a campaign since 2021.
The Rowdies posted seven goals and conceded only once while limiting the opposition to an average of just one shot on target through the first three matches. Tampa Bay’s two shutout victories in March matched the total number of clean sheets the club recorded all last year in league play.
“Huge credit should go to our staff, who work so tirelessly behind the scenes, and the players for starting the season so well. No one here is getting carried away, and our focus now is on having a great week of practice before hosting a strong Oakland side at the weekend.”
Under Casciato’s leadership, the Rowdies underwent a significant roster overhaul in the offseason after the club missed out on qualifying for the USL Championship playoffs last year for the first time since 2018. In total, 20 new players have made their way to Tampa Bay to join the new-look Rowdies.
Last week’s dramatic stoppage-time win in Jacksonville moved to the Rowdies to 4-0-0 on the year. A Rowdies win in this Saturday’s home matchup against Oakland Roots SC would equal the best start in club history in 2021, when the Rowdies opened the year with five consecutive before eventually claiming their first Players’ Shield as the best team across the regular season. A win over Oakland would also move the Rowdies to within one of matching the record for the league’s longest winning streak to start a season, which was set in 2011 by the Richmond Kickers and then matched the following year by the Rochester Rhinos.
Kickoff for the Rowdies meeting with Oakland is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The USL Championship’s Coach of the Month award is voted upon by the USL Championship National Media Panel and the USL Championship Technical Committee, with each group responsible for 50 percent of the overall vote.
