ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The USL Championship announced the finalists for the league’s End of Year awards for the 2026 season today, with Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato and goalkeeper Jahmali Waite making the shortlist to take home USL Championship Coach of the Year and USL Championship Goalkeeper of the Year.
Under Casciato’s guidance, the Rowdies mounted one of the most impressive turnarounds in league history as the club became the first to ever claim the USL Championship Players’ Shield after missing out on the playoffs the previous year. With a revamped roster of over 20 new players, Cascaito led the Rowdies to their longest unbeaten start in club history with a 15-match undefeated stretch across all competitions and ended the year with a club-record 16 shutouts and +28 goal differential to finish eight points clear in the standings.
Waite produced a career-best campaign during his first season with the Rowdies. The Jamaican international surpassed his previous record for shutouts in a single season with a total of 13 clean sheets in 25 appearances for the Rowdies in the regular season. Waite also recorded a 71.8% save percentage while posting a 0.96 goals-against average. This week, Waite joined the Jamaica Men’s National Team for the 2026-2027 Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinals. Jamaica faces Mexico in the two-legged series starting this Saturday, November 14 at National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.
The USL Championship is set to announce the winner of the Goalkeeper of the Year award on Monday, November 16 at 12 p.m. ET. USL Championship Coach of the Year will be announced publicly on Wednesday, November 18 at 12 p.m. ET.
2026 USL Championship Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists
- Carlos Herrera, Detroit City FC
- Kris Shakes, New Mexico United
- Jahmali Waite, Tampa Bay Rowdies
2026 USL Championship Coach of the Year
- Dominic Casciato, Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Danny Dichio, Detroit City FC
- Dennis Sanchez, New Mexico United
