Offseason Notebook: Tulsa check-in, pitching Pato, and more
Breaking down the numbers and tape on a few MLS Next Pro-to-USL movers over the offseason
Welcome back to the Offseason Notebook! Before we dig in, make sure to check out Backheeled, where I broke down the Championship-wide stadium landscape last week and have a similar assessment of the youth development scene coming soon.
Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Caleb Sewell in Tulsa
I’ve been fairly critical of FC Tulsa’s “revolving door” tendencies over the years, but I’m always willing to shout out a club when they hit a home run. By naming Luke Spencer as head coach, moving Mario Sanchez to the technical director spot, and appointing Caleb Sewell as sporting director and general manager, Tulsa has done just that during the 2024-2025 offseason.
Sewell, named to that position last week after a few years as a coach and front office member in Memphis, is a knockout hire. His aim is or raise expectations from the jump:
I'm coming from where it was top four, and you're competing for a championship at the high end of the table. That, for me, is an expectation here that we're going to grow into and we're going to do. I think we can move the needle pretty rapid, but I'm not naive in saying that for a club that's been outside of the playoffs for a few years, that we're just going to go from A to Z. I think we need to understand we're building.
Deep down, I'm not just saying the minimum is we're happy to get into the eighth spot. We were putting together a group here that when they're all formed and they're together, they should be looking at each other saying ‘there's no team that can beat us on any given day.’
It’s easy to dismiss an introductory statement like that as bluster, but FC Tulsa has put together a sporting staff with a track record of USL success. Sewell’s Memphis teams were perennial contenders in the Eastern and Western Conferences. Sanchez and Spencer come from Louisville City, the league’s most consistent organization.
Indeed, the new setup seems to suit the strengths of all involved at the club. Sanchez was a longtime college coach before joining LouCity, and he spent six years as either Director of Youth Development or Academy Director in Kentucky. That’s the optimal resume for your technical director.
Spencer, while a rookie head coach, was an accomplished Championship player and famously served as Louisville’s (thrice-divided) interim manager for a time. He’ll be better able to connect with players while maintaining some tactical continuity.
Neither, of course, has the experience of a proper general manager. Last year, Tulsa outsourced the role. This time around, they’ve added an executive in Sewell whose track record precedes him. Across his run in Memphis, the former professional goalkeeper was able to build flexible, talented squads that could execute disparate styles without a performance drop-off.
Sewell became assistant sporting director for 901 starting in 2022, sharing that role with Tim Howard before earning the full title in mid-2024. The new Tulsa honcho was still a leading voice behind the scenes, helping to build a squad for Ben Pirmann in 2022 that could hold the ball, play direct without resorting to long punts, and press aggressively off of turnovers.
The talent added that season is a testament to Sewell’s vision. No one man ever builds a USL team alone, but there’s still credit to be assigned. Memphis signed Aaron Molloy out of League One ahead of 2022, uncovering one of the most dominant play-drivers in USL history in the process. Jeremy Kelly was transformed from an alright left back into a premier creator. The ever-flexible Lucas Turci was signed after six years in Germany and became a Tennessee stalwart.
Under Stephen Glass in the following two seasons, Memphis’ identity changed. In 2023, the club was even more committed to possession and short passing while still maintaining some of the Pirmann press. To that end - even with a chunk of the core following Pirmann to Charleston - Sewell’s club reloaded with additions like Bruno Lapa that could pick defensive blocks apparent.
The major flashpoint in 2023 was the Phillip Goodrum trade. With 901’s superstar striker publicly grousing, a move was inevitable. Sewell and co. didn’t just let Goodrum walk; instead, he turned a distressed asset into a genuine star-level return in the form of Rodrigo Da Costa. The Brazilian forward, ironically acquired from FC Tulsa, was the perfect sort of “false No. 9” piece that would suit the Glass system, and he helped Memphis to finish the year strong.
Memphis shifted anew heading into 2024, becoming more direct, less possessive, and markedly more neutral in the press. Again, the additions fit the bill. Marlon entered at the striker spot to add speed on the end of long balls. Zach Duncan and a permanently-signed Emerson Hyndman added central ball-winning. When Glass tried to shift mid-year, more possessive pieces like Jon Bakero and Triston Henry were added to try and let it happen.
You get the picture by now: Sewell’s teams have been very good at signing talent that fits a system - and doing so on a budget, no less.
As it stands, the new sporting director in Oklahoma has a relatively solid first-choice lineup in place. Tulsa has mostly run back a core that was on the bubble in 2024. Additions like Kalil ElMedkhar, a tricky creator with flexibility across the attacking line, and Lamar Batista, a hometown kid with the nous and athletic range to excel in central defense, will help raise that ceiling. Still, there’s more to be done.
Sewell, Sanchez, and Spencer have their work cut out for them in terms of building a genuine contender, but the bones of a playoff team are in place. FC Tulsa’s future hasn’t been brighter in recent memory.
Pato Botello Faz
I’ve been down the rabbit hole of USL players from 2022 and 2023 that are no longer attached to a team, which is classic “it’s the offseason and I’m bored” behavior. From early retirees like Jake Areman to personal favorite free agents like Justin Ingram to USL flashes-in-the-pan like Peter Knudsen, there’s a treasure trove of guys to remember.
A lot of the players who didn’t end up with a USL team weren’t up to snuff. By contrast, someone like Pato Botello Faz feels ready to contribute at a high level in 2025.
The striker began his USL career with Lansing Ignite in 2019, nabbing seven goals and three assists in less than 1,000 minutes. Stops with South Georgia Tormenta and Detroit City ensued; Faz would stay with Le Rouge as they leapt from NISA into the USL Championship in 2022.
Faz’s first Championship season was strong. While Detroit’s offense was historically bad by the standards of a playoff team, the blame doesn’t belong to their leading striker. Indeed, the then-26-year-old was responsible for 18% of his club’s overall goals scored, comparable to…well…Ben Morris on the 2024 iteration of Detroit.
The thing that stood out in Faz’s eight-goal campaign was the completeness of his game. He ranked above the 80th percentile in terms of touches per match and ranked near or within the top quarter of strikers in terms of aerial wins and fouls drawn. Faz wasn’t a creator, but he wasn’t asked to be one.
The obvious takeaway? Pato Botello Faz is an elite hold-up piece that can bring teammates into the game. The Monterrey-born forward is terrific at set-up, and he adds goals on top of that signature skillset.
Consider the two plays here that highlight the forward’s talents. In the first case, Faz reads a fastbreak situation splendidly. The striker, noting a teammate bearing down with the ball at his feet, sees space between the opposing center backs, but he crucially opts to hold his run until the near-side defender commits to the ball.
Even as he waits, Faz calls out for a pass and points to open space. By the time he receives, the No. 9 deftly cuts back on the ball to break the ankles of the lone remaining outfield player. The opposing goalkeeper has closed towards Faz, but he still deftly right-foots a finish into the bottom corner.
In the second case, Faz wins a header on and advances from there. Again, he’s reading space and splitting between defenders to make himself available. Though a pass doesn’t develop, the run is still paramount for Faz’s Las Vegas Lights side.
The key here? That motion drags the opposing defense out and opens up a clear window at net. One of the striker’s Lights teammates uses that lane to fire on net and come good with a goal. Even though Faz wasn’t a prolific scorer in Sin City, his movement and pressing effort never wavered.
It was difficult for anyone to stand out in Las Vegas in 2023; that Lights team was historically awful, after all. Faz still managed to score four times, posting a 0.3 goals per 90 minutes - a 42nd percentile clip - before injuries limited his playing time down the stretch.
By xG per 90 and xG share (i.e., the percent of a team’s total xG for which a player is responsible), Faz was eminently solid during that season. His numbers were comparable to high-level starters like the aforementioned Morris and even consensus all-USL contender Wilson Harris. Las Vegas generated few chances, but their leading forward still put up numbers.
Yes, it’s been a year since we’ve seen Pato Botello Faz on the pitch, but he can contribute to a USL Championship or USL League One team in 2025.
Final Thoughts
In other news this week…
Bit shorter this week, but can you blame me with the lack of signings? With some of the changes to medicals and signing timelines under the new(ish) CBA, there’s been lag introduced into the process.
I also published an exhaustive 4,000-word guide to the USL Super League last week, so…yeah.
Loving Tormenta’s business as of late. Adding Austin Pack is a statement in and of itself, something that revolutionizes the club’s goalkeeper spot. Jackson Kasanzu - known as Simba while a member of the San Diego Loyal - and former Chattanooga man Anatolie Prepelita help to reshape the central defensive group in front of him.
Exciting times in Statesboro for sure, but change is difficult. My favorite writer about the lower leagues, Luke Martin, put the moves into perspective in the way only he can.
Wilson Harris to Israel is a real feather in the cap for LouCity and for Harris himself. Louisville signed Harris in his early 20s as a hot prospect that couldn’t quite break through for Sporting Kansas City’s senior team, and they gave him the runway to become a star. Even as he moves to Europe, there’s a succession plan in place; Phillip Goodrum was signed for an intra-USL record fee last fall for this very purpose. Great foresight and business per usual for LouCity.
The Antonio Nocerino hire in Las Vegas is a fascinating decision, one that Nicholas Murray defended quite well over on the league site. I’m sympathetic to giving Nocerino a chance, especially given the lack of resources available to him in South Florida. That said…the guy just led the worst season in the recent history of the USL!
Las Vegas has earned a ton of good will in the Jose Bautista era, but they might end up eating crow here. The managerial market is absolutely rife with talent. Eamon Zayed, for instance, just won a trophy in 2024. Mark Briggs did stellar work with Real Monarchs and Sacramento alike. The Lights moved in a different direction, and now it’s time to show that the new era wasn’t a flash in the pan.
That’s all, folks. See you soon!