Signing Breakdown: Cal Jennings to Charleston

Why Cal Jennings is a major get for the Charleston Battery

Since his USL debut in 2020, no one has more goals than Cal Jennings’ total of 65. The striker’s prodigious pace – 13 goals a year, give or take – becomes more impressive when you consider that Jennings spent non-negligible amounts of time yo-yoing back and forth to MLS’ LAFC for two seasons.

Jennings is great, and there’s no denying it. After two prodigious years spent with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the 27-year-old is on the move. The fact that he’s moving to a direct rival in the form of the Charleston Battery is utterly seismic.

Why is the new Battery man so good? Jennings is the unique sort of forward that’s terrific across all phases of a match. He led the USL in xG in the run of play last season and placed second in terms of fast break and set piece xG. His scoring instinct knows no bounds, largely in part due to a keen eye for space on the counter and pure poaching bone fides in the box.

Despite being only 5’11”, the UCF alum posted an 81st percentile aerial win rate in 2024 while winning 1.6 headers a match. It’s emblematic of the body manipulation and guile that makes Jennings stand out far above his stature.

The No. 9 is a spirited presser when called upon. He won the ball back in the final third a modest 0.6 times per game between 2023 and 2024, but that was a function of the Tampa Bay system. If Jennings tastes blood in the water, he’s a ferociously good closer that always seems to take the right angle.

Jennings’ pressing stands out above, where he serves as the tip of the Rowdies’ spear. The opposing goalkeeper, who tries to shift onto his right foot, is turned back by the No. 9 and forced into a dangerous pass toward the sideline. Thereafter, Tampa Bay can force a turnover.

The very moment that the Rowdies regain, Jennings arcs back toward the center of the box. Every inch counts, and the quick turn towards goal allows the striker to tap in a slightly heavy cross to earn himself a goal. It looks like an easy finish, but it’s indicative of immense effort that the new Charleston man has put in up to this point.

In this case, Jennings receives in the right channel with a striker and both No. 8s within the Tampa Bay 3-5-2 pushing ahead of him. The spatial arrangement frees up the forward’s touch, and it allows him to dribble forth and thereby draw a handful of opposing defenders his way.

Once the defense is sufficiently committed, Jennings dishes to an advanced midfielder and immediately follows the release of the ball with a surging forward run. A one-two is the aim, and it’s executed perfectly to see Jennings into the box. One cross later, and it’s a Cal Jennings assist.

That sort of facilitation isn’t the strongest point of the 27-year-old’s game, but it’s at least in the arsenal. Jennings’ pass volume rated in the 22nd percentile amongst USL forwards in 2024, but he was above the 60th percentile in terms of his expected assist output.

In other words, Jennings isn’t especially focused on distribution, but he knows how to leverage his scoring threat to set teammates up when the moment arises.

As mentioned above, Jennings ranked second in the USL in terms of fast break xG last season. Unlike some other forwards, the ex-Tampa Bay star doesn’t possess burning speed that’ll light a defense on fire. Likewise, he isn’t just a counter merchant. Jennings’ excellence owes to exquisite timing, and his ability to convert on the end of chances is a byproduct of top-end one-on-one finishing.

In the clip, the new Battery forward begins by drifting rightward as his strike partner stays central. In the act, Jennings isolates against a single defender in the channel lane.

When Manuel Arteaga, his fellow No. 9, drops in for a touch and bends the defensive shape, Jennings makes a run across the body of his marker. That burst gives Jennings an edge in terms of acceleration, taking him behind two center backs to receive a pass. In on net, he hits home with a lofted, curled finish on his left foot.

Charleston can expect to get plenty of those finishes in 2025. Cal Jennings is a game-changer, a player that has a chameleonic ability to excel across systems and phases because of his complete skillset. Whether pressing, poaching, countering, or anything in between, Jennings is set to excel in the Lowcountry.

Moreover, he gives the Battery options in attack. A 4-2-3-1 with Jennings leading the line is a natural fit, of course. Still, it’s equally likely that Ben Pirmann will use Jennings next to MD Myers in a 4-4-2; imagine those two paired together with Juan David Torres or a wide-placed Arturo Rodriguez creating chances. Jennings, of course, is highly familiar with the sacrifices necessary to make a strike pair work.

No matter what shape Pirmann elects to deploy, Cal Jennings make it better. He’s arguably the best striker in the USL, and his signing is a major announcement of the Battery’s title intentions for 2025.