Inside Republic FC’s First Training Session of the 2026 Season
Media Day insights, new faces, and early signs of what’s taking shape in Sacramento
On the foggy and chilly morning of Tuesday, January 20th, two members of the Quail City Soccer team attended a media session for the Sacramento Republic at their practice facility on the Cosumnes River Community College campus.
This would be our first opportunity to welcome back team veterans like Lee Desmond, Jack Gurr, and Jared Timmer as well as meet the new additions to the squad as they began their training for the upcoming USL Championship season in earnest. The overwhelming vibe seemed to be optimism, that a team is being put together that can compete for trophies and break the one and out playoff streak.
Talking to players who chose to join the Republic from other successful franchises, the main reasons they stated were wanting to come to a winning team, the incredible fan support in Sacramento and joining a first class organization.
While the attack is going through a major revamp, the defense is largely unchanged, though Jägermeister Cup-hero Jared Mazzola has taken his talents to the Sin City in search of first team minutes with the Lights. Jacob Randolph, a stout 6’5” backup keeper formerly from the USL Champion Pittsburgh Riverhounds will be relied upon to be the team’s “Cup Keeper” and backup veteran shot-stopper Danny Vitiello, as needed.
Center Back Jared Timmer continues his rehab from off-season hip surgery and is working to get back on the pitch in the not too distant future. Last season, scoring was an issue, and Timmer spoke to his desire for himself and his defensive teammates to become more of a threat on set pieces and to assist in the attack. During the media scrum, Head Coach Neill Collins confirmed that the roster is not yet final as their are several announcements to be made in new acquisitions to address depth in the midfield and a quality striker on top of the attack.
There was undoubtedly a concerted effort to put together a bigger and stronger team for the upcoming season; a team that can play more effectively in the style Collins prefers to play. While watching the team go through their drills, it was impossible to miss the increased size of the players on the pitch; guys like Kyle Edwards and Mayele Malango strike imposing figures who will give defenses all the can handle.
One of the new players we got to speak to was former Tampa Bay Rowdy, Danny Crisostomo, who is excited to play in front of the hometown crowd now that he is back in his native state of California. Danny has an infectiously positive attitude that will likely make him a big fan favorite.
As with previous iterations of the Republic, the stated expectation going in to the season is to compete for trophies and to end the season in their best form. The USL Championship has a long, grueling season and while it’s a bit early to be making any big predictions, every player we talked to committed to leaving it all on the line every game for each other and for the Republic supporters. It’s been a long off-season, but thankfully opening day is only 46 days away, let the countdown begin!
The Quail City Soccer team has big plans for the 2026 season. We are going to expand on pretty much every facet of what we do and will be rolling out some new ideas to provide even more Republic and USL Championship content. As always, any suggestions or feedback on what we do is always appreciated.