Oakland Roots announced they signed former San Diego Loyal center back Camden Riley to a contract on Wednesday.
One club personnel source tipped the blog to a San Diego Loyal signature on the way shortly after the regular season’s conclusion. Another team-source indicated Riley is a multi-faceted defender in the typical Roots mold who can line up at center back, right back, and defensive midfielder. Sources at the club consider him as a marquee addition to the back line.
There isn’t recent video of him available, but film of his play at Sporting KC II shows a player who is comfortable in possession and can pick out passes. This should translate well into Noah Delgado’s operation.
This is also a good indicator of Roots’ system plans in 2024; one source expressed Oakland will continue its back-three approach with some variations to its 3-4-3 system. Given his skillset, Riley can be expected to slot in as Oakland’s opening-day starter at right-side center back.
His stats show a player who can provide an improvement in terms of distributions at the right-side spot. According to FotMob, Riley finished last season with 16 chances created while Emrah Klimenta and Tarek Morad combined for eight.
John Morrissey could see Riley playing a similar role to what he had in San Diego.
Riley, 27, graduated from University of the Pacific in Stockton in 2018 and began his career in the Bay Area with Burlingame Dragons FC of the Premier Development League. He caught on with the Portland Timbers’ U23 squad in 2018. He was a second-round pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by Sporting KS before making his USL Championship debut with Sporting KC II in 2019-2020.
He joined RGV Toros in 2021 and signed with San Diego Loyal for the last two seasons, helping them reach the postseason both years.
Riley comes to Oakland as a league veteran with 110 appearances and 68 total USL Championship starts over the last five years. For his career, he’s recorded 6,828 minutes with one goal and three assists, including two assists with Loyal in 2023.
This leaves Roots needing to address the final two starting center back roles, including the critical central role and previous left-side spot vacated by Danny Barbir. They have a lot of time to determine what to do.
Check our tracker for all of Oakland Roots’ offseason transactions.
2 thoughts on “Oakland Roots sign center back Camden Riley, a deeper look”