Darren Smith leads USL Championship June Player of the Month race

USL Championship · By Sarah Mitchell · July 7, 2026
Darren Smith leads USL Championship June Player of the Month race

Darren Smith turned June into a one-man argument. The Detroit City FC forward scored five goals and added one assist in only 224 minutes, capped by a five-goal eruption in a 6-2 win over Sporting Club Jacksonville at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, that tied a USL Championship single-game record and made him only the second player in regular-season league history to score five in one match.

Smith’s five-goal game pushed him to 11 goals and the USL Championship Golden Boot lead at the time, and his month finished with a 62.5 percent shot conversion rate and a goal every 44.8 minutes. Fan voting counted for 51 percent, the USL Technical Committee 25 percent and the USL National Media Panel 24 percent, and both USL Championship and Prinx Tires USL Cup matches counted in the mix. The vote ran through July 5, with the winner scheduled to be announced July 9.

Emilio Ycaza made the strongest all-around case for Charleston Battery. The midfielder finished June with five goal contributions, two goals and three assists, nine chances created and 409 minutes across league and Cup play. In the 5-1 win over FC Tulsa, Ycaza scored once, set up another goal, completed 55 of 61 passes, created three chances, won 8 of 11 duels and added eight recoveries. Charleston also stretched its home undefeated streak to 21 games with a June 24 win over Loudoun United FC.

June Goals by Player
Data visualization chart

JJ Williams brought a shorter but just as decisive June for Rhode Island FC. In only two appearances, he delivered two goals and two assists as Rhode Island won both matches, including a 4-1 victory at Loudoun United that was the club’s first win in that series. He also became the 34th player to reach 50 regular-season USL Championship goals.

Peter Wilson gave Oakland Roots SC a different sort of push. The reigning 2025 Golden Boot winner scored three goals and added one assist in two league matches, a burst that earned him Player of the Week honors and helped Oakland take four points that lifted the club into third place.

Sources

  1. [1]uslchampionship.com