Rising continues emphasis on homegrown development as five academy players join the first team
Phoenix Rising FC has signed five players to USL Academy Contracts for the 2025 season, the club announced today. All five currently compete with Phoenix Rising Academy teams.
Forwards Zach Da Silva and Anthony Capetillo, midfielder Pierce Rizzo, defender Braxton Montgomery and goalkeeper Jan Villegas will all be eligible to be part of the club’s matchday rosters in 2025.
USL Academy Contracts allow players to retain their college eligibility while training and competing with professional players. Ahead of the 2024 season, the USL Competition Committee passed an initiative that allowed clubs to include two players under 18 years of age in the gameday roster that won’t count against the standard 18-man squad.
Da Silva, 17, currently attends Arizona College Prep in Chandler and recently scored a goal in the club’s intrasquad scrimmage on February 28. Capetillo, 15, joined the Academy’s 2009 MLS NEXT team in Fall 2024 after spending time in Real Salt Lake’s Academy.
Montgomery, 17, is a current senior at Horizon High School in Scottsdale and has been part of the Phoenix Rising Youth Academy since he was 12. Additionally, he has captained the Academy’s U17 MLS NEXT Team. Rizzo, 18, participated in the U.S U14 Boys National Team Camp in 2020 and currently attends Pinnacle High School in Phoenix. Villegas, 17, plays for the Academy’s U19 side.
“We look at them as the present and future of Phoenix Rising,” Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “I think it’s very important we showcase our academy, because we want to create a pathway not only on the soccer side, but for (the players) to be able to go to college and get a degree.”
With experience working with young players as a coach in the Canadian Premier League, MLS NEXT Pro and MLS, Kah described working with academies as one of his coaching “pillars” and said he looks to continue making player development a priority in Phoenix.
“We’re very happy with the youngsters we signed,” Kah said. “Hopefully we continue to develop them and continue to grow a pathway, so that a lot of these kids who are now in the Academy see it as a way of earning a contract when the time is right.”
Transaction: Rising signs Zach Da Silva, Anthony Capetillo, Pierce Rizzo, Braxton Montgomery and Jan Villegas to USL Academy Contracts
Name: Zach Da Silva
Position: Forward
College: None
Height: 5-8
Weight: 138
DOB: August 14, 2007 (17)
Birthplace: Mesa, Arizona
Hometown: Phoenix
Name: Anthony Capetillo
Position: Forward
College: None
Height: 5-11
Weight: 155
DOB: October 26, 2009 (15)
Birthplace: Phoenix
Hometown: Phoenix
Name: Pierce Rizzo
Position: Midfielder
College: UC Irvine
Height: 5-10
Weight: 150
DOB: December 10, 2006 (18)
Birthplace: Scottsdale, Arizona
Hometown: Phoenix
Name: Braxton Montgomery
Position: Defender
College: Northern Illinois University
Height: 5-9
Weight: 153
DOB: March 23, 2007 (17)
Birthplace: Phoenix
Hometown: Phoenix
Name: Jan Villegas
Position: Goalkeeper
College: None
Height: 5-9
Weight: 154
DOB: March 13, 2007 (17)
Birthplace: Phoenix
Hometown: Phoenix
