So long, offseason: Real Salt Lake embarks on 2023 MLS preseason

45 players reported to preseason training camp under head coach Pablo Mastroeni over the weekend, with training camp stints scheduled for Herriman; Santa Barbara, California; and Tucson, Arizona.

Did you miss it?

The offseason is officially over, as 45 Real Salt Lake players began reporting to preseason training camp over the weekend at the Zions Bank Training Center in Herriman.

The first full day of training kicks off Monday morning at 10:30 a.m. MT for a roster that features 26 returning players from last November’s MLS Cup Playoff squad that finished 12-11-11 for seventh place in the Western Conference.

RSL opens the 2023 regular season Feb. 25 at Vancouver, with the home opener March 11 against Austin FC.

The returning group is lead by Team MVP Justen Glad, Defensive Player of the Year Andrew Brody, and Zac “Iron Man” MacMath in goal — who. became the first-ever player to player all 3,060 regular-season minutes in RSL’s 18 seasons.

Also returning is veteran utility player Damir Kreilach, who has recovered from surgery that cost him most of the 2022 campaign, and center back Marcelo Silva with a newly minuted contract for the sixth-year Uruguayan defender.

Real Salt Lake @realsaltlake

Out here cookin on day one.

U.S. U-20 star Diego Luna is back to pace the midfield, and academy products Bode Hidalgo, Erik Holt, Jaziel Orozco and Zack Farnsworth added a young core of homegrown players looking to take the next step alongside veterans Justin Meram, Pablo Ruiz, Scott Caldwell, Maikel Chang and Rubio Rubin.

There are a handful of new faces, as well; outside back Aaron Herrera, who has been called one of the best fullbacks in Major League Soccer by several publications, was traded to CF Montreal in exchange for a small king’s ransom of $500,000 in general allocation money, a 2023 international roster spot, and the No. 25 pick in January’s MLS SuperDraft.

All five of RSL’s SuperDraft picks have arrived in Utah, including the Generation adidas signees of forward Ilijah Paul and midfielder Bertin Jacquesson. It’s a return home for Paul, who prepped at the RSL Academy in 2020 before signing with the University of Washington, when RSL also added academy products Delentz Pierre (Portland) and 15-year-old Luis Rivera as new signings.

Real Salt Lake @realsaltlake

First day of school 📚

Here’s a look at Real Salt Lake’s roster as the club opens training camp Monday in Herriman:

• Goalkeepers: Zac MacMath (St. Petersburg, Fla.); Tomas Gomez (Webster Grove, Mo.); Fernando Delgado (Phoenix, Ariz.); Gavin Beavers (Henderson, Nev.); Owen Finnerty (Walled Lake, Mich.); Moses Mensah (Cape Coast, Ghana)

• Defenders: Omar Alba (Panama City, Panama); Andrew Brody (Orlando, Fla.); Zack Farnsworth (Cedar Hills, Utah); Justen Glad (Tucson, Ariz.); Erik Holt (San Diego); Jasper Loeffelsend (Cologne, Germany) (D/MF); Jaziel Orozco (El Paso, Texas); Bryan Oveido (San Jose, Costa Rica); Bobby Pierre (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.); Delentz PIerre (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.); Luis Rivera (El Paso, Texas); Keller Storlie (Portland, Ore.)

• Midfielders: Julio Benitez (Mesa, Ariz.); Scott Caldwell (Weymouth, Mass.); Maikel Chang (Havana, Cuba); Griffin Dillon (Draper, Utah); Damir Kreilach (Vukovar, Croatia); Diego Luna (Redwood City, Calif.); Luca Moisa (Las Vegas, Nev.); Tyrone Mondi (Bloemfontein, South Africa); Gennaro Nigro (Livingston, N.J.); Jasper Loeffelsend (Cologne, Germany) (D/MF); Braian Ojeda (Itaugua, Paraguay); Benjamin Rodriguez (Paysandu, Uruguay); Pablo Ruiz (Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina); Amfery Sinclair (Alajuela, Costa Rica); Jude Wellings (Birmingham, Mich.)

• Forwards: Emeka Eneli (Dublin, Ohio); Bode Hidalgo (Kaysville, Utah); Zavier Gozo (Eagle Mountain, Utah); Bertin Jacquesson (Lorrez-le-Bocage, France); Anderson Julio (Pimampiro, Ecuador); Axel Kei (Abidjan, Ivory Coast); Justin Meram (Shelby Township, Mich.); Danny Musovski (Henderson, Nev.); Ilijah Paul (Gilbert, Ariz.); Rubio Rubin (Beaverton, Oregon); Jefferson Savarino (Maracaibo, Venezuela); Terron Williams (San Diego)

• *Indicates non-roster invitees

The team will relocate to the Los Angeles area Jan. 13-Jan. 22, including a preseason friendly Jan. 21 against LAFC; return to Utah for a week Jan. 23, with a friendly against Utah Valley University’s men’s soccer side scheduled for Jan. 28; and then report to the Phoenix and Tucson area from Feb. 7-18, with four preseason matches over 10 days from Feb. 8-18.