On Friday Jan. 9, Red Bull New York announced that RBNY II midfielder Steven Sserwadda and RBNY II forward Ibrahim Kasule were loaned out to independent MLS Next Pro side Connecticut United FC ahead of its inaugural season.
Kasule, 21, has scored 28 goals in 65 appearances for RBNY II and made his MLS debut with New York's first team in 2023. He is RBNY II's all-time top scorer in MLS Next Pro and he has two caps for the Ugandan national team.
Sserwadda, 23, has made 63 apperances for RBNY II in both the USL Championship and MLS Next Pro playing a multitude of positions, primarily as a central midfielder but also as a right fullback. He made two MLS appearances with New York's first team in 2022. He has six caps for the Ugandan national team.
Both players featured heavily for RBNY II under former manager and former RBNY defender Ibrahim Sekagya, also from Uganda, who is now an assistant with New York's first team.
Sserwadda and Kasule join a growing list of talent joining the MLS Next Pro debutants, including local product Daniel D'Ippolito out of Fordham University. The Baldwin Place, NY native is a two-time Atlantic-10 Midfielder of the Year and the reigning A-10 Offensive Player of the Year, the only player to ever achieve both awards in the same season.
D'Ippolito, 21, scored 25 goals and registered 19 assists as an attacking midfielder in 69 NCAA appearances. The two-year captain of the Rams brings a high level of talent and versatility to the CT United midfield ahead of its first ever season.
Episode 2 of Empire Soccer Report will be available on all platforms at 1:30pm EST on Tuesday, Jan. 6. In the latest episode, James Birle is joined by Daniel Rebain of Area Sports Network and Bad Dawg Sports to break down Red Bull New York head coach Michael Bradley's introductory press conference on Monday, Jan. 5.