Hartford Athletic announced that they had transferred forward Kyle Edwards to Sacramento Republic, also of the USL Championship. The terms of the transfer were not announced.
Edwards arrived in Hartford prior to the 2023 season, having previously played for RGV Toros in the USL Championship, and Houston Dynamo 2 in MLS NEXT Pro. Over the next three seasons, he made 77 appearances for the Latics across all competitions, scoring 22 goals and adding nine assists. He was also named to the USL Championship Team of the Week on four occasions.
Edwards also leaves as one of the most efficient scorers in club history, having recorded one goal for every 151 minutes on the pitch; only Jack Panayotou and Ariel Martinez have recorded a better mark for their Hartford careers, and neither logged anything close to a s many minutes as Edwards.
The 2025 season was by far Edwards’ best season, as he scored 12 goals and was in the TOTW on three different occasions. His 0.95 goals per 90 minutes lead the league, and the eight goals he scored off the bench set a new single-season record for the USL Championship. It also took him to 13 goals as a substitute for his career, tied for the sixth-most in league history.
With Edwards, his ability has never been in question but his availability often has. In 2023, he missed five games due to injury, and in 2024, he wasn’t fully fit until mid-July, as he appeared in just one of Hartford’s first 17 games.
And while he was healthier than ever in 2025, he still missed a stretch of three games in the summer that interrupted one of the hottest stretches of his career, which had seen him record six goal contributions (five goals and one assist) in a five-game span. Even when he was available, Edwards was unlikely to go the distance, playing 90 minutes in just 8 of his 77 appearances (by comparison, Mamadou Dieng went the full ninety in 35 of his 59 appearances for the club, and Michee Ngalina has done it in 47 of 65 appearances).
All this adds up to player who is something of a luxury item and Hartford is not a club that has ever really had the budget for luxury items. Adding in the fact that Edwards does not truly fit the mold of Brendan Burke’s preferred forward, it’s not particularly surprising that another club found Hartford in a selling mood.
It does, however, leave the Latics in need of more forwards, with Ngalina and Adewale Obalola the only two players currently announced for 2026 who play on the front line. Nothing has been announced yet regarding either Deshane Beckford or Hadji Barry, and while the club has been linked with Ugandan striker Sadat Anaku, that move has not been publicly confirmed. More player announcements are anticipated in the coming days, but for now the picture of Hartford’s attack remains murky.
