1 familiar face, 2 newcomers bolster club’s corps
A familiar face and two ballyhooed newcomers were added to the Fort Wayne FC roster Wednesday, bringing the club’s stable of players to 14 for the coming season.
Amari Fowlkes, who trained with Fort Wayne FC in 2022, has formally joined the ranks. So, too, have Virgil Dall’Agnol and Kevin Ventura.
Fort Wayne FC, the two-time defending champion of the Valley Division in USL League Two, will open its season May 11 at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium in a non-divisional friendly against Sueño FC. Single-match tickets are currently on sale at fortwaynefc.com.
In 2026, Fort Wayne FC will rise to the professional ranks of USL League One and begin play in a new soccer-specific stadium being built at Bass Road and I-69. Those buying season tickets this season get priority for 2026.
Fowlkes, a 19-year-old midfielder from Carmel, played 15 games last season as a freshman for Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. He started five games and scored a goal.
“Although he was not officially rostered with Fort Wayne FC in the past, Amari is a returning player in our minds,” Fort Wayne FC Head Coach Mike Avery said. “Amari trained with us for an extended period of time a few summers back, and we grew quite fond of him. Amari is a talented young midfield player with a bright future. Amari connects the game well, has the engine to get up and down the field, and he can contribute in multiple roles. It really feels like Amari is coming into his own as a player and I am excited to have him with our squad.”
Dall’Agnol, a 23-year-old midfielder, started 12 matches as a junior last season for Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, and was a starter for six of the team’s eight clean sheets. He assisted on the lone goal of a 1-0 victory over Florida International University.
“Virgil is talented midfield player who brings a lot of quality and experience to our side,” Avery said. “He is a two-way midfielder comfortable in patrolling the area of the field that allows us to control a game. Virgil can be a dangerous player in the attack with a quality final pass or a shot, and he can settle into the deeper part of the midfield to help us regain and/or keep possession.”
A native of Grenoble, France, Dall’Agnol will play for Georgia State this fall.
“I am confident that Virgil will be a perfect complement to a talented midfield group,” Avery said, “and that the FWFC faithful will enjoy the way he plays the game.”
Ventura, a 23-year-old defender, started all 12 games last season as a graduate student at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, and scored in back-to-back games against Wake Forest and Memphis.
“I am excited about the opportunity to add Kevin Ventura to our squad as he is a talented player who brings exceptional leadership and energy to every team he joins,” Avery said. “A tough and tenacious defender, Kevin defends with a passion that is contagious. We are a team that has had a lot of the ball over the last few seasons, and Kevin has the qualities to help us maintain possession and initiate our attack. But we also have to be a team that defends the critical moments bravely, and Kevin will help us do that.
“Kevin also has the ability to play higher up the field in the midfield and our desire to control the deeper parts of midfield might necessitate his presence there this season.”
Fort Wayne FC’s roster also includes goalkeepers Aurie Briscoe and David Anderson; defenders Reid Sproat, Tiago Dias, Leo Andrade and Anthony Hernandez; midfielder Tiago Campos; and forwards Mamadou Diarra, Namik Mehic, Oliver Moller-Jensen and Aboubacar Traore.
All roster additions are pending league and federation approval.
About Fort Wayne FC
Fort Wayne FC, founded in 2019, is currently a pre-professional club in USL League Two’s Valley Division in the Central Conference. The club won Valley Division championships in 2023 and 2024. Fort Wayne FC is moving to the professional ranks of USL League One in 2026 at a new state-of-the-art stadium. www.fortwaynefc.com
About United Soccer League
Founded in 1986, the United Soccer League (USL) is the largest and fastest-growing soccer organization in the United States, impacting more than 200 communities nationwide. The USL is the first and only organization to offer a comprehensive youth-to-professional pathway for both men and women under one ecosystem. This structure includes four men’s leagues: the newly announced, top-tier professional Division I league, the USL Championship (Division II), USL League One (Division III), and USL League Two (pre-professional). The women’s pathway includes the top-tier USL Super League (Division I), which debuted in 2024, and USL W League, the country’s leading pre-professional women’s league. The USL also oversees USL Academy, a progressive talent development platform, and USL Youth, a premier national youth platform.
