Transfer Tracker

Real Salt Lake sign homegrown defenders Luis Rivera, Delentz Pierre

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TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signings

Real Salt Lake have added their 35th and 36th homegrown signings in club history, announcing Friday they’ve inked defenders Luis Rivera and Delentz Pierre to professional contracts.

Rivera is signed through the 2026 MLS season with a club option for 2027, while Pierre has signed through the 2023 MLS season with club options for 2024-26.

Luis Rivera

At 15 years, 1 month and 5 days old, Rivera is the second-youngest signing in club history behind forward Axel Kei. He’s also the eighth-youngest player in league history to sign a professional contract.

Rivera has played for the US U-15 national team and signed with RSL’s MLS NEXT Pro team, Real Monarchs, in August 2022. He made his professional debut just three months after his 14th birthday.

“As we have seen since joining our Academy, Luis is a gifted young player with incredible potential,” RSL technical director Kurt Schmid said in a release.

“Luis has proven talent for his age, combined with an exemplary work ethic to creates growth. He has demonstrated the versatility to play multiple positions and possesses a confidence on the ball unlike many defenders his age. We are excited to see how he continues to progress throughout his professional career here at RSL.”

Delentz Pierre

Pierre, 22, has played for Haiti’s U-20 national team. He was recently a member of the University of Portland Pilots, earning All-WCC honors and supplying four goals and two assists in 48 matches. They qualified for back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the first time in school history since 2004.

Before taking the collegiate route, Pierre played in 90 matches for the RSL Academy. He played in four games for Real Monarchs in the USL Championship. 

“Delentz is someone we have watched progress from his Academy days, through his college career, and now, after seeing him train with RSL this past summer, we focused on him during his senior season,” Schmid said.

“Delentz has proven throughout his pathway that he is able to compete in a fast-paced and physical environment, which we expect to see him translate well at the professional level."

RSL have a dozen homegrowns on their roster entering the 2023 season. They've made the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs each of the last two seasons under head coach Pablo Mastroeni.