Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite celebrates after the Rowdies shut out Detroit FC 1-0 to claim the Players’ Shield on Oct. 17. The Rowdies finished with the best regular-season record in the league and will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. [ MORGAN TENCZA | Tampa Bay Rowdies) ]
This article was first published in the Tampa Bay Times on October 29th.
The goalkeeper has helped Tampa Bay to the No. 1 seed in the USL Championship playoffs, which start Friday at Al Lang Stadium.
By Hannah Walls
The streets of Jamaica were Jahmali Waite’s first soccer field.
There were no professional stadiums or thousands of fans watching. Just Waite, his cousins and friends competing against each other, sometimes leaving with cuts and bruises from their games.
“It was always competitive. It was a lot of fun,” Waite said. “Just fun to be able to get out there and play with my friends street soccer.”
Years later, those childhood games have turned into a professional career that has taken Waite from Jamaica to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, El Paso and now Tampa Bay.
At 27, Waite is having a career-best season in his first year with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, helping the club capture the USL Championship Players’ Shield for the first time since 2021 with a 1-0 victory over Detroit City FC on Oct. 17.
The Players’ Shield is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record and gives the Rowdies homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, which start Friday against Miami FC.
For Waite, who helped the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC claim the Shield in 2023, the achievement marks another milestone in a career built on growth and perseverance.
“I think, personally, I’m probably a lot more experienced than previous years,” Waite said. “Just the team that we have here, a really good team, really good group of guys that I feel like I’ve been able to connect with well, and that just makes for good performances on the field.”
Tampa Bay Rowdies goalkeeper Jahmali Waite finishes his first regular season in St. Petersburg with a career-high 13 shutouts. [ HANNAH WALLS | Special to the Times ]
Waite has been a key part of the Rowdies’ defensive success this season. He finished the regular season with a career-high 13 shutouts, surpassing his previous single-season high of 10.
Waite helped preserve the scoreless match in the 70th minute when he tipped a shot from Detroit forward Ates Diouf over the crossbar. Rowdies midfielder Sebastian Cruz then scored the winning goal in the 88th minute with a long range strike, securing the Shield for Tampa Bay.
The Rowdies closed out their regular season with a 2-0 victory over Sporting JAX on Oct. 24, recording their 16th shutout and breaking the club’s single-season record of 15 set in 2021.
“Defense wins championships,” said Waite after the Detroit match. “It’s not just the defenders buying into that. Guys in the front in our press play a part. How we defend, it’s everyone together, and we’ve got to be able to do that.”
Waite’s journey to Tampa Bay began thousands of miles away.
Soccer was an important part of his childhood in Jamaica. He eventually moved to the United States and developed through the Philadelphia Union Academy, an elite youth soccer development program that provides a path to the pros.
The transition wasn’t always easy.
“In the beginning, it was a bit tough,” Waite said. “Just everything is different in America than it is in Jamaica.”
Having family in Philadelphia helped ease that adjustment. So did the presence of other Jamaican players in the academy and fellow Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake, who played professionally for the MLS’ Philadelphia Union.
Waite credits Blake, who later became his teammate on the Jamaican national team, as a mentor and one of the biggest influences on his career.
Waite went on to play college soccer at Fairleigh Dickinson and UConn before establishing himself professionally.
He spent two seasons with Pittsburgh, recording 20 shutouts in 55 appearances across all matches. He then spent two seasons with El Paso Locomotive FC, where he recorded 12 clean sheets in 52 appearances, before joining Tampa Bay ahead of the 2026 season.
Jahmali Waite displays the USL Championship Players’ Shield with wife Kelsey and son Jasmir. [ MORGAN TENCZA | Tampa Bay Rowdies ]
The move presented an opportunity for Waite to continue developing as a goalkeeper.
In September, Waite earned his second USL Championship Team of the Week selection of the season after making five saves in a scoreless draw against San Antonio FC.
Four of those saves came in the second half, including two late stops that helped preserve the draw.
His improvement this season isn’t necessarily the result of a technical change. Instead, Waite points to his maturity, growing faith and ability to lead those around him.
“Being a goalkeeper, you have to be a natural leader,” Waite said. “Communication is important, but also just being able to play with confidence and having the guys in front of me know that, you know, no matter what, that I have their back and they can depend on me.”
Rowdies goalkeepers coach Stuart Dobson said he was familiar with Waite’s abilities before he joined Tampa Bay, having watched him compete in the league for years. What surprised Dobson was the leadership role Waite took on after arriving.
“I knew he was a good goalkeeper coming in, but I didn’t anticipate what a leader he is with this team,” Dobson said.
Dobson said Waite regularly communicates with his teammates during training, directing not only defenders but also midfielders and forwards on their defensive responsibilities.
“He’s constantly talking to the guys,” Dobson said. “It just makes the guys feel very comfortable with him when it comes to game day because he’s been communicating with them all week long.”
Those relationships have been particularly important in strengthening chemistry on a team that entered the season with 22 new players.
The team’s potential became clear to Waite during the preseason, when the Rowdies competed against MLS clubs and won multiple matches. Waite said those performances gave him an early indication of what the Rowdies could accomplish.
But even he may have been surprised by how successful they were, finishing with a league-best 18-5-7 record and spending 24 consecutive weeks at the top of the standings entering the postseason.
“The biggest thing is consistency,” Waite said. “Obviously, you’re gonna have ups and downs throughout the season, but especially this time of the year going into playoffs, you want to be playing your best football.”
While his shutout numbers have drawn attention, Waite said individual recognition has never been his motivation.
“The biggest thing is always the success of the team,” Waite said. “The majority of the time when a team has success, that leads to individual success.”
Waite credits his wife, Kelsey, with helping him maintain perspective throughout the highs and lows of his career.
His Christian faith also has helped him handle the pressure that comes with being a goalkeeper, a position where a single misstep can change the outcome of a match. Rather than dwelling on mistakes, Waite focuses on moving forward and making sure his next play is a good one.
“My motto every day is 1% better,” Waite said. “No matter the success or even failures, whatever it might be, just coming in and the goal always being, how can I get 1% better today?”
With the Players’ Shield secured and the playoffs starting, Waite and the Rowdies have their sights set on another trophy.
And that 1% improvement might mean securing a league championship.
“It would mean everything,” Waite said. “Tampa is a club that (has) a lot of great history, and so as a player, you always want to come in and be able to add to that.”
Eastern Conference semifinal
vs. Miami FC, 7:30, Al Lang Stadium TV/streaming: Tampa Bay 44, ESPN+