Delentz Pierre Signs Homegrown Contract with Real Salt Lake
Date Posted: 7/3/2023
HERRIMAN, Utah – Portland Pilots defender Delentz Pierre has signed a homegrown deal with MLS side Real Salt Lake. The deal goes through the 2023 season with club options in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
"It feels good," Pierre said. "I've been preparing myself for this for a while. I've been working really hard and felt it was the right time to do it."
Pierre is the 23rd Pilot to earn the chance to play in MLS and the sixth under head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt, joining Benji Michel, Rey Ortiz, Kris Reaves, Paul Christensen and Brandon Cambridge. Cambridge is the most recent signee, signing a multi-year deal with Charlotte FC in December. Former Pilot Jacobo Reyes also earned an invite to the MLS Combine back in 2020 but signed with Liga MX club Monterrey instead. Carlin-Voigt has coached 31 players across his career that have signed an MLS contract.
"It's exciting for the program, for Delentz, for his family, for our fans and for our alumni that the pathway to pro is still very strong here," Carlin-Voigt said. "Delentz came in as a teenager from the RSL Academy and really developed and blossomed, and I think he was able to improve each year and became an incredibly important part of the successful season we had both on and off the field… the next step for him in this journey to professionalism is awesome."
Pierre was a stout defender in his three seasons of play on The Bluff. He earned All-WCC honors each of the three seasons he played, making the All-WCC freshman team his first year, followed by the second team his second year and first team his final year. He was an All-West Region Second Team selection in 2022 as well.
Pierre played in 51 matches all as a part of the back line, scoring four goals and notching two assists as well. His final goal came against Western Michigan in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, a 1-0 win that helped the Pilots advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1995. He started all 21 matches for Portland this year, helping them earn the most shutouts they've had as a team (10) since 1990.
The Pilots are coming off one of the best seasons in program history, finishing the year 15-3-3 and advancing to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. They posted their highest win total and best win percentage (.786) since 1995 as well. They finished first in the WCC in 14 different statistical categories and ranked top 10 nationally in goal differential (third, 32), total goals (fourth, 51), total points (fourth, 154), won-lost-tied percentage (seventh, .786), goals per game (eighth, 2.43), points per game (ninth, 7.33) and total assists (ninth, 52).