CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Charleston Battery announced on Friday the club had signed former Panama U20 international Romario Piggott pending league and federation approval, with the 2018 PDL All-Eastern Conference Honorable Mention having most recently having featured for the Premier Development League’s Myrtle Beach Mutiny this summer.

Piggott scored seven goals and added six assists in 14 games for the Mutiny to help lead the side to the South Atlantic Division title for a second consecutive season. Prior to competing for the Mutiny, the 23-year-old spent a year at Coastal Carolina University where he scored six goals and added six assists in 22 games for the Chanticleers during the 2017 season.

A native of Panama City, Panama, Piggott came to America in 2016 to play soccer at Ancilla Community College (NJCAA) in Plymouth, Indiana. During his one season at Ancilla, Piggott scored 24 goals and registered 10 assists in 18 games, earning All-American honors and leading his team to the semi-final of the National Championship Tournament.

Piggott spent time with the Panama U20 National Team while growing up in Panama and competed for the country at the 2013 Concacaf U20 Championship. He is the son of Percival Piggott, who played 43 games for Panamanian National Team and had a 19-year professional career.

RED BULLS II ADD KOFFI: The New York Red Bulls II announced on Friday it had signed midfielder Jean-Christophe Koffi to an MLS Homegrown contract, effective January 1, 2019, with the former D.C. United Academy set to join the Red Bulls II for the remainder of the 2018 season, pending league and federation approval, and the receipt of his P-1 visa.

Prior to the signing, the Red Bulls acquired Koffi's Homegrown rights from D.C. United in exchange for $75,000 in General Allocation Money. D.C. United will also receive a percentage of any sell-on fee, should Koffi be transferred outside of MLS.

“We are pleased to welcome Jean-Christophe to our club,” said Red Bulls Sporting Director Denis Hamlett. “He is a talented young player that we are familiar with from the academy level. He continued to develop in college, and has demonstrated many of the qualities that we look for. It's a big advantage to get him in now, so he can begin the acclimation process and be ready to hit the ground running next year.”

During the 2017 season Koffi started 21 games for the Cavaliers, earning a First Team All-ACC Selection while contributing three goals and four assists, which was tied for the team lead. At the end of the season Koffi was ranked ninth in TopDrawerSoccer.com's National College Soccer Player Rankings. In all, he made 57 appearances for UVA over three seasons, with six goals and seven assists.

S2 INKS FORMER ACADEMY STANDOUT: Seattle Sounders FC 2 today announced that it has signed defender Jalen Markey. The 23-year-old was part of the Sounders Academy for three years before embarking on a college career at Oregon State University. Additionally, the club has signed midfielder Enrique Montana to a USL Academy contract.

“We are happy to sign Jalen for the rest of the season,” said Sounders FC Director of Player Development Marc Nicholls. “He has trained very well and reached the point to where he deserves an opportunity. It's also great that we are able to sign another player from our Academy system.”

Markey played four seasons at Oregon State University from 2014-2017, starting 65 of his 67 career appearances and playing the full 90 minutes in 60 of those games. He recorded one goal and three assists in 5,901 minutes as a defender. The Seattle native was named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team as a redshirt senior in 2017. Markey scored his only goal during his final season in a 4-3 win over No. 20 Washington on November 9, 2017.