Real Salt Lake Defender Tate Schmitt Loaned To Phoenix Rising FC

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Real Salt Lake defender Tate Schmitt has been placed on loan to Phoenix Rising for the remainder of the season, the club has announced.

Schmitt, 24, was signed to a homegrown contract in January 2019. Since then, he has appeared in 10 matches for RSL and started on 4 occasions. He was the 20th homegrown player to join RSL.

“We’d like to extend the best wishes and opportunity to Tate as he embarks on this loan stint in Phoenix,” RSL Assistant General Manager Tony Beltran said. “Loaning Tate to Phoenix for the rest of the season will provide him with the chance to feature in meaningful games for one of the USL Championship’s premier clubs. As a Club, we understand the importance of consistent game minutes and feel this is a great opportunity to complement Tate’s continued development.”

NEWS: We've loaned Tate Schmitt to @PHXRisingFC for the remainder of the 2021 season.

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 10, 2021

Furthermore, Schmitt has played a key role in the Real Monarchs organization. In 2019, Schmitt saw most of his professional minutes being played at the Monarchs and was influential in helping the Monarchs secure their first USL Championship.

Schmitt returns home for the remainder of the 2021 season, his family and loved ones reside in Phoenix. The opportunity to go on loan to the Rising will allow his family to watch him play.

In 2019 when Schmitt first signed with RSL he was a winger. Over the years, however, he has been pushed back into a more defensive role. His preferred position under Freddy Juarez is now at left-back. Schmitt is still developing as a defender and has plenty of work left before he is of first-team material. But, his left foot is superb and more than capable of playing at the first-team level.