25-year-old center back with over 150 USL Championship appearances joins the Lights
Las Vegas Lights FC today announced the club has signed defender Benjamin Ofeimu, pending league and federation approval.
Ofeimu is under contract with the Lights through the 2027 season.
The 25-year-old center back has made over 150 appearances in the USL Championship across stints with Bethlehem Steel, Miami FC, and Indy Eleven. He played 32 games for Indy Eleven last season, contributing a career-high three goals along with one assist.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming Ben to Las Vegas. He brings plenty of experience and success in this league, which is a rare track record for a player at the young age of 25,” said Sporting Director Gianleonardo Neglia. “He is a big, physical center back who excels defensively, but he also brings attacking contributions on set pieces. We’re excited to add Ben to our growing defensive corps for 2026.”
Ofeimu is a product of the Philadelphia Union academy, where he played in 63 official youth matches with 56 starts. He broke through professionally with the Bethlehem Steel (now Philadelphia Union II) with 12 appearances in 2018 before signing his first professional contract ahead of the 2019 season as an 18-year-old.
He went on to make 48 appearances across three seasons for Bethlehem in the USL Championship, scoring three goals and providing two assists.
The center back joined Birmingham Legion FC ahead of the 2021 season and added 15 appearances to his professional resume as he helped the Legion qualify for the playoffs.
Ofeimu then signed with Miami FC the following year, where he stayed for two seasons in 2022 and 2023. He made 40 appearances and logged nearly 3,000 minutes across all competitions with the Florida side.
After three appearances for Miami to kick off 2024, Ofeimu was traded to Indy Eleven in a swap deal alongside midfielder Ben Mines, while Danny Barbir and Roberto Molina headed the opposite way from Indy to Miami.
With Indy Eleven, the young defender continued to establish himself as a back line mainstay. He made 33 appearances in 2024, including one in the playoffs, and added two goals. That momentum continued in 2025 with 32 appearances and a career-high three goals.
The Las Vegas Lights FC roster for the 2026 USL Championship season currently stands at 11 players:
Goalkeepers (1): Carver Miller
Defenders (3): Elias Gärtig, Turner Humphrey, Benjamin Ofeimu, Shawn Smart
Midfielders (3): Edison Azcona, Patrick Leal, Giorgio Probo
Forwards (3): Nighte Pickering, Christian Pinzón, Johnny Rodriguez
