Welcome back for another thrilling dive into how the Seattle Sounders could reload to build on the success of their 2025 season! As discussed in the first part of this series, the Sounders have a handful of holes to fill and opportunities to improve throughout the roster. We’ve already covered some international options, but there are still domestic players to go over as well as talent coming through the college game to look at.
To recap, Seattle has an estimated $1,666,293 in salary cap space, and at least another $400k or so plus whatever fee they receive opening up with the transfer of Danny Leyva.
For this part of the series, we’ll be looking at players from within the domestic leagues. That includes MLS players, primarily free agents, as well as USL and some guys who might make the leap from Tacoma Defiance. These players are likely to be depth pieces and floor raisers, lower risk but likely lower upside as well when compared to the international options. They’ll also probably be less expensive, whether in fees or compensation.
Goalkeeper
Starting from back to front, the Sounders are clearly set at starting GK. However, if the club and Stefan Frei can’t find a way to bring the club legend back for 2026, they’ll realistically need a pair of ‘keepers behind Andrew Thomas. There’s not a clear option ready to make the step up to the first team from Tacoma Defiance just yet, but it’s not unreasonable to think that Seattle could find a suitable depth piece in the MLS SuperDraft later this month. The Sounders don’t have a pick in the first round — they traded theirs to FC Dallas in the Paul Arriola deal — but they’ll have the 21st pick in the second and third rounds.
That still likely leaves them in need of a veteran presence in the GK group. There are a handful of MLS free agents who could be of interest, but the pick of the bunch is probably Alec Kann. Kann is 35, he’ll turn 36 in August, and has bounced around the league a bit with stints with Chicago Fire, Sporting KC, Atlanta United, and most recently FC Cincinnati. With the exception of 2017 when he started 18 matches for Atlanta, he’s been a career MLS backup, experience that could prove valuable behind Thomas if Frei doesn’t return.
Internally, the Sounders don’t have any prospects who are banging down the door for a MLS contract but Mo Shour and Noah Newman, in particular, look like very promising prospects down the road.
Defenders
Jon Bell’s departure opens up minutes at both left back and centerback. Seattle’s current left back picture includes Nouhou, who on multiple occasions seemed to have made the decision that broke the camel’s back this season, Reed Baker-Whiting who just became a U22 player with his new deal but hasn’t yet been able to string together a long run of form and fitness, and Cody Baker in a pinch.
The club seems to view RBW as the future at LB, but they could potentially make a move to bring in another LB with a little more experience who is a better stylistic fit than Nouhou to help push the US youth national and cover if he struggles to make the role his own. That probably requires finding a move for Nouhou to clear space and open up resources. It’s obviously not a direct comparison, but CF Montreal just traded $1.5 million in GAM to Real Salt Lake for Brayan Vera according to Tom Bogert.
A couple of names stand out as stylistic fits from within the league if Craig Waibel can find a willing trade partner for Nouhou.
First is Andrew Gutman. Gutman turned 29 in October and is one of the league’s best LBs. He’d be more of a clear starter in the immediate future, but his current contract only runs through the end of 2026 with an option for 2027. Gutman’s on $600k a year and Chicago likely wouldn’t give him up cheaply, but if the Sounders move Nouhou it’s ultimately probably a wash.
For an alternative to Gutman, Seattle could make a run at Austin FC’s Žan Kolmanič. Kolmanič isn’t as good as Gutman; he’s not as well-rounded, and his end product doesn’t quite match up, but he’s about 3.5 years younger and makes about $250k less, making him a better fit as competition for RBW rather than a clear starter. He’s in a similar contract situation to Gutman, but Austin may be more willing to play ball in order to facilitate other improvements elsewhere in the roster if the Sounders can offer some GAM for their side of a deal.
In the center of the backline the Sounders could use a CB in the mold of Yeimar, someone who can provide physicality and hunt the ball. Passing is a plus, but with quality distributors around the right CB it’s not as crucial as having someone who can pair with and cover for Jackson Ragen to allow him to focus on what he does best. Antino Lopez spent time in the Sounders academy before playing in college at Duke and eventually returning to Seattle via the draft before signing with Defiance. He showed himself to be a solid option with the MLSNP side in 2024, but injuries and squad choices limited him to just 917 league minutes in 2025. Still, he started to come into his own towards the end of the season and he’ll have a good chance to make an impression during preseason. He’ll turn 24 in May, and while he may not have the highest ceiling, there’s value in his familiarity with the organization.
While not a traditional Defiance option as it would require the Sounders to pay a transfer fee, there is at least a possibility that they could sign Kaito Yamada, who they had on loan from Vissel Kobe. The 19-year-old centerback showed plenty of promise in about 2,500 minutes with Defiance but might still be a little too far from the first team to justify a seven-figure transfer fee.
One option from USLC is Monterey Bay FC’s starting RCB, Nico Gordon. Like Lopez, he turns 24 next year. The Montserrat international came up through Birmingham City’s and even made a handful of appearances in the Championship in the first team before coming to the U.S. where he played for North Texas SC and then moved to Monterey Bay for the 2025 season. He’s a low touch centerback with an OK pass completion rate on his limited attempts, but he’s got a demonstrated ability to break lines with a dribble and his defensive numbers stand out in particular. He averaged 6.56 duels won per 90 minutes last season with a win rate of 68.6%, and 3.4 aerieal duels won at a rate of 70.2%. He averaged 3.63 tackles+interceptions per 90, and rarely got himself into card trouble. In the final year of his contract, if the team wants a budget-friendly option from outside of the org, he’s worth a look.
Midfielders
João Paulo has already bid farewell and it appears as if Danny Leyva is on the way out. What once looked like one of their deeper position groups now is in need of bolstering. If the Sounders want to add some MLS experience, they could look to the current crop of free agents. From the bunch, two names stand out: Hassani Dotson and Eryk Williamson.
