The 2026 MLS season is all but upon us, with the Seattle Sounders kicking off their 18th MLS campaign on Sunday against the Colorado Rapids. A mostly quiet offseason picked up a lot over the past couple of weeks, but this is still mostly the same team that ended last year.
If you found yourself caught up in Seahawks fever and kinda forgot about the Sounders, don’t worry, we’ll catch you up.
Remind me: How did last season end?
The Sounders ended their three-year trophy drought by winning the Leagues Cup, but slumped a bit down the stretch and finished fifth in the Western Conference. That meant they were the lower seed in the playoffs and had to play two of three games on the road. Despite not losing a match to Minnesota United, they twice fell in a penalty shootout and were eliminated in the first round.
Who’s gone?
For most of the offseason, it looked like the Sounders were on pace to return more than 90% of their minutes. The only notable players they didn’t re-sign were João Paulo (he now coaches for Tacoma Defiance), Ryan Kent (still a free agent) and Jon Bell (joined Austin FC), none of whom started even half of the team’s games. Even after Danny Leyva joined Liga MX side Necaxa on a transfer, the Sounders were still on pace to return more minutes than any other MLS team and had every player who scored at least one of their franchise-record 90 goals.
But shortly before the Sounders finished up the European portion of preseason, Obed Vargas was transferred to Atlético Madrid (yes, THAT Atlético Madrid). Even more surprising was the decision to sell Reed Baker-Whiting to Nashville SC.
Niko Moreno
Who replaced them?
The single biggest addition to the roster is Hassani Dotson, who is expected to replace Vargas in central midfield. Dotson is a Federal Way native who spent his first seven MLS seasons with Minnesota United, where he was at times considered a top 5 central midfielder. But he’s also coming off an knee injury that cost him most of 2025. He’s looked good in preseason – a bit less dynamic than Vargas but also more solid defensively.
The only other notable offseason signing was Nikola Petković, who the Sounders got on loan from Charlotte FC. He’s a U22 who Charlotte once paid $3 million to bring to their MLS Next Pro team, but he hasn’t really gotten much MLS time. I haven't seen enough from him to have a strong opinion.
Rather than new signings, the Sounders are going to be relying on several players to make improvements from last year. Paul Arriola, for instance, is back after missing most of 2025 with an ACL tear and should be ready to contribute pretty quickly, and Jordan Morris is looking healthy after missing about half of last year.
Among players who could just see bigger roles, I think Georgi Minoungou and Snyder Brunell are the two most likely to break out. Minoungou had a nice run of games with Burkina Faso in the Africa Cup of Nations and might be the single best dribbler in all of MLS. Brunell is the next in a growing line of central midfielders who came through the academy and might be the best yet.
Jake Burgess
Are there any other new starters?
Aside from Dotson, the most likely new starter is Andrew Thomas. This is now his fifth professional season and the Sounders have been treating him as Stefan Frei’s heir apparent for the last two years. Last year, he even delivered the Leagues Cup trophy, winning Goalkeeper of the Tournament. It hasn’t been formally announced yet, but it looks like he’ll get the chance to be the Day One starter.
Thomas is certainly a more athletic goalkeeper and will probably help the Sounders a bit more when coming off his line, but he’s not quite as good in distribution and it’s fair to assume he’s not quite as good of a decision-maker as Frei.
But if Thomas falters, Frei is still here and at 39 is still capable of elite performances when needed.
There are also indications that Jordan Morris will be moving back out to the wing, which is seemingly a two-part consideration. One is that it’s a way of bridging the gap until Pedro de la Vega returns from his injury and/or Paul Arriola is fully fit. It’s also a way to get another forward on the pitch. That was seemingly with Danny Musovski in mind, but he’s been dealing with a bit of a back issue and Osaze De Rosario has burst through the opening like the Kool-Aid Man.
Any updates on de la Vega?
You probably remember that he had a freak knee injury in the final game of the regular season and missed all of the playoffs. He’s still rehabbing and is expected to back close to one side of the World Cup break. If he can pick up anywhere close to where he left off, that would be a huge boost to the Sounders’ chances.
How did preseason go?
About as well as you could ask. The Sounders went 3-2-0 (not counting the split-squad game they played on Sunday) and scored nine goals. More encouragingly, they went 2-0 and outscored their opponents 6-2 in the final two games in which their presumed starters were all together.
The breakout player this preseason was unquestionably De Rosario, who started those last two games and finished the preseason with five goals. You may remember him from his starring performance in Leagues Cup last year, which included the game-winner in the final. If the name rings a bell, that’s because he’s the eldest son of MLS legend Dwayne De Rosario and even breaks out his dad’s signature goal celebration on occasion. He looks like an absolute beast right now and is a solid bet to start the season opener. It will be fascinating to see how long he can hold onto that spot.
What’s new off the field this year?
The big change to your consumption habits will be that MLS games are no longer locked behind a separate subscription service within AppleTV. You’ll still need a subscription (and it’s still included in your season-ticket package), but MLS games are now included as part of the main AppleTV service, the same place you’d watch Ted Lasso, Severance or Silo (those are all really good shows, btw).
They’ve also changed the way they’re presenting those games, as there’s now going to be an additional Saturday national game of the week (in addition to the Sunday night game) and the announcers will all be on location (last year, they did a lot of remote broadcasts). Those national games will have dedicated pre- and post-game shows, as well as sideline reporters.
Did they enact that calendar switch?
Late last year, MLS announced that they are flipping the calendar to more closely mirror most of Europe. That means the season will start in the summer and end in the spring, with a roughly two-month winter break in the middle. But that change won’t occur until the 2027-28 season, with a “sprint” season in the first half of 2027, which means 2026 will still operate on the traditional MLS calendar.
That doesn’t mean this year will be “normal,” though. With the World Cup taking place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, MLS has understandably decided to halt play for the vast majority of the tournament. The Sounders, for instance, will play LAFC on May 24 and then not play another league game until they face the Portland Timbers on July 16.
That’s not the only World Cup-related disruption, either. The Sounders will open at home against the Rapids this weekend but then not return to Lumen Field until April 12, meaning they’ll play five straight games on the road while grass is being installed. In between, they have a home game scheduled against the winner of Vancouver Whitecaps-Cartaginés in Concacaf Champions Cup that will be played in Spokane.
Does that mean they get to play some games on grass?
It does! The Sounders will play at least six home games on grass ahead of the World Cup and then might play one more after.
What’s this about a Sounder at Heart magazine?
Yeah, that’s real and there are still copies available. They’re $15 and we’re having a magazine release party on Friday at Project 9 Brewing Co. in the Maple Leaf neighborhood. You should join us!
What do we know about any potential tactical changes?
Due to most of the preseason games not being available to stream, we have a somewhat limited idea of particularly nuanced differences. One thing Schmetzer has discussed though is a desire to build out in more of a 2-3 shape as opposed to the shape they have used the past couple of years. That likely means Alex Roldan pinching into the midfield and the left back having more license to bomb forward, which would make a lot of sense if that left back is either Paul Rothrock or Paul Arriola.
Joseph Lowery
What must the team improve upon?
As improved as the offense was last year — they scored seven more league goals than they had the previous season — it was also an undeniable regression on defense, where they gave up 13 more goals than they did in 2024 and the second most in any Schmetzer-led season. The biggest culprit was on set pieces, where they were one of the worst defending teams in the league, allowing 12 goals off free kicks, corner kicks and long throws.
The Sounders have historically been a pretty good defending team on set pieces and were much closer to middle of the pack in terms of Expected Goals Allowed, which suggests some degree of bad luck. But shoring up the defense is a huge part of correcting that.
Do we think they’re going to be good?
Look, “good” is relative when it comes to the Sounders. They’ve now made the playoffs in 16 of 17 MLS seasons and average more than a trophy every other year. Even though they won one last year, some considered it a bit of a disappointing season because they finished fifth in the West — their second-lowest ever finish — and failed to advance to the conference semifinals for just the third time.
That said, I don’t see reason to expect much regression and I don’t think that many things have to break their way for this year to be an improvement. The Sounders will once again have one of the deepest rosters in the league and should be able to compete on multiple fronts. They’ve also stockpiled a bunch of General Allocation Money that puts them in position to make a big signing over the summer.
I know, I know, we’ve all heard that before, but seriously – the transfers for Leyva, Vargas and Baker-Whiting have collectively filled their GAM coffers with $3 million.
So, yeah, there’s no reason not to expect this team to play entertaining soccer and contend for every trophy for which they’re eligible. Ho-hum…
