2026 Austin FC season

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Austin FC
2026 season
ChairmanAnthony Precourt
Head coachNico Estévez
StadiumQ2 Stadium
Average home league attendance0
← 2025
2027 →

The 2026 season will be Austin FC's sixth season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of soccer in the United States. They play in the league's Western Conference. In addition the MLS play, Austin will also compete in the U.S. Open Cup and Leagues Cup.

Background

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Austin FC started playing in the MLS Western Conference in 2021, finishing in 12th place with a record of 9W-4D-21L.[1] 2022 brought many new experiences for Austin FC. They lost their first ever U.S. Open Cup match against San Antonio FC in extra time,[2] won their first derby trophy, the Copa Tejas,[3] and qualified for their first-ever MLS Cup Playoffs in just their second season as a franchise.[4] Austin FC advanced to the Western Conference Finals but lost to LAFC.[5] Austin FC fell almost all the way to the bottom of the 2023 standings, with the team finishing in 27th place in Major League Soccer. The new sporting director Rodolfo Borrell was quoted as saying "The team overachieved last year, the team underachieved this year", but showed his support for coach Josh Wolff as the team looks to rebuild for the 2024 season.[6] At the end of the 2024 season, and after back-back seasons without reaching the MLS playoffs, Austin FC release their first ever coach Josh Wolff, having an interim coach for the final game of the season.[7] In November 2025, Austin announced Nico Estévez as the second coach for the franchise.[8] 2025 saw Austin advance to the finals of the 2025 U.S. Open Cup, falling to Nashville SC 2–1 at home,[9] and one month later qualify for their second every MLS Cup playoffs,[10] before falling in the first round to Los Angeles FC.[11]

Summary

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Pre-season

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Prior to the completion of the 2025 MLS playoffs, Austin FC announced they would participate in the 2026 Coachella Valley Invitational, the third year in a row participating in this pre-season tournament.[12] On November 24, 2025, Austin announced they had signed Ervin Torres to a homegrown contract through the 2028 season with two one-year options. He becomes the third player from the Austin FC Academy to sign a homegrown contract.[13] One day later, Austin announced their end–of–season roster decisions. The club denied the options for Julio Cascante, Jimmy Farkarlun, and Diego Rubio while exercising the options for Stefan Cleveland, Dani Pereira, and Riley Thomas. Brendan Hines-Ike's option was automatically trigger based on performance statistics from the 2025 season. Austin also signed Ilie Sánchez to a new contract for the 2026 season with a one-year option. With these decisions, Austin is left with two open slots on the senior roster as they build for the 2026 Major League Soccer season.[14] On December 10, 2025, Austin made their next roster decision as they build towards 2026 by trading Stefan Cleveland to Sporting Kansas City for $50,000 in 2026 GAM.[15]

Management team

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Position Name
Chairman United States Anthony Precourt
Sporting Director Rodolfo Borrell[16]
Head coach Spain Nico Estévez[8]
Assistant coach United States Davy Arnaud
Assistant coach Spain Alberto González[17]
Assistant coach Spain Nico Bosch[17]
Goalkeeping Coach Fabio Hernandaz[18]

Roster

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As of December 10, 2025.[19]

No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Signed in Previous club Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
1 Brad Stuver United States GK (1991-04-16) April 16, 1991 (age 34) 2020 United States New York City FC 0 0
12 Damian Las United States GK (2002-04-11) April 11, 2002 (age 23) 2022 England Fulham F.C. 0 0
Defenders
2 Riley Thomas United States DF (2002-03-15) March 15, 2002 (age 23) 2025 United States Austin FC II 0 0
3 Mikkel Desler Denmark DF (1995-02-19) February 19, 1995 (age 30) 2024 France Toulouse FC 0 0
4 Brendan Hines-Ike United States DF (1994-11-30) November 30, 1994 (age 31) 2024 United States D.C. United 0 0
5 Oleksandr Svatok Ukraine CB (1994-09-27) September 27, 1994 (age 31) 2024 Ukraine SC Dnipro-1 0 0
17 Jon Gallagher Republic of Ireland LB/RB (1996-02-23) February 23, 1996 (age 29) 2020 United States Atlanta United FC 0 0
23 Žan Kolmanič Slovenia LB (2000-03-03) March 3, 2000 (age 25) 2021 Slovenia Maribor 0 0
29 Guilherme Biro Brazil LB (2000-05-02) May 2, 2000 (age 25) 2024 Brazil Mirassol 0 0
35 Mateja Djordjevic (U22) [a] Serbia DF (2003-07-17) July 17, 2003 (age 22) 2025 Serbia FK TSC 0 0
Midfielders
6 Ilie Sánchez Spain MF (1990-11-21) November 21, 1990 (age 35) 2025 United States Los Angeles FC 0 0
8 Daniel Pereira (GA) Venezuela MF (2000-07-14) July 14, 2000 (age 25) 2021 United States Virginia Tech Hokies 0 0
14 Besard Šabović Sweden MF (1998-01-05) January 5, 1998 (age 27) 2025 Sweden Djurgårdens 0 0
16 Robert Taylor Finland MF (1994-10-21) October 21, 1994 (age 31) 2025 United States Inter Miami CF 0 0
20 Nicolás Dubersarsky (U22) [a] Argentina MF (2004-12-21) December 21, 2004 (age 20) 2025 Argentina Instituto 0 0
32 Micah Burton (HG) United States MF (2006-03-26) March 26, 2006 (age 19) 2024 United States Austin FC II 0 0
33 Owen Wolff (HG) United States MF (2004-12-30) December 30, 2004 (age 20) 2020 United States Austin FC Academy 0 0
38 Ervin Torres (HG) United States MF (2007-11-14) November 14, 2007 (age 18) 2025 United States Austin FC II 0 0
Forward
7 Jáder Obrian Colombia FW (1995-05-18) May 18, 1995 (age 30) 2024 United States FC Dallas 0 0
9 Brandon Vázquez United States FW (1998-10-14) October 14, 1998 (age 27) 2025 Mexico C.F. Monterrey 0 0
10 Myrto Uzuni (DP) Albania FW (1995-05-31) May 31, 1995 (age 30) 2025 Spain Granada 0 0
11 Osman Bukari (DP) Ghana FW (1998-12-13) December 13, 1998 (age 27) 2024 Serbia Red Star Belgrade 0 0
19 CJ Fodrey (GA) United States FW (2004-02-10) February 10, 2004 (age 21) 2023 United States San Diego State 0 0
  1. ^ a b U22 initiative

Transfers

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Out

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Date Position No. Name To Type Fee Ref.
November 25, 2025 DF 18 Costa Rica Julio Cascante Declined contract option N/A [14]
FW 26 Liberia Jimmy Farkarlun Declined contract option N/A [14]
FW 21 Chile Diego Rubio Declined contract option N/A [14]
December 10, 2025 GK 30 United States Stefan Cleveland United States Sporting Kansas City Trade $50,000 in 2026 GAM [15]


MLS Re-Entry Draft picks

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Main article: 2025 MLS Re-Entry Draft
2024 Austin FC Re-Entry Picks
Round Selection Player Position Team Notes Ref.
1 17
2 17 (47)

MLS SuperDraft picks

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Main article: 2025 MLS SuperDraft
2025 Austin FC SuperDraft Picks
Round Selection Player Position College Notes Ref.
1 17
2 17 (47)
3 17 (77)

New contracts

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Date Pos. No. Player Contract until Ref.
November 25, 2025 MF 6 Spain Ilie Sánchez 2026 + 1yr option [14]


Competitive fixtures

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Overall record

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Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
MLS regular season February 21 November 7 Matchday 1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
U.S. Open Cup April 14-15 TBD Round of 32 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—

Last updated: November 25, 2025
Source: Soccerway

Major League Soccer Regular Season

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Main article: 2026 Major League Soccer season


Matches

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Win Draw Loss
Matchday Date Opponent Venue Location Result[a] Scorers Attendance Referee Position
1 February 21 Minnesota United FC Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
2 March 1 D.C. United Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
3 March 7 Charlotte FC Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina
4 March 14 Real Salt Lake America First Field Sandy, Utah
5 March 21 Los Angeles FC Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
6 April 4 Inter Miami CF Miami Freedom Park Miami, Florida
7 April 11 LA Galaxy Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
8 April 18 Toronto FC BMO Field Toronto, Canada
9 April 22 San Jose Earthquakes PayPal Park San Jose, California
10 April 25
Copa Tejas 		Houston Dynamo FC Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
11 May 3 St. Louis City SC Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
12 May 10 Minnesota United FC Allianz Field Saint Paul, Minnesota
13 May 13 San Diego FC Snapdragon Stadium San Diego, California
14 May 16 Sporting Kansas City Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
15 May 23 St. Louis City SC Energizer Park St. Louis, Missouri
16 July 22 Seattle Sounders FC Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
17 July 25
Copa Tejas 		Houston Dynamo FC Shell Energy Stadium Houston, Texas
18 August 1 Colorado Rapids Dick's Sporting Goods Park Commerce City, Colorado
19 August 15
Copa Tejas 		FC Dallas Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
20 August 19 Seattle Sounders FC Lumen Field Seattle, Washington
21 August 22 Philadelphia Union Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
22 August 29 Portland Timbers Providence Park Portland, Oregon
23 September 5 San Jose Earthquakes Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
24 September 9 Colorado Rapids Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
25 September 13 Vancouver Whitecaps FC BC Place Vancouver, Canada
26 September 19
Copa Tejas 		FC Dallas Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas
27 September 26 San Diego FC Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
28 October 10 Nashville SC Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
29 October 14 Los Angeles FC BMO Stadium Los Angeles, California
30 October 17 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
31 October 24 Sporting Kansas City Children's Mercy Park Kansas City, Kansas
32 October 28 Real Salt Lake Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
33 October 31 LA Galaxy Dignity Health Sports Park Carson, California
34 November 7 Portland Timbers Q2 Stadium Austin, Texas
  1. ^ Austin FC's score written first


Statistics

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Appearances and goals

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Further information: List of Austin FC records and statistics

Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.

No. Pos Nat Player Total MLS USOC Leagues Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK United States USA Brad Stuver 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
3 DF Denmark DEN Mikkel Desler 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
4 DF United States USA Brendan Hines-Ike 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
5 DF Ukraine UKR Oleksandr Svatok 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
6 MF Spain ESP Ilie Sánchez 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
7 FW Colombia COL Jáder Obrian 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
8 MF Venezuela VEN Daniel Pereira 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
9 FW United States USA Brandon Vázquez 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
10 FW Albania ALB Myrto Uzuni 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
11 MF Ghana GHA Osman Bukari 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
14 MF Sweden SWE Besard Šabović 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
16 MF Finland FIN Robert Taylor 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
17 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Jon Gallagher 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
19 MF United States USA CJ Fodrey 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
20 MF Argentina ARG Nicolás Dubersarsky 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
23 DF Slovenia SVN Žan Kolmanič 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
29 DF Brazil BRA Guilherme Biro 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
32 MF United States USA Micah Burton 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
33 MF United States USA Owen Wolff 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
35 DF Serbia SRB Mateja Djordjevic 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
38 MF United States USA Ervin Torres 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0

Top scorers

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Rank Position Number Name MLS USOC Leagues Cup Total
1 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0

Top assists

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Rank Position Number Name MLS USOC Leagues Cup Total
1 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0

Clean sheets

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Rank Number Name MLS USOC Leagues Cup Total
1 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0

Disciplinary record

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No. Pos. Player MLS USOC Leagues Cup Total
Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card
1 GK United States Brad Stuver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 DF Denmark Mikkel Desler 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 DF United States Brendan Hines-Ike 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 DF Ukraine Oleksandr Svatok 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 MF Spain Ilie Sánchez 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 FW Colombia Jáder Obrian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 MF Venezuela Daniel Pereira 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 FW United States Brandon Vázquez 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 FW Albania Myrto Uzuni 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 MF Ghana Osman Bukari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 MF Sweden Besard Šabović 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 MF Finland Robert Taylor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 DF Republic of Ireland Jon Gallagher 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 MF United States CJ Fodrey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 MF Argentina Nicolás Dubersarsky 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 LB Slovenia Žan Kolmanič 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 DF Brazil Guilherme Biro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 MF United States Micah Burton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 MF United States Owen Wolff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 DF Serbia Mateja Djordjevic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
38 MF United States Ervin Torres 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


References

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  1. ^ "Conference Standings | MLSsoccer.com". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on November 12, 2025. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  2. ^ "San Antonio FC vs. Austin FC". ESPN.com. ESPN. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  3. ^ "Copa Tejas". Copa Tejas. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  4. ^ Wright, Ben (September 15, 2022). "Austin FC clinch first-ever playoff berth: "We can make it as far as we want"". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  5. ^ Gates, Billy (October 30, 2022). "Austin FC falls 3-0 to LAFC in MLS Western Conference finals". KXAN-TV. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  6. ^ Vertuno, Jim (October 10, 2023). "Coach Josh Wolff still part of Austin FC future as club tries to rebound after disappointing season". Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2025. The team overachieved last year, the team underachieved this year
  7. ^ "Austin FC Parts Ways with Head Coach Josh Wolff". Austin FC. October 6, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Austin FC Announces Nico Estévez as Club's New Head Coach". Austin FC. October 25, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  9. ^ "Nashville SC Crowned 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Champions for First Trophy in Club History". United States Soccer Federation. October 1, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  10. ^ Gordon, Colby (October 6, 2025). "Did Austin FC qualify for the MLS playoffs due to another result Sunday?". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  11. ^ "Match Report: Austin FC vs. LAFC | Nov. 2, 2025 | Austin FC". Austin FC. November 2, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  12. ^ "Austin FC to Take Part in 2026 Coachella Valley Invitational | Austin FC". Austin FC. October 15, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  13. ^ austinfc (November 24, 2025). "Austin FC Signs Ervin Torres to Homegrown Contract | Austin FC". Austin FC. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Austin FC Announces Roster Decisions Ahead of 2026 Season | Austin FC". Austin FC. November 25, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  15. ^ a b "Austin FC Trades Stefan Cleveland to Sporting KC | Austin FC". Austin FC. December 10, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  16. ^ "Rodolfo Borrell Joins Austin FC As Sporting Director". Austin FC. June 30, 2023. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  17. ^ a b "Austin FC Announces Additions to Coaching Staff Ahead of 2025 Season". Austin FC. December 16, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  18. ^ austinfc (December 4, 2025). "Fabio Hernandez Joins Austin FC as Club's New Goalkeeper Coach | Austin FC". Austin FC. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  19. ^ "Club – Players". AustinFC .com. Retrieved November 25, 2025.