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 Austin FC started playing in the MLS Western Conference in 2021, finishing in 12th place with a record of 9W-4D-21L. 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, won their first derby trophy, the Copa Tejas, and qualified for their first-ever MLS Cup Playoffs in just their second season as a franchise. Austin FC advanced to the Western Conference Finals but lost to LAFC. 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. 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. In November 2025, Austin announced Nico Estévez as the second coach for the franchise. 2025 saw Austin advance to the finals of the 2025 U.S. Open Cup, falling to Nashville SC 2–1 at home, and one month later qualify for their second every MLS Cup playoffs, before falling in the first round to Los Angeles FC.
Summary Pre-season 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. 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. 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.
On December 10, 2025, Austin traded Stefan Cleveland to Sporting Kansas City for $50,000 in 2026 GAM. Austin then signed free agent Jon Bell through June 2028, with an option for the 2028–29 season. On December 18, Austin traded $700,000 in 2026 GAM, $550,000 in 2027 GAM, and their 2026 MLS SuperDraft first-round pick to Vancouver Whitecaps FC for Canadian international Jayden Nelson. After trading their first-round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft, Austin selected Stefan Dobrijevic from the University of Akron in the second round and Patrick Cayelli from the University of Pennsylvania in the third round.
On December 19, Austin announced they had traded Osman Bukari to Widzew Łódź for a reported $6.5 million, which is an Ekstraklasa record transfer fee. On December 23, Austin announced the signing of Honduran international defender Joseph Rosales in a trade with Minnesota United FC. On January 23, 2026, Austin announced the signing of their third Designated Player, Uruguayan winger Facundo Torres. Torres signed through June 2030, with a one-year option. On January 27, Austin announced exercised a contract buy–out for Jáder Obrian. This move opens up both an international slot and senior team slot.
Early season Austin began the season with a home game against Minnesota United. With two new players in the attack, Austin was able to score two goals in their first match. Hines-Ike got the first goal of the season with a strong header on a corner served up by new attacker Torres. Later in the second half Uzuni knocked in a one on the goal–line after a headed pass by Gallgher. Picking up from the 2025 season Austin relied on Stuver making a couple of great saves to keep the game close, but ultimately gave up the tying goal in the 90th minute after a defensive breakdown. On February 27, Austin FC acquired Christian Ramirez from MLS waivers, signing him through the 2026 season. Austin next hosted D.C. United in a match that remained even until the 82nd minute when new signing Ramirez put in a headed goal to take a 1–0 lead, which was all that Austin needed to secure the win. Austin first away game of the season was against Charlotte FC, where Guilherme Biro earned a red card in the 29th minute. After the red card, Charlotte took control of the match, resulting in a 1–3 loss from Austin. With Austin suffering from a rash of injuries, they travelled to Real Salt Lake, keeping the game tied until the 88th minute, when they went down 1–2. Jon Bell scored his first goal, heading in a set-piece from Facundo Torres. Minutes later Salt Lake equalized on an own goal by Oleksandr Svatok. After two consecutive losses on the road, Austin returned home, earning a 0–0 draw against LAFC through staunch defense. Austin FC visited Inter Miami for the first match in Nu Stadium, earning a 2–2 draw. Guilherme Biro became the first MLS player to score at Nu stadium in the sixth minute, with Jayden Nelson adding the second in the second half. Austin returned home to face LA Galaxy, falling 1–2. Uzuni scored his second of the season, the only goal of the match for Austin. Austin travelled to Toronto FC in their next match, achieving their strongest offensive match of the season, drawing 3–3 on goals from Bell, Torres, and Ramirez. Facing a mid–week game, Austin had to make adjustments due to Uzuni and Nelson nursing injuries. They travelled to San Jose Earthquakes, falling 5–1 in a match that saw Rosales score his first of the season and Stuver tie his single game save record of 11 saves. In their first Copa Tejas match of the year, Austin faced Houston Dynamo FC at home, earining a 2–0 win on goals from Nelson and Uzuni.
Mid-season To start the month of May, Austin earned a 2–0 win over St. Louis City SC at Q2 stadium. Goals were scored my Nelson and Uzuni, with Stuver earning his fourth shut-out of the year. The match also say the return of Perriera, Vazquez, and Wolff. After two home wins in a row, Austin travelled to Minnesota United FC, earning a 2–2 draw on goals from Uzuni and Ramirez. Austin had their second away match in 72 hours at San Diego FC, falling 5–0 in the worse lost in club history. Austin returned home after their mid-week loss to face the last place team in the Western Conference, Sporting Kansas City. Austin took a late first half lead on a volley by Mikkel Desler, but failed to maintain the lead and lost 1–2 on two late game goals by Kansas City. Two days later, Austin announced the release of both their sporing director Rodolfo Borrell and manager Nico Estévez. Davy Arnaud will lead the team on an iterim basis for the last match before the 60-day FIFA break. Austin will work to find a new manager during that time. Austin closed out the pre-FIFA break with third lose in a row, falling 0–3 to St. Louis City FC, falling to 14th in the Western Conference. On June 8, Austin announced the hiring of Jim Curtin as the new head coach. Curtin will take over at the beginning of the 2027 season, with Davy Arnaud remaining the interim manager through the completion of the 2026 season. On June 16, Austin announced the club would exercise their buyout option of Robert Taylor and changes to the coaching staff, including bringing Terry Boss back as an assistant head coach and the release of assistant coach Nico Bosch. On July 30, Austin announced the signing of Przemysław Płacheta as a free agent. Płacheta spent the last two seasons at Oxford United. On July 2, Austin announced Daniel Pereira had been traded to CF Montréal for $2.35 million GAM. Austin will receive $1.4 million GAM for 2026, $700,000 GAM for 2027, and $250,000 conditional GAM. Pereira was Austin's first draft pick ever and appeared in 165 matches between 2021 and 2026.
Management team Position Name Chairman Anthony PrecourtChief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Khaled El-Ahmad Head coach Davy Arnaud (interim) Assistant coach Alberto González Assistant coach Terry Boss Goalkeeping Coach Fabio Hernandaz
Roster
. No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Signed in Previous club Apps Goals Goalkeepers 1 Brad Stuver GK 2020 New York City FC 29 0 12 Damian Las GK 2022 Fulham F.C. 3 0 Defenders 2 Riley Thomas DF 2025 Austin FC II 0 0 3 Mikkel Desler DF 2024 Toulouse FC 19 1 4 Brendan Hines-Ike DF 2024 D.C. United 26 2 5 Oleksandr Svatok CB 2024 SC Dnipro-1 27 1 15 Jon Bell DF 2026 Seattle Sounders 22 2 17 Jon Gallagher LB/RB 2020 Atlanta United FC 31 1 22 Chris Applewhite LB/RB 2026 Nashville SC 0 0 23 Žan Kolmanič LB 2021 Maribor 18 0 29 Guilherme Biro LB 2024 Mirassol 27 3 35 Mateja Djordjevic (U22) DF 2025 FK TSC 9 0 Midfielders 6 Ilie Sánchez MF 2025 Los Angeles FC 24 1 14 Besard Šabović MF 2025 Djurgårdens 27 0 24 Jorge Alastuey MF 2026 Austin FC II 13 0 30 Joseph Rosales DF 2026 Minnesota United 31 2 32 Micah Burton (HG) MF 2024 Austin FC II 2 0 38 Ervin Torres (HG) MF 2025 Austin FC II 18 1 Nicolás Dubersarsky (U22) MF 2025 Instituto 12 0 Daniel Pereira (GA) MF 2021 Virginia Tech Hokies 10 0 Owen Wolff (U22) MF 2020 Austin FC Academy 10 0 Forward 9 Brandon Vázquez FW 2025 C.F. Monterrey 20 1 10 Myrto Uzuni (DP) FW 2025 Granada 24 10 11 Facundo Torres FW 2026 Palmeiras 30 4 21 Christian Rameriz FW 2026 LA Galaxy 26 9 77 Przemysław Płacheta FW 2026 Oxford United 13 0 Jayden Nelson FW 2026 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 15 2 CJ Fodrey (GA) FW 2023 San Diego State 15 1
Transfers In Date Position No. Name From Fee Ref. December 16, 2025 DF 15 Jon Bell Seattle Sounders Free Agent December 18, 2025 FW 7 Jayden Nelson Vancouver Whitecaps $700,000 in 2026 GAM$550,000 in 2027 GAM1st-round pick in 2026 MLS SuperDraft December 18, 2025 DF 30 Joseph Rosales Minnesota United $1.5 million cash trade January 23, 2026 MF 11 Facundo Torres SE Palmeiras $9.5 million cash trade February 27, 2026 FW 21 Christian Ramirez LA Galaxy free June 30, 2026 FW 77 Przemysław Płacheta Oxford United free July 30, 2026 FW 24 Jorge Alastuey Austin FC II free
Loan in No.Pos.PlayerLoaned fromStartEndSource 24 MF Jorge Alastuey Austin FC II March 13, 2026March 20, 2026April 22, 2026 March 16, 2026March 23, 2026April 25, 2026 22 DF Chris Applewhite Nashville SC September 2, 2026 June 30, 2027 MF Patrick Cayelli Austin FC II September 26, 2026 September 29, 2026 FW Stefan Dobrijevic Austin FC II September 26, 2026 September 29, 2026 GK Erik Lauta Austin FC II September 26, 2026 September 29, 2026
Out Date Position No. Name To Type Fee Ref.November 25, 2025DF18 Julio Cascante Melbourne City FCDeclined contract optionN/AFW26 Jimmy Farkarlun El Paso LocomotiveDeclined contract optionN/AFW21 Diego Rubio Deportes La SerenaDeclined contract optionN/ADecember 10, 2025GK30 Stefan Cleveland Sporting Kansas CityTrade$50,000 in 2026 GAMDecember 19, 2025FW11 Osman Bukari Widzew ŁódźTrade$6.5 millionJanuary 27, 2026FW7 Jáder Obrian Santa FeContract buy–outN/AJune 16, 2026MF16 Robert Taylor LA GalaxyContract buy–outN/AJuly 2, 2026MF8 Daniel Pereira CF MontréalTransfer$2.35 million GAMAugust 26, 2026MF33 Owen Wolff Sporting Kansas CityTransfer$4.5 million guaranteed + $3.1 performance–basedAugust 26, 2026FW7 Jayden Nelson Bolton WanderersTransfer$1.1 million guaranteed + $1.25 performance–based
Loan out