Chattanooga FC – 2026 Team Roster
- Phillip Farrell
- 2 days ago
- 9 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
CHATTANOOGA, TN — Chattanooga Football Club recently confirmed their squad numbers for the 2026 season. After making no less than 11 new signings and renewing deals with several more players, Sporting Director Sebastian Giraldo and Head Coach Chris Nugent now have a deep squad of 25 professionals to work with.
In advance of their pre-season getting up-and-running, it’s a good time to look at the squad in-full.
Goalkeepers
Eldin Jakupović (#1)
Age: 41
Nationality: Switzerland, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Chattanooga FC (31 apps)Former Leicester City, Everton, and Hull City keeper Jakupović played every single minute of CFC’s 2025 campaign and finished as the league leader in clean sheets (10) and total saves (124). He was named MLS Next Pro Goalkeeper of the Year. First name on the teamsheet in more ways than one.
Michael Barrueta (#51)
Age: 23
Nationality: United States
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Chattanooga FC (0 apps)Local keeper Barrueta will be hoping to make some competitive appearances for the club this season after deputizing for Jakupović for all of 2025.
Griffin Huff (#77)
Age: 23
Nationality: United States
Contract expiry: End of 2026, club option for 2027
2025: Lexington SC (USL League 2 and UPSL)Former Lafayette man Huff spent last season with Lexington’s pre-professional organization. He is expected to be a back-up and will compete with Barrueta for any opportunities that arise in 2026.
Defenders
Yves Tcheuyap (#2)
Age: 22
Nationality: Canada
Contract expiry: End of 2026, club option for 2027
2025: Crown Legacy FC (20 apps)This 22-year-old right-back was most recently with rivals Crown Legacy. Last season, his first as a pro, he played 1,310 minutes in 20 league appearances, providing two assists. I anticipate he’ll be a backup to Tate Robertson as Nugent looks to build depth, but there may be opportunities for the Canadian should the Head Coach wish to use Robertson in a more attacking role.
Tate Robertson (#3)
Age: 28
Nationality: United States
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Chattanooga FC (30 apps, 9 goals)Chattanooga’s best player in 2026, in my humble opinion. Robertson is one of the squad’s more experienced players and a likely member of its leadership group. He was named in the MLS Next Pro Best XI in 2025 and was a finalist for Defender of the Year. A massive part of the club’s playoff push, he contributed nine goals and 10 assists, leading the club in both categories at the end of the season.
Mattias Hanchard (#4)
Age: 24
Nationality: United States
Contract expiry: End of 2026, club option for 2027
2025: Rot Weiss Ahlen (GER) (6 apps)New signing Hanchard is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and comes to CFC after playing professionally in the German lower leagues with Eintracht Nordhorn and Rot Weiss Ahlen. How Nugent sets up his defense will dictate what role Hanchard will likely play, given that Sar-Sar and Koehler come into 2026 as the club’s tried-and-true center-backs.
Farid Sar-Sar (#5)
Age: 26
Nationality: Argentina
Contract expiry: End of 2027, club option for 2028
2025: Chattanooga FC (31 apps, 1 goal)The reliable Argentine is one of the leaders in this squad and captained CFC for most of 2025 in the absence of Alex McGrath. A clever defender able to brilliantly read the game, he played the joint-most minutes of any player in the league in 2025’s regular season.
Anthony Sorenson (#13)
Age: 22
Nationality: Haiti, United States
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Charlotte Independence (31 apps, 1 goal)Sorenson was CFC’s first signing for 2026, indicating they’d had an eye on him for some time. The US youth international spent 2025 at Charlotte Independence in USL League One and was previously with Philadelphia Union II. As Milo Garvanian has, to my knowledge, not signed a new deal with CFC, Sorenson looks set to be the club’s left-back in 2026. He comes highly rated with people praising his pace and potent attacking skills.
Nathan Koehler (#14)
Age: 23
Nationality: United States
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Chattanooga FC (28 apps, 3 goals)Koehler arrived late last season from Prescott Cables in England but once he started for Nugent he was never out of the side. He formed a strong and reliable central-defensive unit with Sar-Sar and got three crucial goals during that run. A fan favorite with the makings of club captain material in his future.
Junior Flores (#38)
Age: 18
Nationality: Argentina
Contract expiry: End of 2027
2025: CA Colón II (ARG) (6 apps)Junior Flores is an 18-year-old, left-footed defender who I believe may cover center or left-back. He has come through the academy at Colón in his native Argentina and has three caps with his country at U18 level. While I’m expecting him to deputize for Sorenson and/or CFC’s central defenders initially, I imagine Nugent didn’t bring him all the way from Santa Fe to sit on the bench for long.
Midfielders
Damien Barker John (#9)
Age: 21
Nationality: United States, Grenada
Contract expiry: End of 2026, club option for 2027
2025: Huntsville City FC (26 apps, 3 goals)Exciting midfielder Barker John joins from rivals Huntsville City where he made 24 appearances in 2025, scoring three goals and providing five assists. CFC fans will know him well after he played against them four times in 2025. Arguably, the club’s most exciting domestic signing this off-season.
Steeve Louis Jean (#15)
Age: 21
Nationality: Haiti
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Chattanooga FC (23 apps, 1 goal)Former MLS Next Pro champion Louis Jean begins his second season with Chattanooga. In and out of the side in 2025, how Nugent uses him in 2026 will depend on how the midfield is built around Alex McGrath.
Darwin Ortiz (#17)
Age: 19
Nationality: Honduras
Contract expiry: End of 2026, club option for 2027
2025: Chattanooga FC (7 apps)Ortiz signed a two-year contract in December 2024 with a club option for a third. Last year, he was used sparingly, but rightly so given his young age. A pleasant and ambitious young pro, he’ll be hoping to push on in 2026 and lay more of a claim to a starting berth.
Luke Husakiwsky (#18)
Age: 22
Nationality: United States, Canada
Contract expiry: End of 2026, club option for 2027
2025: Chattanooga FC (8 apps, 2 goals)Alongside Koehler, Husakiwsky can also lay claim to breakout star of 2025. The former Des Moines Menace captain was parachuted into the side during its mid-season dip last year and seemed central to the turnaround that was witnessed after. A committed and battling midfielder, he also popped up with two goals. Another candidate for the armband in the future.
Kenneth Tsokli (#20)
Age: 18
Nationality: Ghana
Contract expiry: End of 2026, club option for 2027
2025: Right To DreamOne of two recruits from the Right to Dream Academy, attacking midfielder Tsokli is being pipped to be a fun-to-watch crowd pleaser. Other Ghanaian graduates of Right to Dream include Tottenham midfielder Mohammed Kudus and former MLS midfielders David Accam and Emmanuel Boateng, so Tsokli is in good company.
Francis Amoateng (#21)
Age: 18
Nationality: Ghana
Contract expiry: End of 2026, club option for 2027
2025: Right To DreamLike Tsokli, Amoateng is another Right to Dream graduate. From videos I’ve seen, he seems a dangerous midfield threat who starts moves by coming deep with his back to goal, collecting the call and advancing play centrally for wingers to find space. Gives Nugent options.
Alex McGrath (#33)
Age: 28
Nationality: England
Contract expiry: End of 2027, club option for 2028
2025: Chattanooga FC (4 apps)The beating heart of CFC and, with the departure of Markus Naglestad, the last OG from the club’s early professional years. A leader for both team and club, his long absence through injury in 2025 left a gaping hole in the squad. The importance of his return cannot be understated and the club demonstrated huge belief in McGrath by handing him a new two-year (plus one) contract this offseason.
Isaiah Jones (#47)
Age: 19
Nationality: United States, Sierra Leone
Contract expiry: End of 2026 (loan from Nashville SC)
2025: Huntsville City FC (12 apps, 1 goal)Jones has played for Nashville’s MLS Next Pro outlet and CFC rival Huntsville City for the past three years, making 43 appearances and scoring one goal. He also has two MLS appearances with his parent club. Another who may be familiar to CFC fans as he’s made several appearances against them. After the successful loan of Gavin Turner from DC United in 2025, it’s exciting to see CFC dip into the loan market again.
Forwards
Anthony García (#7)
Age: 22
Nationality: United States, Mexico
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Chattanooga FC (7 apps)Another mid-season signing last summer, García was involved in all but one of the games CFC played after he arrived. Played mainly out wide while Yuval Cohen was deployed as the central striker, García nabbed a crucial assist in his first game. I expect a similar role for him in 2026 in a more competitive attacking department with more depth.
Ameziane Sid Mohand (#11)
Age: 22
Nationality: Algeria
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Chattanooga FC (5 apps)Struggles with injury in 2025 after his move from Columbus Crew 2, meant that Sid Mohand only made five appearances at the beginning, middle, and end of the season. He played 69 mere minutes. It was nice, if surprising, to see CFC put faith in him and give him a new contract, considering his limited gametime last year. Clearly, there’s something in the young Algerian that impresses Giraldo and Nugent.
Daniel Mangarov (#16)
Age: 23
Nationality: United States, Bulgaria
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Chattanooga FC (31 apps, 9 goals)Mangarov was another of CFC’s key performers in 2025. Nine goals in what was his first season as a professional is impressive at any level. His set-pieces really stood out and he scored the smashing equalizer in the Cup tie against the Red Wolves. CFC fans will be excited to see how he progresses in 2026 with a year of pro experience under his belt.
Ashton Gordon (#19)
Age: 18
Nationality: United States, Jamaica
Contract expiry: End of 2026 (loan from Atlanta United)
2025: Atlanta United 2 (3 apps)Another loan signing, Gordon joins from Atlanta United. When only 17, he made 16 appearances and scored two goals (in 2024) for their 2 side in MLS Next Pro. He also has two US Open Cup appearances for Atlanta United. His career stalled in 2025, likely due to injury, so he’ll come to CFC with a lot of hunger. Made three appearances against CFC and scored against them at Finley Stadium in 2024.
Keegan Ancelin (#26)
Age: 22
Nationality: United States
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Chattanooga FC (28 apps, 3 goals)Signed last year and played initially as a center-forward, Ancelin drifted more to a wide forward role as the season progressed. He’ll want to regain his early 2025 form that saw him get three goals and two assists in CFC’s first four matches.
Alexis Arrúa (#29)
Age: 20
Nationality: Argentina
Contract expiry: End of 2026, club option for 2027
2025: Racing Club II (ARG) (24 apps)As with Flores, Arrúa is a young arrival from Argentina. He has 39 appearances for Racing Club’s reserve side in what is essentially Argentina’s version of MLS Next Pro. While his goalscoring record isn’t prolific, both Giraldo and Nugent have been keen to point out that the 20-year-old plays across a front three. So, I’m expecting him to play out wide for CFC.
Yuval Cohen (#90)
Age: 20
Nationality: United States, Israel
Contract expiry: End of 2026
2025: Inter Miami II (16 apps, 5 goals) & Chattanooga FC (7 apps, 1 goal)Another mid-season signing in 2025, Cohen came with an impressive record from Inter Miami. He managed one goal for CFC across seven appearances, a crucial home equalizer against Atlanta 2 on the final day of the season. Likely the most obvious choice for center forward in this CFC team as the 2026 season kicks off.
I’m interested to see if any more signings are on the cards for Chattanooga FC in 2026. With 25 players contracted and a minimum of two-player depth achieved across all positions, I don’t see what gaps there are left to fill, beyond a marquee signing. Pre-season is nearly upon us and the games against Birmingham and Nashville will give fans a better picture of what these new signings are like and a clue as to how Nugent plans to use them.
And while the season opener against Crown Legacy is still over a month away, just for fun, this is how I think they’ll line out: (4-3-3): Jakupović; Robertson, Koehler, Sar-Sar, Sorenson; Barker-John, Husakiwsky; McGrath (C); Mangarov, Arrúa, Cohen
Note: While I try to be on top of the contract details of CFC’s squad, there’s every chance I have made an error. If you notice any errors above with contract details, or any other player details; please do let me know. I am always open to correction.
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