MLS NEXT PRO:2026 Season Preview: Chattanooga FC
- Phillip Farrell
- 10 hours ago
- 8 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
After what had been a proactive and efficient off-season, Chattanooga FC dropped a bomb in early February with the announcement that Head Coach Chris Nugent would be leaving. This came after the club had signed no less than 11 new recruits, assembling a strong looking squad to take them to the next level in MLS Next Pro. Nugent’s departure will surely be the main talking point surrounding CFC as they begin their regular season on March 1st. What impact can interim Head Coach Richard Dixon have? Who will take the reins long term? How will this squad gel in 2026 after the arrival of so many new faces? Can they repeat their 2025 finish and nab a home playoff? Can they go far in the Open Cup?
LAST SEASON
- MLS Next Pro (Regular): 13 wins, 9 draws (5 shoot-out wins and 4 shoot-out losses), 6 losses; 4th place in Eastern Conference.
- MLS Next Pro (Playoffs): 0 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss; Conference Quarterfinals.
- US Open Cup: 1 win, 1 draw (1 shoot-out loss), 0 losses; 2nd round.
2025 RECAP
2025 often felt like three different seasons in one. It began, after a rip-roaring pre-season, with a strong start as the club went six games without losing, finally falling to a 3-0 defeat in Columbus in late April. Picking themselves up, they then went on another four-game run without defeat. The side had a spring in its step to match the season, and Tate Robertson, Daniel Mangarov, and Keegan Ancelin were the early pacesetters. And while the loss of captain Alex McGrath to injury put a dampener on proceedings, mostly, things were looking up.
Summer came, and with it a doldrum of results. After beating New England Revolution II 1-0 in late May, CFC would not taste victory again in regulation time until mid-August when they beat Carolina Core 1-0 in High Point. That run of nine games in between saw them lose four and draw five (with three shootout wins). In retrospect, it doesn’t look that bad, but at the time, the side seemed like they’d struggle to win again all season. Perspective is everything. Again, Robertson was the side’s bright spark. I think these harsh months also demonstrated the true value of veteran goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović who’s experience and elite-level shotstopping prevented further loss on multiple occasions. The solidity that center-back pairing Farid Sar-Sar and Nahan Koehler provided, also saved the club’s bacon at times.
The late summer saw several new faces parachuted into the side to arrest the dour form. In came midfielders Luke Husakiwsky from Des Moines Menace and Gavin Turner on loan from DC United, as well as forwards Yuval Cohen from Inter Miami II and Anthony García from Austin II. Their impact, particularly that of Husakiwsky and Turner, helped transform the team into a hard-to-beat, pragmatic side that ground out impressive results in Autumn, earning them a fourth-place finish and a playoff spot for the first time since they’d joined MLS Next Pro. It ended with a deserved 2-0 defeat at home against Huntsville.
A sparking spring, a trying summer, and a battling fall. A season of three narratives.
Elsewhere, the club’s US
Open Cup exploits fell short of expectations on the field but was massively successful off of it. After overcoming a stubborn Corpus Christi at home in the first leg, winning 1-0 through a late Markus Naglestad strike, CFC were then drawn against nearby nemesis Red Wolves of USL League One. After much build-up and anticipation, the game ended in a 1-1 draw at Finley, with the Red Wolves edging the penalty shootout 5-4. For CFC though, they enjoyed the huge financial and commercial boost of a 12,000+ paying crowd on a Wednesday evening and an overwhelming showing of blue in the stands, affirming their place as ‘Chattanooga’s Team’.
SQUAD CHANGES
Apart from the Head Coach (and potentially other members of the bench) departing; there have been some key changes in playing personnel since the conclusion of the 2025 season.
Goalkeeper JP Philpott has departed after failing to make an appearance in his one season at Finley Stadium. In defense, Logan Brown, Ethan Dudley and Robert Screen have all left. Dudley has since scored a move to USL Championship expansion side Sporting Jacksonville.
Midfielders Callum Watson and Nick Mendonça won’t be returning. The latter was signed by USL League One newcomers New York Cosmos after CFC declined an option on his contract. Markus Naglestad and Minjae Kwak were let go and while I believe the club hasn’t officially said so yet, Peter Plougmand’s social media indicated he wouldn’t be returning. The loan agreement for Gavin Turner (D.C. United) expired at the end of last year.
Goalkeepers Eldin Jakupović and Michael Barrueta; defenders Nathan Koehler, Tate Robertson, and Farid Sar-Sar; midfielders Alex McGrath, Luke Husakiwsky, Steeve Louis Jean, Darwin Ortiz, and Daniel Mangarov; and forwards Keegan Ancelin, Yuval Cohen, Ameziane Sid Mohand, and Anthony García all return.
I still don’t know about Milo Garvanian’s status, but the signing of Anthony Sorenson makes it seem like he won’t be returning. Meanwhile Colin Thomas, Jalen James, Mike Bleeker, and Xavier Rimpel were all invited to participate in the club’s 2026 preseason. As of the time of writing none had been officially signed back.
The 11 newcomers are: goalkeeper Griffin Huff (Lexington SC); defenders Mattias Hanchard (Rott Weiss Ahlen), Junior Flores (CA Colón), Yves Tcheuyap (Crown Legacy), and Anthony Sorenson (Charlotte Independence); midfielders Damien Barker John (Nashville/Huntsville City), Kenneth Tsokli (Right to Dream Academy), Francis Amoateng (Right to Dream Academy), and Isaiah Jones (loan from Nashville); and forwards Ashton Gordon (loan from Atlanta United) and Alexis Arrúa (Racing Club).
As of time of writing:
Departures: 10
Returnees: 14
Arrivals: 11
TBD: 5
WHO TO WATCH FOR
Captain: Alex McGrath
Age: 28 | Position: Central Midfield | Nationality: England
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.
Key Player: Tate Robertson
Age: 28 | Position: Right-back/wing-back | Nationality: United States
The most consistent performer in this squad in 2025, and its most potent goal creator. Robertson broke the club’s single-season record last term with 10 assists, finishing joint-third in the league and completed 59 key passes, the fourth most in the league. His nine goals were the joint-most in the side, his 19 goal contributions the most. A finalist for best defender of the year and named to the Best XI in the league.
Young Player to Watch: Darwin Ortiz
Age: 19 | Position: Midfield | Nationality: Honduras
Chattanooga FC has no shortage of exciting young players, so it might seem strange to pick someone who only made seven appearances in 2025. 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 tender 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. He showed glimmers of his talent and what he’s capable of last year, I believe that with gradually more exposure he can become an important player in this team. I look forward to seeing more of him in 2026.
Coach: Richard Dixon (Interim)
Age: 35 | Position: Interim Head Coach | Nationality: Jamaica
Former captain Richard Dixon was appointed as the team’s interim Head Coach in early Feburay after the shock departure of Chris Nugent. Nugent’s exit came just a month out from the opening of the MLS Next Pro season.
The 35-year-old Dixon steps into his maiden stint as a head coach. The Jamaican was Chattanooga’s first ever professional player signed when the club brought him on board in 2020. A former protege of former CFC head coach Bill Elliott at the University of West Florida, Dixon enjoyed pro spells with Saint Louis FC (2015-17) and Oklahoma City (2017-19) of the USL. He also spent a year with the nearby Red Wolves in their first USL League One campaign in 2019. He retired from playing in 2024 and has been part of the club’s coaching ticket since.
It’s impossible to know at this juncture what kind of coach Dixon will be, how he plans to approach the job, especially in the circumstances he finds himself, and how this might impact the squad, especially those players recently signed who expected to be playing under Chris Nugent. Time will tell. Naturally, Dixon enjoys a huge amount of goodwill in the Scenic City meaning that he will have a lot of support in the dressing room, the board room, and Section 109, however long he is in charge.
It is unclear how long that will be. The club said in a press release that they would begin a global search for a new Head Coach immediately.
BIGGEST QUESTION
Who should coach CFC?
As interesting as it will be to see how the club improves in the league, how the squad gels, and if another Cup run can be achieved, it’s impossible to discuss CFC without first addressing the Head Coach issue.
Dixon is a club legend and a sensible choice as interim Head Coach. He knows the players, the culture, and the city well and the club is lucky to have him on hand to steady the ship. If they were to recruit from within, then Dixon or fellow club legend and CFC Women’s Head Coach Juan Hernández would be ideal choices. As much as I’d love to see either of them permanently lead this team someday, I imagine the club will need a more experienced head for now.
I’d like to see CFC shop for a new Head Coach from within the MLS Next Pro ecosphere. I say that because this is such a unique league (in terms of recruitment and structure) that a candidate from the USL may not be best suited to it. CFC are also unique within the MLS Next Pro world given they’re an independent side with a traditionally older playing squad than most. So, it would ideally be someone who has experience coaching older as well as younger players. There are the likes of Jack Collison or Richie Williams who are both, I believe, available. Or ambitious calls like Laurent Courtois, Ibrahim Sekagya, or Brett Uttley who would need to be pried away from MLS sides, but who might keen to head coach again. That’s the kind of Head Coach I’d like to see, for now.
But who knows….if this side immediately purrs under Dixon, give him the job!
REASON TO WATCH
Same as last year. Same as every year. As a well-supported and true ‘club’ there’s always a good reason to be interested in the fortunes of Chattanooga Football Club, especially if you can visit in-person and soak up the gameday atmosphere at Finley. Another continuing piece of interest is the fortunes of clubs independent from MLS franchises in Next Pro. CFC and Carolina Core are being joined in 2026 by Connecticut United with further independents coming in 2027 from Jacksonville, Cleveland, Grand Rapids, New York, and San Francisco. Both CFC and the Core reached the playoffs in 2025, showing there is room for such teams in this league. Watch Chattanooga to see them go one better and win the darn thing in 2026!
FIRST 5 GAMES
V Crown Legacy – Mar 1
v Connecticut United – Mar 8
@ Chicago Fire II – Mar 15
v Kalonji Pro-Profile (Cup tie) – Mar 18
@ Huntsville City – Mar 21
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