Preseason Perspective – Chattanooga Red Wolves II

Philip Farrell
6 hours ago
4 min read

NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com

EAST RIDGE, Tn --- The Chattanooga Red Wolves SC II launches its 2026 UPSL Fall season tomorrow night with a visit to Tennessee United in Hendersonville. The game will kick off at 7pm (CT) at Drake’s Creek Park.

Initially joining the league as the Chattanooga Red Wolves U23 in February, the Wolves are entering their second UPSL season in club history, having wound up their Spring campaign in Georgia North.

Red Wolves II is the latest iteration of the parent organization’s work on bridging the gap to its senior team. The Utah (formerly Park City) Red Wolves still play out in Salt Lake in USL League Two while there was previously a Dalton Red Wolves in USL League Two across the border in North Georgia that was discontinued in 2023.

In Spring, the Red Wolves II topped the competitive UPSL Premier Division Georgia North conference, went past Scenic City SC on penalties in the Semi-Finals but then lost on penalties to LSA Mustangs in the conference Final. It was a tough end for a side that really grew into the season. There’s a strong player pathway to the first team with Alexis Plaza, Riley Binns, Austin Montoya, and Tristan Torres all training with and making the bench for the seniors so far this season and winger Nathan Donoho making six first team appearances.

Last week, I spoke with Assistant Head Coach Nathaniel Chmielowicz about the upcoming Fall season and the club’s preparations.

Nathaniel, can you tell me about the mood at the club after a strong Spring and playoff run.

Chmielowicz: It’s good. We had a solid start to our second team program in Spring; a lot of guys came off fresh. Last February, they didn’t really know each other, and the first few results weren’t good, but we slowly built on it. We now have a lot of new guys for this Fall season and they’re trying to learn about each other quickly.

It’s only been a month, but it feels like a while since we’ve played meaningful games. We have a hungry group this Fall with lots of guys who want to compete, not just for us, but for the first team and other clubs if that’s where they end up.

So, have there been a lot of new faces joining this off season?

Chmielowicz: Definitely some of the same core. Some were with us in Spring, played at local colleges, some going off to college; we’ll miss then. But we will have a familiar core. There are Academy guys coming to play with us and we’ve added some new faces and some guys we’re really excited about.

What are Chmielowicz’s thoughts on the new KY-TN alignment?

Chmielowicz: My main thought: we’re excited to not drive to Atlanta as much anymore. Looking at the new alignment, there’s a lot of quality groups there. Especially in Chattanooga, the game against Scenic City will be meaningful, we’re excited about that. There are good squads in Nashville also. It’s exciting to play quality opposition, week in and week out, and there’s no easy games. Cliche as that may be, it’s true.

As mentioned, this season (2026 USL League One) Alexis Plaza and Riley Binns each has a bench appearance for the Red Wolves senior team, Austin Montoya and Tristan Torres have three and four respectively, while Nathan Donoho has made six first team appearances. All five are key parts of the Red Wolves II. Their immersion into the senior side, which extends also to training as well as matchday squads, is testament to the work being done by Chmielowicz and Head Coach Greg Warden.

With that in-mind; what is Red Wolves II’s primary aim for the season? Does the club prioritize UPSL league performance or is preparing guys for the senior team to key driver?

Chmielowicz: It’s a bit of both. We want to compete and to prepare guys to be ready for the first team. We have guys already on academy contracts. If Scott [Mackenzie, Red Wolves Head Coach] calls their number, we wanna make sure they don’t miss a beat, so they can jump right in. We also want to make sure the other guys here are ready to play with the Red Wolves if called or elsewhere if that’s where they end up. The best way to do that is to put ourselves on a bigger platform, win playoffs and go further. Greg, Scott, and Luke [Warden, Red Wolves Assistant Coach] are always in communication about goals for this team. We aim to build on what we did in Spring, go further, and develop.

The Red Wolves II schedule. Photo credit: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Communications

My thanks to Nathaniel for taking the time to talk to the National Soccer Network (NSN). NSN will be providing in-depth coverage of the KY-TN conference this Fall, with match previews, player and coach interviews, and match reports charting the course of an exciting season to come.