2025 Austin FC season

Austin FC

2025 season
Chairman	Anthony Precourt
Head coach	Nico Estévez
Stadium	Q2 Stadium
Average home league attendance	0
Away colors Third colors
←  2024 2026  →

The 2025 season will be Austin FC's fifth season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of soccer in the United States. They play in the league's Western Conference.

Background

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 to Austin FC. They lost their first ever U.S. Open Cup match against San Antonio FC in extra time, ^[2] won their first trophy, the Copa Tejas, and qualified for their first-ever MLS Cup Playoffs in just their second season as a franchise. ^[3] Austin FC advanced to the Western Conference Finals but lost to LAFC. ^[4] 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. ^[5] 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. ^[6]

Summary

Pre-season

Austin FC started their 2025 roster build the week after their final game of the 2024 season. On October 21, 2024, Austin announced they had extended Jáder Obrian's contract through 2026 with a 1-year club option, after being one of the top goal scorers for the 2024 season. ^[7] The next day, Austin FC announced the contract extension of Owen Wolff, the teams first homegrown player, signing him through 2027 with a 1-year club option. ^[8] With their third announcement in three days, Austin FC announced the extension of Brendan Hines-Ike through the 2025 season with a 1-year club option. ^[9] Austin FC continued agreeing to contract extensions for the fourth straight day, announcing Diego Rubio had been signed through the 2025 season with a 1-year club option. ^[10] Closing out a week of updates, Austin FC announced the hiring of Nico Estévez as the new coach, with plans for him to join the team after the November 2024 FIFA window. ^[11] On November 5, 2024, Austin FC announced their roster decision headed into the 2025 season. Austin exercised their club option on Daniel Pereira and Jimmy Farkarlun while they did not exercise the option for Matt Hedges, Jhojan Valencia, Alexander Ring, Ethan Finlay, and Matt Bersano. With Hector Jiménez out of contract the team continues to negotiate for his service during the 2025 season. ^[12] After exercising their option on Pereira, Austin FC announced they had signed him to a new contract through the 2025 season with an option for 2026. After recently obtaining his Green Card, Pereira will hold a senior spot on the roster, but no longer an international slot. ^[13] On December 9, 2024, Austin FC announced they had used their season buyout on Gyasi Zardes, opening up a senior slot and removing his salary from the 2025 budget. ^[14] On December 17, 2024, Austin FC announced they would participate in the Coachella Valley Invitational for the second year in a row. This event will take place in February 2025 and Austin will face LA Galaxy, Sporting Kansas City, and Charlotte FC. ^[15] The 2025 MLS SuperDraft was held on December 20, 2024. Austin traded its first round pick and $75,000 GAM to Colorado Rapids for a 2025 International slot. In the second round they selected defender Riley Thomas from North Carolina and in the third round they selected forward Patrick Gryczewski from Rhode Island. ^[16] On the last day of 2024, Austin FC announced they had signed Ilie for the 2025 season with an option for the 2026 season. ^[17] On January 6, 2025, Austin announced they had acquired Brandon Vázquez from C.F. Monterrey for a team-record transfer fee. Vázquez signed a contract through 2028 with a one year option and will hold a designated player and senior team slot on the roster. In order to move to the top of MLS's waiver order, Austin also had to trade $50,000 of 2025 GAM and $50,000 of 2026 GAM to San Jose Earthquakes. ^[18]

Management team

Position	Name
Chairman	Anthony Precourt
Sporting Director	Rodolfo Borrell [19]
Head coach	Nico Estévez [11]
Assistant coach	Davy Arnaud
Assistant coach	Alberto González [20]
Goalkeeping Coach	Francisco Galán [20]

Roster

As of January 6,2025 ^[update] . ^[21]

No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (age)	Signed in	Previous club	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Brad Stuver		GK	(1991-04-16) April 16, 1991 (age 33)	2020	New York City FC	0	0
12	Damian Las		GK	(2002-04-11) April 11, 2002 (age 22)	2022	Fulham	0	0
30	Stefan Cleveland		GK	(1994-05-25) May 25, 1994 (age 30)	2024	Seattle Sounders FC	0	0
Defenders
3	Mikkel Desler		DF	(1995-02-19) February 19, 1995 (age 29)	2024	Toulouse FC	0	0
4	Brendan Hines-Ike		DF	(1994-11-30) November 30, 1994 (age 30)	2024	D.C. United	0	0
15	Leo Väisänen		CB	(1997-07-23) July 23, 1997 (age 27)	2023	IF Elfsborg	0	0
17	Jon Gallagher		LB/RB	(1996-02-23) February 23, 1996 (age 28)	2020	Atlanta United FC	0	0
18	Julio Cascante		CB	(1993-10-03) October 3, 1993 (age 31)	2020	Portland Timbers	0	0
21	Oleksandr Svatok		CB	(1994-09-27) September 27, 1994 (age 30)	2024	SC Dnipro-1	0	0
23	Žan Kolmanič (U22) [a]		LB	(2000-03-03) March 3, 2000 (age 24)	2021	Maribor	0	0
29	Guilherme Biro		LB	(2000-05-02) May 2, 2000 (age 24)	2024	Mirassol	0	0
Midfielders
6	Daniel Pereira (GA)		MF	(2000-07-14) July 14, 2000 (age 24)	2021	Virginia Tech Hokies	0	0
7	Osman Bukari (DP)		MF	(1998-12-13) December 13, 1998 (age 26)	2024	Red Star Belgrade	0	0
10	Sebastián Driussi (DP)(captain)		MF	(1996-02-09) February 9, 1996 (age 28)	2021	Zenit Saint Petersburg	0	0
19	CJ Fodrey (GA)		MF	(2004-02-10) February 10, 2004 (age 20)	2023	San Diego State	0	0
32	Micah Burton (HG)		MF	(2006-03-26) March 26, 2006 (age 18)	2024	Austin FC II	0	0
33	Owen Wolff (HG)		MF	(2004-12-30) December 30, 2004 (age 20)	2020	Austin FC Academy	0	0
	Ilie Sánchez		MF	(1990-11-21) November 21, 1990 (age 34)	2025	Los Angeles FC	0	0
Forward
9	Brandon Vázquez		FW	(1998-10-14) October 14, 1998 (age 26)	2025	C.F. Monterrey	0	0
11	Jáder Obrian		FW	(1995-05-18) May 18, 1995 (age 29)	2024	FC Dallas	0	0
14	Diego Rubio		FW	(1993-05-15) May 15, 1993 (age 31)	2024	Colorado Rapids	0	0
26	Jimmy Farkarlun		FW	(2001-07-14) July 14, 2001 (age 23)	2024	Austin FC II	0	0

1. U22 initiative

Transfers

In

Date	Position	No.	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
December 31, 2024	MF		Ilie Sánchez	Los Angeles FC	Free Agent	[17]
January 6, 2025	FW	9	Brandon Vázquez	C.F. Monterrey	$10 million	[22]

Out

Date	Position	No.	Name	To	Type	Fee	Ref.
November 5, 2024	DF	2	Matt Hedges		Declined contract option	N/A	[12]
	MF	5	Jhojan Valencia	Universidad Católica	Declined contract option	N/A	[12] [23]
	MF	8	Alexander Ring		Declined contract option	N/A	[12]
	MF	13	Ethan Finlay		Declined contract option	N/A	[12]
	GK	20	Matt Bersano		Declined contract option	N/A	[12]
	DF	16	Hector Jiménez		Out of Contract	N/A	[12]
December 9, 2024	FW	9	Gyasi Zardes		Contract buyout	$1,000,000	[14]

MLS Re-Entry Draft picks

Main article: 2024 MLS Re-Entry Draft

2024 Austin FC Re-Entry Picks
Round	Selection	Player	Position	Team	Notes	Ref.
1	12	PASS
2	12 (42)	PASS

MLS SuperDraft picks

Main article: 2025 MLS SuperDraft

2025 Austin FC SuperDraft Picks
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes	Ref.
1	12	N/A			Acquired 2025 International roster slot in trade with Chicago Fire for 12th pick and $75,000 in 2026 GAM	[16]
2	12 (42)	Riley Thomas	DF	North Carolina
3	12 (72)	Patrick Gryczewski	FW	Rhode Island

New contracts

Date	Pos.	No.	Player	Contract until	Ref.
October 21, 2024	FW	11	Jáder Obrian	2026 + 1yr option	[7]
October 22, 2024	MF	33	Owen Wolff	2027 + 1yr option	[8]
October 23, 2024	DF	4	Brendan Hines-Ike	2025 + 1yr option	[9]
October 24, 2024	FW	14	Diego Rubio	2025 + 1yr option	[10]
November 8, 2024	MF	6	Daniel Pereira	2025 + 1yr option	[13]

Non-competative fixtures

Preseason

Date	Opponent	Venue	Location	Result [a]	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
January 21	New England Revolution	IMG Academy Bradenton	Bradenton, Florida			N/A
January 24	Charleston Battery	Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex	Clearwater, Florida			N/A
January 24	Louisville City FC	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas			N/A
February 5	LA Galaxy	Coachella Valley Invitational	Indio, California			N/A
February 8	Sporting Kansas City	Coachella Valley Invitational	Indio, California			N/A
February 12	Charlotte FC	Coachella Valley Invitational	Indio, California			N/A
February 15	Nashville FC	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas			N/A

Competitive fixtures

Overall record

Competition	Starting round	Record
		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
MLS regular season	Matchday 1					!—
U.S. Open Cup						!—
Leagues Cup	Group Stage					!—
Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	!—

Source: Soccerway

Matches

Matchday	Date	Opponent	Venue	Location	Result [a]	Scorers	Attendance	Referee	Position
1	February 22	Sporting Kansas City	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
2	March 1	Portland Timbers	Providence Park	Portland, Oregon
3	March 8	Colorado Rapids	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
4	March 15	Los Angeles FC	BMO Stadium	Los Angeles, California
5	March 23	San Diego FC	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
6	March 30	St. Louis City SC	Energizer Park	St. Louis, Missouri
7	April 5	Portland Timbers	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
8	April 12	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	BC Place	Vancouver, British Columbia
9	April 19	LA Galaxy	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
10 Copa Tejas	April 26	Houston Dynamo FC	Shell Energy Stadium	Houston, Texas
11	May 3	Minnesota United FC	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
12	May 10	FC Cincinnati	TQL Stadium	Cincinnati, Ohio
13	May 14	Atlanta United FC	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
14	May 17	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
15	May 24	Minnesota United FC	Allianz Field	Saint Paul, Minnesota
16	May 28	Real Salt Lake	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
17	May 31	San Diego FC	Snapdragon Stadium	San Diego, California
18	June 7	Colorado Rapids	Dick's Sporting Goods Park	Commerce City, Colorado
19	June 14	New York Red Bulls	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
20	June 28	Seattle Sounders FC	Lumen Field	Seattle, Washington
21	July 5	Los Angeles FC	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
22	July 12	New England Revolution	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
23	July 16	LA Galaxy	Dignity Health Sports Park	Carson, California
24	July 26	D.C. United	Audi Field	Washington, D.C.
25 Copa Tejas	August 9	Houston Dynamo FC	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
26 Copa Tejas	August 16	FC Dallas	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
27	August 23	CF Montréal	Stade Saputo	Montreal, Quebec
28	August 30	San Jose Earthquakes	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
29	September 7	Sporting Kansas City	Children's Mercy Park	Kansas City, Kansas
30 Copa Tejas	September 13	FC Dallas	Toyota Stadium	Frisco, Texas
31	September 20	Seattle Sounders FC	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
32	September 27	Real Salt Lake	America First Field	Sandy, Utah
33	October 4	St. Louis City SC	Q2 Stadium	Austin, Texas
34	October 18	San Jose Earthquakes	PayPal Park	San Jose, California

1. Austin FC's score written first

U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2025 U.S. Open Cup

Leagues Cup

Main article: 2025 Leagues Cup

Statistics

Appearances and goals

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		Other [a]
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	USA	Brad Stuver	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
3	DF	DEN	Mikkel Desler	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
4	DF	USA	Brendan Hines-Ike	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
6	MF	VEN	Daniel Pereira	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
7	MF	GHA	Osman Bukari	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
9	FW	USA	Brandon Vázquez	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
10	MF	ARG	Sebastián Driussi	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
11	FW	COL	Jáder Obrian	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
14	FW	CHI	Diego Rubio	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
15	DF	FIN	Leo Väisänen	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
17	FW	IRL	Jon Gallagher	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
18	DF	CRC	Julio Cascante	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
19	MF	USA	CJ Fodrey	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
21	DF	UKR	Oleksandr Svatok	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
23	DF	SVN	Žan Kolmanič	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
26	FW	LBR	Jimmy Farkarlun	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
29	DF	BRA	Guilherme Biro	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
30	GK	USA	Stefan Cleveland	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
32	MF	USA	Micah Burton	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
33	MF	USA	Owen Wolff	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	ESP	Ilie Sánchez	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0

• Last updated: January 3, 2025
• Source: https://www.austinfc.com/stats/

1. Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Player	MLS			USOC			Other [a]			Total
1	GK	Brad Stuver	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	Mikkel Desler	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	DF	Brendan Hines-Ike	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	MF	Daniel Pereira	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	MF	Osman Bukari	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW	Brandon Vázquez	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	MF	Sebastián Driussi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	FW	Jáder Obrian	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	FW	Diego Rubio	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	DF	Leo Väisänen	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	DF	Jon Gallagher	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	CB	Julio Cascante	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	MF	CJ Fodrey	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	DF	Oleksandr Svatok	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	LB	Žan Kolmanič	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	WG	Jimmy Farkarlun	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	DF	Guilherme Biro	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	GK	Stefan Cleveland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	MF	Micah Burton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF	Owen Wolff	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	Ilie Sánchez	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

• Last updated: January 3, 2025
• Source: https://www.austinfc.com/stats/

Notes;

1. Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup

References

1. "Conference Standings". MLSSoccer.com. MLS. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
2. "San Antonio FC vs. Austin FC". ESPN.com. ESPN. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
3. 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 17, 2023.
4. 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 17, 2023.
5. 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 17, 2023. The team overachieved last year, the team underachieved this year
6. "Austin FC Parts Ways with Head Coach Josh Wolff". Austin FC. October 6, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
7. "Austin FC Signs Winger Jáder Obrian to Contract Extension". Austin FC. October 21, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
8. "Austin FC and Owen Wolff Agree to New Contract". Austin FC. October 22, 2024. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
9. "Brendan Hines-Ike Signs Contract Extension with Austin FC". Austin FC. October 23, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
10. "Austin FC Agrees to New Contract with Diego Rubio". Austin FC. October 24, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
11. "Austin FC Announces Nico Estévez as Club's New Head Coach". Austin FC. October 25, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
12. "Austin FC Announces Roster Decisions Ahead of 2025 Season". austinfc. Austin FC. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
13. "Austin FC Signs Dani Pereira to New Contract". Austin FC. November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
14. "Austin FC Exercises 2025 Contract Buyout on Gyasi Zardes". Austin FC. December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
15. "Austin FC to Compete in 2025 Coachella Valley Invitational". Austin FC. December 17, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
16. Gordan, Colby (December 20, 2024). "MLS SuperDraft: Austin FC trades first-round pick for international roster spot". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
17. austinfc (December 31, 2024). "Austin FC Adds Free Agent Midfielder Ilie Sánchez". Austin FC. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
18. "Brandon Vazquez Joins Austin FC as Designated Player for Club-Record Transfer Fee | Austin FC". Austin FC. January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
19. "Rodolfo Borrell Joins Austin FC As Sporting Director". Austin FC. June 30, 2023. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
20. "Austin FC Announces Additions to Coaching Staff Ahead of 2025 Season". Austin FC. December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
21. "Club – Players". AustinFC .com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
22. "Austin FC acquire USMNT striker Brandon Vazquez from CF Monterrey | MLSSoccer.com". Major League Socccer. January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
23. "Jhojan Valencia fue presentado como nuevo jugador de Universidad Católica: "Llegué a un grande del fútbol chileno"" [Jhojan Valencia was introduced as a new Universidad Católica player: "I joined a great Chilean football team"]. ESPN.cl (in Spanish). December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024.