As another FCC season comes to an end, this time at the hands of a 4-0 loss to Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, thoughts are turning to the 2026 MLS season and who will be on the roster. Chris Albright and the front office will have their work cut out for them this offseason as half of the current 30-man roster does not have guaranteed contracts for 2026. How will Albright and crew put the puzzle together?
FCC Roster Review
Below is a listing of the players by position group, and their contract status:
Goalkeeping
Under Contract for 2026 (2): Roman Celentano, Paul Walters
Option for 2026 (1): Evan Louro
Loanees (0):
Defense
Under Contract for 2026 (5): Gilberto Flores, Miles Robinson, Nick Hagglund, Ender Echenique, Luca Orellano
Option for 2026 (4): Teenage Hadebe, Matt Miazga, Brad Smith, Alvas Powell
Loanees (2): Lukas Engel, Dominik Marczuk
Midfield
Under Contract for 2026 (5): Evander, Samuel Gidi, Pavel Bucha, Obi Nwobodo, Dado Valenzuela
Option for 2026 (4): Yuya Kubo, Brian Anunga, Stiven Jimenez, Kenji Dem
Loanees (0):
Attack
Under Contract for 2026 (2): Kévin Denkey, Stefan Chirila
Option for 2026 (1): Kei Kamara
Loanees (2): Brenner, Ayoub Jabbari
Roster Build Review
Currently, MLS allows each club to build their roster using one of two models, the two Designated Players (DP)/four Under-22 (U22) players + $2 million General Allocation Money (GAM) model, or a three DP/three U22 model. An MLS club can pay a DP any amount of money they want, but the player will only take up a designated amount of club’s salary cap. A U22 player must be 22 years old or younger throughout the year they sign their contract, and will only count $200,000 against the salary cap. There are some rules as to how much they can be paid, but let’s not get into that.
In 2025 FCC employed the 2 DP/4 U22 model and used every penny available in cap space to build a roster that was all in to win the MLS Cup. The DPs were Evander and Kévin Denkey, along with U22s Gilberto Flores, Samuel Gidi, Ender Echenique, and Dominik Marczuk.
2026 Roster process
Miles Robinson Re-Signed
Albright and company have already started making decisions that will affect the 2026 FCC roster. On September 10th, it was announced that FCC had signed Miles Robinson to a two-year contract extension, which also includes an option for a third season. It has been reported by Tom Bogert of The Athletic and Laurel Pfahler of Queen City Press that the extension will make Robinson a DP. This signing seems to signal that FCC will be employing the 3DP/3 U22 roster model for the next season, with Evander, Kévin Denkey, and Robinson being the DPs.
There are two consequences of the Robinson signing that need to be resolved rather quickly. First, one of the U22 players will need to either be taken off that designation or leave the club. It appears that salary cap space is going to be at a premium this season, so I would expect one of the U22 players to no longer be with FCC. The most likely candidate to leave FCC would be Dominik Marczuk. FCC acquired Marczuk on loan from Real Salt Lake and can decline his purchase option.
The second consequence, and some would say the more important one, is who will be FCC’s attacking players in 2026. Brenner returned to the club via a loan from Italian club Udinese. The loan meant that Brenner would be a member of FCC until the end of the 2025 MLS season, but that FCC could pay a purchase option to keep him in Cincinnati for the next several years. It has been reported by Laurel Pfahler that the purchase option price is set at over $6 million, which would require FCC to make Brenner a DP. However, FCC could complete a new deal with Udinese to bring back Brenner on a non-DP deal. If the club is not able to complete this deal, one of the attackers, Evander, Denkey, or Brenner will need to be shipped out in order for the club to be roster compliant for the 2026 season.
With the Robinson decision made, what else does the club have to finish?
Option Decisions
FCC will need to make decisions on whether to activate options for 14 players from the 2025 roster. For 10 of the players, FCC need only activate the optional years on the players’ current contracts. These decisions must be reported to MLS no later than November 26th but will be made public at the club’s discretion.
The other four players that the front office needs to make decisions on are players that were loaned to FCC in 2025. It is common for a fee to already be set in this type of deal, and FCC must decide if they are willing to pay the fee to retain the player.
There are several key members of the team who are awaiting word on if they will be a member of FCC in 2026. Among these players are Captain Matt Miazga, Centerback Teenage Hadebe, fan favorite Yuya Kubo, and the prodigal son Brenner. With how tight it appears FCC’s 2026 salary cap is going to be, I could see several of these four players leaving the club.
Evan Louro’s play towards the end of this season should lead to his being retained by the club. He would be a key member of the team in 2026 as a capable backup for Roman Celentano, especially since Alec Kann announced his retirement at the conclusion of this season.
Roster Building Events
In the month of December, there will be several opportunities for FCC to add players to their roster.
Free Agency
Starting on December 10th, clubs can engage with players other than their own that are eligible for Free Agency. Players who are out of contract, at least 24 years old, and have a minimum of four years of service time, are eligible for Free Agency.
MLS will make the list of Free Agents available on December 9th.
Re-Entry Process, Stage 1
Players who are at least 22 years old, have a minimum of one year of service time, and who are not eligible for Free Agency, are eligible for the Re-Entry process. This process is run like a draft, with the selection order determined in reverse order of the season standings and does take the playoffs into account. The club that wins MLS Cup will select last. Stage 1 will take place on December 11th.
The list of players eligible for Stage 1 of the Re-entry Process will be released by MLS on December 9th.
End-of-Years Waivers
Players who do not meet the requirements for Free Agency or the Re-Entry process will be put on waivers. The waiver process is conducted in reverse order of the season standings considering postseason results. Teams with the worst records will get to select the player they would like to take from waivers first. The Waivers process will run from December 9th through December 11th at 5:00 p.m. Once the waiver process is completed on the 11th, any player that is not chosen will be available for any team to acquire on a first-come, first-served basis.
The list of Waiver eligible players will be released by MLS on December 9th.
Re-Entry Process, Stage 2
A second stage of the Re-Entry process will take place on December 17th. Players who were not selected in Stage 1 of the process will be eligible for Stage 2 if they did not sign a contract with their previous club between stages of the Re-Entry Process.
The list of players available for Stage 2 of the Re-Entry Process will be released by MLS on December 17th.
MLS SuperDraft
The 2026 MLS SuperDraft will be conducted on December 18th. The draft will consist of three rounds, it will be conducted in reverse order of the season standings considering postseason results.
Follow Cincinnati Soccer Talk to get the latest FC Cincinnati information, including all of the offseason roster moves.
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