Full up (for now): What Owen Wolff's move to Austin FC's senior roster means
Having Owen Wolff on a U22 deal is the best roster-building way to have him on a senior roster spot. But, for the time being, Austin FC has no senior roster spots remaining.
On Monday, Austin FC made it official, announcing Owen Wolff was signed to a new U22 Initiative deal keeping him — in theory, at least — in Verde through the close of the 2029-30 season.
It's in theory because Wolff, 21, has expressed ambitions to test his mettle in Europe. Given his breakout season in 2025 with seven goals and 12 assists in all competitions, it's entirely conceivable he could make the move to a European team within the 4 1/2 years that the new contract covers him for – especially if he keeps improving as he has.
Until then, as we discussed at length on Saturday, Wolff is likely on a bigger salary number with the new deal, but because of the U22 Initiative rules, will only count for $200,000 of Verde's salary budget for the length of the U22 contract — regardless of what level of pay raise he got.
(And, given it's a contract covering him until he's 25, it's likely that the contract has graduated payment increases commensurate with his projected value to Austin FC should he opt to stay with the club – though presumably not of the variety that made Diego Fagundez's final Austin FC contract increasingly untenable.)
But the move does something else that was eventually needing to happen: It moved Wolff from a supplemental to a senior roster spot. With that move, all of the club's 20 allotted senior roster spots are occupied. And, with the Jayden Nelson acquisition last month, Verde also has all eight of its international spots occupied with the 2026 roster resetting to the baseline of eight per team.
Let's look at the state of the roster and ponder.
The state of the roster
Here's what Austin FC sporting director Rodolfo Borrell is working with in the first week of the new year — just 47 days from the first match of the 2026 season.
Goalkeepers
Senior: Brad Stuver; Supplemental: Damian Las
While getting a second supplemental goalkeeper on the roster isn't out of the question, the club could function with just these two on the roster, elevating whoever emerges as the Austin FC II starting keeper via a short-term call-up should either Stuver or Las come down with injury or illness for one to four matchups. This appears to be Verde's most stable position: All-Star starter, with last season's best USL keeper as the backup. We're good here.
Defenders
Senior: Jon Bell, Guilherme Biro, Mikkel Desler, Mateja Djordjević, Jon Gallagher, Brendan Hines-Ike, Žan Kolmanič, Joseph Rosales, Oleksandr Svatok; Supplemental: Riley Thomas
Verde's carrying nine senior players and one supplemental player for what will likely shift between a back four and back five for 2026 ... but this could easily change in several ways over the next six weeks. Look for Bell to possibly land at a salary allowing him to count as a supplemental player, and look for Biro to possibly move to a team outside of the league.
Also, though this doesn't affect the senior roster, a sharp-eyed fan saw Riley Thomas putting Austin FC workout wear up for sale on Facebook Marketplace, despite him being under contract this year with an option for next year.
Otherwise, it's inconceivable that Borrell would look to offload an additional defender (assuming the Biro rumors are true), unless there's one incoming. Given that Rosales cost $1.5 million in a cash-for-player trade, that's likely going to remain the one big change on defense ... but certainly there could be another upgrade in the works, given that the one definitive swap was offloading Julio Cascante and bringing in Bell.
Though both Wolff and Pereira could conceivably move for GAM, they're also currently the two surest things in the Verde midfield. Among the other senior midfielders, Dubersarsky is a still-green midfielder with just 688 MLS minutes under his belt, Šabović had a shaky season with just a goal and an assist in nearly 1800 minutes, and Sánchez visibly slowed down in 2025 and is now 35.
Of the supplementals, Torres now appears the more promising of the two despite Burton's long history with the club's academy and second team.
Verde's still crying out for a creative attacking midfielder, but unless there's a move out for Šabović or a surprise retirement announcement for Sánchez, it seems Borrell would have to subtract from another position to add such a player. Unless, of course, the plan is to cultivate Wolff into that creative attacking midfielder, leaving Pereira and Šabović as the team's two senior No. 8s.
Forwards
Senior: CJ Fodrey, Jayden Nelson, Jáder Obrian, Robert Taylor, Myrto Uzuni, Brandon Vázquez
Obrian and Taylor represented $1.1 million in salary outlay and managed just a single goal and single assist collectively. If there's a buyout coming for one or both, that would likely happen soon; otherwise, the two head into 2026 with the team's worst contracts, given the spend-for-production math required when putting together an MLS roster.
While Nelson is a versatile player who brings immediate upgrade value to either wing, the rest of the frontline core is full of question marks. Fodrey showed late-season promise but will certainly be tested as a probable opening day starter, Uzuni has missed PK demons to wrestle in a season to follow an underwhelming-given-his-talent debut season, and Vázquez is recovering from a serious injury, with his start date and his post-injury abilities yet unknown.
Despite the Tadeo Allende rumors, which would return a third designated player to this position group, Verde is looking increasingly locked in to this being the group of players primarily charged with scoring goals. It could all work out: Uzuni could have the bounceback season some are wishcasting. Vázquez could come back early, healthy, and motivated. Nelson could fit in seamlessly as a wide playmaker looking like an Osman Bukari upgrade at a fraction of the price, and Fodrey could continue to develop into a capable and consistent MLS starter.
However, there's also a scenario in which this falls apart: Fodrey regresses, Nelson struggles to adjust, Obrian and Taylor stay with the squad and minimally contribute, Uzuni continues his mental struggles and becomes the focal point of "Why can't Austin score?" stories (for the second straight year, if you harken back to the first half of 2025), and Vázquez takes longer to get back than expected and/or isn't the same player that he was in 2025 let alone 2022.
While the squad is technically complete, with just supplemental slots to fill, it still appears to be a work in progress — with moves out required to precede perceived upgrades coming in.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
Owen Wolff is reportedly renewing his commitment to Austin FC with an arrangement rewarding both player and club. Here's what it means for the remaining weeks leading up to the season opener.
As we officially launch into 2026, we look at a chart that tells us a lot about 2025 ... and how Verde needs to improve. (But they did improve compared to what 2024's chart revealed.)
A fan favorite may be on his way out, but an MLS Cup champion with a playoff goal contribution of nearly two per 90 minutes might be on his way in. One is more likely than the other.
Rosales comes to Austin in a cash-for-trade deal, and then by virtue of a new contract he signed, will be Verde until June 2029 with an option for the '29-'30 season.
On Monday, Austin FC made it official, announcing Owen Wolff was signed to a new U22 Initiative deal keeping him — in theory, at least — in Verde through the close of the 2029-30 season.
It's in theory because Wolff, 21, has expressed ambitions to test his mettle in Europe. Given his breakout season in 2025 with seven goals and 12 assists in all competitions, it's entirely conceivable he could make the move to a European team within the 4 1/2 years that the new contract covers him for – especially if he keeps improving as he has.
Until then, as we discussed at length on Saturday, Wolff is likely on a bigger salary number with the new deal, but because of the U22 Initiative rules, will only count for $200,000 of Verde's salary budget for the length of the U22 contract — regardless of what level of pay raise he got.
(And, given it's a contract covering him until he's 25, it's likely that the contract has graduated payment increases commensurate with his projected value to Austin FC should he opt to stay with the club – though presumably not of the variety that made Diego Fagundez's final Austin FC contract increasingly untenable.)
But the move does something else that was eventually needing to happen: It moved Wolff from a supplemental to a senior roster spot. With that move, all of the club's 20 allotted senior roster spots are occupied. And, with the Jayden Nelson acquisition last month, Verde also has all eight of its international spots occupied with the 2026 roster resetting to the baseline of eight per team.
Let's look at the state of the roster and ponder.
The state of the roster
Here's what Austin FC sporting director Rodolfo Borrell is working with in the first week of the new year — just 47 days from the first match of the 2026 season.
Goalkeepers
Senior: Brad Stuver; Supplemental: Damian Las
While getting a second supplemental goalkeeper on the roster isn't out of the question, the club could function with just these two on the roster, elevating whoever emerges as the Austin FC II starting keeper via a short-term call-up should either Stuver or Las come down with injury or illness for one to four matchups. This appears to be Verde's most stable position: All-Star starter, with last season's best USL keeper as the backup. We're good here.
Defenders
Senior: Jon Bell, Guilherme Biro, Mikkel Desler, Mateja Djordjević, Jon Gallagher, Brendan Hines-Ike, Žan Kolmanič, Joseph Rosales, Oleksandr Svatok; Supplemental: Riley Thomas
Verde's carrying nine senior players and one supplemental player for what will likely shift between a back four and back five for 2026 ... but this could easily change in several ways over the next six weeks. Look for Bell to possibly land at a salary allowing him to count as a supplemental player, and look for Biro to possibly move to a team outside of the league.
Also, though this doesn't affect the senior roster, a sharp-eyed fan saw Riley Thomas putting Austin FC workout wear up for sale on Facebook Marketplace, despite him being under contract this year with an option for next year.
Otherwise, it's inconceivable that Borrell would look to offload an additional defender (assuming the Biro rumors are true), unless there's one incoming. Given that Rosales cost $1.5 million in a cash-for-player trade, that's likely going to remain the one big change on defense ... but certainly there could be another upgrade in the works, given that the one definitive swap was offloading Julio Cascante and bringing in Bell.
Midfielders
Senior: Nicolás Dubersarsky, Dani Pereira, Besard Šabović, Ilie Sánchez, Owen Wolff; Supplemental: Micah Burton, Ervin Torres
Though both Wolff and Pereira could conceivably move for GAM, they're also currently the two surest things in the Verde midfield. Among the other senior midfielders, Dubersarsky is a still-green midfielder with just 688 MLS minutes under his belt, Šabović had a shaky season with just a goal and an assist in nearly 1800 minutes, and Sánchez visibly slowed down in 2025 and is now 35.
Of the supplementals, Torres now appears the more promising of the two despite Burton's long history with the club's academy and second team.
Verde's still crying out for a creative attacking midfielder, but unless there's a move out for Šabović or a surprise retirement announcement for Sánchez, it seems Borrell would have to subtract from another position to add such a player. Unless, of course, the plan is to cultivate Wolff into that creative attacking midfielder, leaving Pereira and Šabović as the team's two senior No. 8s.
Forwards
Senior: CJ Fodrey, Jayden Nelson, Jáder Obrian, Robert Taylor, Myrto Uzuni, Brandon Vázquez
Obrian and Taylor represented $1.1 million in salary outlay and managed just a single goal and single assist collectively. If there's a buyout coming for one or both, that would likely happen soon; otherwise, the two head into 2026 with the team's worst contracts, given the spend-for-production math required when putting together an MLS roster.
While Nelson is a versatile player who brings immediate upgrade value to either wing, the rest of the frontline core is full of question marks. Fodrey showed late-season promise but will certainly be tested as a probable opening day starter, Uzuni has missed PK demons to wrestle in a season to follow an underwhelming-given-his-talent debut season, and Vázquez is recovering from a serious injury, with his start date and his post-injury abilities yet unknown.
Despite the Tadeo Allende rumors, which would return a third designated player to this position group, Verde is looking increasingly locked in to this being the group of players primarily charged with scoring goals. It could all work out: Uzuni could have the bounceback season some are wishcasting. Vázquez could come back early, healthy, and motivated. Nelson could fit in seamlessly as a wide playmaker looking like an Osman Bukari upgrade at a fraction of the price, and Fodrey could continue to develop into a capable and consistent MLS starter.
However, there's also a scenario in which this falls apart: Fodrey regresses, Nelson struggles to adjust, Obrian and Taylor stay with the squad and minimally contribute, Uzuni continues his mental struggles and becomes the focal point of "Why can't Austin score?" stories (for the second straight year, if you harken back to the first half of 2025), and Vázquez takes longer to get back than expected and/or isn't the same player that he was in 2025 let alone 2022.
While the squad is technically complete, with just supplemental slots to fill, it still appears to be a work in progress — with moves out required to precede perceived upgrades coming in.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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