Houston Dynamo’s biggest needs for 2026
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The 2025 Houston Dynamo season is over, roster decisions were announced, and we’re fully into the offseason as Major League Soccer reconvenes the playoffs this weekend. The Dynamo declined the options on 10 players, signaling another don’t say rebuild reshuffling of the roster as we head into 2026.
The moves leave Houston with 19 players under contract. There could be other players leaving this offseason, with the potential for trades to free up more Allocation Money or salary cap space as the Dynamo look to get back to a playoff team.
With MLS free agency opening on December 10, the offseason will officially swing into action. So, let’s take a look at the biggest needs for the Houston Dynamo heading into the 2026 season.
The state of the roster
The Dynamo currently have 2 Designated Players and 3 U22 Initiative Players. Ondrej Lingr, who is classified as a DP, can be bought down with allocation money to free up a DP spot.
Houston has two options with its roster model, either 2 Designated Players and 4 U22 Players or 3 DPs and 3 U22s. If they choose the 2-4 model, which they used last year, freeing up Lingr’s spot would mean they have 1 more DP they could sign and 1 more U22. If they decide to “swing big” with the 3 DP model, they could theoretically add 2 Designated Players.
Sebastian Kowalczyk’s departure frees up some Targeted Allocation Money as he was a TAM Player. Another TAM player in Amine Bassi looks to be leaving as well, which would free up even more money. At the last release from Major League Soccer, the Dynamo had just under $3 million in GAM (General Allocation Money) available. That number will change, due to several factors heading into 2026.
Ben Olsen has a system and a style of play that he is set in. Before last season it proved to be successful. There is no reason to believe the Dynamo’s formation and game model will change. With that being said, let's look at a few areas the Dynamo need to address.
Solve the center back question
Ever since Micael was sold on the eve of the 2025 season, the center back position has been a rotating door for the Dynamo. It remains a big question mark as we now head into 2026.
The first name on the team sheet in that position is Erik Sviatchenko, when healthy. That caveat, when healthy, is a problem. Sviatchenko is a rock and a leader in the back, but he missed a lot of time last season with a nagging injury. The Dynamo are a completely different team when he is in the lineup. Also, the Dane just turned 34 years old last month. Center backs seem to have a little longer career than players in other positions, but Sviatchenko is at the sunset of his football calling.
Antonio Carlos got a number of starts at the end of the season. Like Sviatchenko, Carlos is also getting toward the end of his career. The Brazilian will turn 33 in March. Can the Dynamo really go into a season relying on a 34- and 33-year-old starting at center back, both of whom have shown some injury concerns recently? The obvious answer to that is no.
Sviatchenko and Antonio Carlos are the only two center backs currently on the roster. Pablo Ortiz, who was on loan last season, is negotiating a return for 2026 but nothing has been decided yet.
The Dynamo likely need at least one starting caliber center back, in addition to bringing in depth. Ethan Bartlow and Daniel Steres provided that depth in years past but both had their options declined. Do Pat Onstad and the front office go big for a Walker Zimmerman type that is proven in MLS, or do they go younger and perhaps from outside the league? Whatever they do, this is an area where the Dynamo will be very active this winter.
The rest of the defense
While Sviatchenko and Antonio Carlos are the only 2 center backs currently on the roster, the Dynamo also only have 2 fullbacks heading into 2026 in Griffin Dorsey and Felipe Andrade. Dorsey is the lock down starter at right back and Andrade became that at left back this past season, taking his chance and showing he belonged with the first team.
At right back, Dorsey has never really had a backup or even competition at that position. The way the Dynamo play their right back, very high up the field almost as a winger, is different and needs the right kind of player that compliments Dorsey. Michael Halliday was thought to be that when he was brought in last offseason, but he never saw the field for the first team and had his option declined.
A solid backup for Dorsey, or even someone to push him in the starting lineup would be nice to have. The club did bring Tomas Wiesner in as a free agent this past summer. He came in as a free agent, injured, and signed with Dynamo 2 to rehab and see if he could offer anything. If he is healthy and good to go for 2026, we could see him signed to the first team as another option as an attacking fullback.
Andrade is the only left back with Franco Escobar and Steres both now gone from the club. The young Brazilian made the jump from Dynamo 2 and showed a great defensive work rate as well as the ability to get forward into the attack. Like right back, depth here is needed. A player that could play as a center back, and full back, like Escobar and Steres would be ideal.
Dynamic attacker
The Dynamo scored just 41 goals in 34 league matches this season. Ezequiel Ponce had 10, Jack McGlynn scored 6 and then left back Felipe Andrade was third on the team with 4. One big thing this team needs this offseason is a proven creator and goal scorer.
It feels like every transfer window the Dynamo are in search of a 10. It’s the one thing this club just has never seemed to hit on. Amine Bassi was going to be that, and had some good seasons, but he is gone. Ondrej Lingr was going to be the playmaker last season, along with Duane Holmes, when they joined early in the season, but neither were that lethal combination of goals and assists that you see on so many teams in Major League Soccer.
It would make sense that with at least one DP spot open, the Dynamo go for a 10, someone who can set up goals as well as he scores them. McGlynn began to play more centrally in the second half of last season, and he is one of the better creators in MLS. Lawrence Ennali showed he is recovered from his ACL injury and showcased his pace and dribbling ability over the last few months. If the Dynamo can compliment those two wingers with someone playing behind the striker, it could unlock so much more on the offensive end.
That would include DP striker Ezequiel Ponce. 10 goals in a season are good, but he needs more. Another strong attacking piece could unlock more with him. Or it could unlock more with whoever is playing striker for the Dynamo in 2026. Matt Doyle wrote about this in his newsletter, but Houston needs another striker to push Ponce. Toyosi Olusanya is currently the only other forward on the roster and he is on loan in England right now, with question marks of whether he will return to the States.
A veteran forward, the likes of what they tried to do with Sergio Santos, is one option. They could also look to spend money, maybe at a TAM level on a younger striker to push Ponce for minutes and maybe take over for the Argentine. At the very least, they should bring in another forward from within MLS and maybe hit on something like Seattle did with Danny Musovski.
Are the kids ready?
This isn’t necessarily a need but a question around the club. A lot of buzz around Houston soccer circles tends to always come back to “playing the kids” and “giving local players a chance”. That is great in theory, but it’s been a while since the Dynamo have had anyone ready to make that leap to the first team, from Houston or not.
The Academy, with the addition of Dynamo 2 and more development opportunities, looks to now be producing viable first-team players. Local midfielder Sebastian Rodriguez is the top name on this list. The Houston native just turned 18 and now has a first-team contract. Is 2026 the year we see him get minutes with the first team? If (and when) Brooklyn Raines moves overseas, it could be Rodriguez that slots into the midfield, replacing one Homegrown with another.
A total of 13 Dynamo Academy players made their professional debuts last season as Dynamo 2 fielded the youngest team in MLS NEXT Pro with an average age of 18.9. Some notable Academy players like Daniel Barrett, Noah Betancourt, Mattheo Dimareli, David Garcia, Leo Gitau, and Isaac Mwakutuya look to be on the road to the Dynamo first team. Having to essentially rebuild and retool the Academy was never going to be a quick or easy job but the fruits of those labors look to be close to being ready.
The other big name from Dynamo 2 last season is goalkeeper Pedro Cruz. The 21-year-old Brazilian had a big season in MLS NEXT Pro and won Goalie Wars at the MLS All Star Game and was named a finalist for Goalkeeper of the Year in the league. Jonathan Bond is the number 1 for the first team with Jimmy Maurer providing a veteran backup. Cruz, along with fellow young keeper Blake Gillingham could battle for third in the depth chart during preseason.
Don’t be surprised if we see the Dynamo signing more young players this winter, from South America as we have seen them do a lot of, or even from another MLS club's academy (like Gavin Wolff) or a USL Championship club. Dynamo 2, under head coach Marcelo Santos, is proving to be a good development ground for young players looking to climb the ladder to play at the highest level.
The kids might not be ready just yet, and there’s really no need to force it. The pipeline looks good, however, and the young players are not far away from making an impact in Major League Soccer. Whether from the Houston area or South America, having contributions from these players will be big in this next evolution of the Houston Dynamo.
Like the 2023 offseason when the Dynamo retooled with nearly 20 new additions, the 2026 offseason is set to be a very busy one for Houston. The core of the roster may look similar but as a whole, the Dynamo will look significantly different when the new season gets underway next March.
