The 2026 Major League Soccer season is a week old, and MLS NEXT Pro gets started this week, so let’s take the time to do our completely scientific power ranking of the players under contract with FC Dallas and North Texas SC.
We look at who is playing well, who is playing at all, and who is making waves with fans and our colleagues in the media to rank all 49 contracted professionals. So without further delay …
Starting XI
| Rank | Player | Change | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Musa, Petar | High: 1 | Low: 1 | — 0 | I mean, come on. Dude is in mid-season form. Can he get 15 by the World Cup break? – Buzz |
| 2 | Urhoghide, Osaze | High: 2 | Low: 2 | — 0 | The other key piece holding things together. – Dan |
| 3 | Farrington, Logan | High: 3 | Low: 3 | — 0 | Feels like a breakout season is coming. I predicted 10 and 10. – Buzz |
| 4 | Collodi, Michael | High: 4 | Low: 4 | — 0 | A rough couple of minutes in the opener, but he’s still Matt Doyle’s GKotY pick! – Dan |
| 5 | Cappis, Christian | High: 5 | Low: 5 | — 0 | Quetly, he’s FCD’s best midfielder. He’s not a playermaker, but he’s driving the bus. – Buzz |
| 6 | Ramiro | High: 6 | Low: 6 | — 0 | O capitão. A calming influence in the opening game. – Dan |
| 7 | Moore, Shaq | High: 7 | Low: 7 | — 0 | The other Captain. For now, he’s a CB, but he may end up having to play all over. – Buzz |
| 8 | Valiente, Joaquín | High: 8 | Low: 8 | — 0 | It wasn’t the DP 10 we all expected, but FC Dallas has given some hype to their new TAM signing. – Dan |
| 9 | Johansson, Herman | High: 9 | Low: 9 | — 0 | Good start with a complete game. But he looks like he can do much more. – Buzz |
| 10 | Kaick | High: 10 | Low: 10 | — 0 | Going into the offseason, Kaick’s minutes might reduce, but he’s transitioned to more of an 8 role. – Dan |
| 11 | Kamungo, Bernard | High: 11 | Low: 11 | — 0 | He’s getting the starts, but his defense is a mess. How long can he hold off Ricky Louis? – Buzz |

In the Mix
| Rank | Player | Change | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Ibeagha, Sebastien | High: 12 | Low: 12 | — 0 | Trusted, but a placeholder for now? – Dan |
| 13 | Julio, Anderson | High: 13 | Low: 13 | — 0 | Julio provides a legit late late game threat over the top. – Buzz |
| 14 | Binyamin, Ran | High: 14 | Low: 14 | — 0 | Only the remaining six minutes of added time, but two tackles, two aerials won, and a few sprints that showed off that engine. – Dan |
| 15 | Louis, Ricky | High: 15 | Low: 15 | — 0 | Louis showed well in winter camp, but so did Enzo Newman last year. Is Louis the 2nd choice LWB? How long before he’s 1st? – Buzz |
| 16 | Delgado, Patrickson | High: 16 | Low: 16 | — 0 | Lost out with the ten-less shape, but Patrickson was able to bring some stability into the midfield late in the NYRB game. – Dan |
| 17 | Norris, Nolan | High: 17 | Low: 17 | — 0 | Norris finished ’25 on a high, but hasn’t beaten Ibby for the starting spot in ’26. So we wait. – Buzz |
| 18 | Deedson | High: 18 | Low: 18 | — 0 | The World Cup hype is real, with a CBS interview earlier in the week. Deedson looked solid at RWB (shooting aside). – Dan |
| 19 | Sarver, Sam | High: 19 | Low: 19 | — 0 | Are there many minutes for him when he’s 3rd or 4th striker in a wingless team? – Buzz |
| 20 | Abubakar, Lalas | High: 20 | Low: 20 | — 0 | Lalas is a solid depth option at this point. – Dan |

Development Team
| Rank | Player | Change | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Sirois, Jonathan | High: 21 | Low: 21 | — 0 | He’s carrying a knock, but has his visa. – Buzz |
| 22 | Álvaro | High: 22 | Low: 22 | — 0 | With a shortage of international roster spots, Alvaro is calling NTSC home for now. – Dan |
| 23 | Swann, Caleb | High: 23 | Low: 23 | — 0 | Over the winter, Swann seemingly pulled ahead of Diego Garcia at the 8. But Binyamin probably takes his FCD minutes. – Buzz |
| 24 | Torquato, Josh | High: 24 | Low: 24 | — 0 | Torquato has seen Ricky Louis come in ahead of him in the depth chart. – Dan |
| 25 | Simmonds, Nick | High: 25 | Low: 25 | — 0 | Simmonds has a lot of tools to like, but he’s buried deep at striker. Lots of NTSC time to start the season, it seems. – Buzz |
| 26 | Ntsabeleng, Tsiki | High: 26 | Low: 26 | — 0 | Started 3 of last 6 but can’t get near the Sundowns’ Champions League roster. – Dan |
| 27 | Sali, Enes | High: 27 | Low: 27 | — 0 | At least he’s playing. Seven games with 4 starts since his loan. – Buzz |
| 28 | Starnes, Slade | High: 28 | Low: 28 | — 0 | Starnes is coming back from a groin injury during pre-season. – Dan |
| 29 | Thompson, Brooks | High: 29 | Low: 29 | — 0 | The surprise 3rd keeper on loan through June. – Buzz |
| 30 | Garcia, Diego | High: 30 | Low: 30 | — 0 | Garcia has lost minutes to Swann in preseason and further dropped down with Binyamin’s arrival. – Dan |
| 31 | James, Nathaniel | High: 31 | Low: 31 | — 0 | There’s some hype here, but no chance to see him yet. – Buzz |

In Reserve
| Rank | Player | Change | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | Montoya, Nico | High: 32 | Low: 32 | — 0 | Nico got plenty of training time with the first team in preseason. He’s not played much in preseason as a result, but should be NTSC #1 going into the season. – Dan |
| 33 | Nys, Edouard | High: 33 | Low: 33 | — 0 | The playmaker had an unusual path and is showing at NTSC already. – Buzz |
| 34 | Pelà, Umberto | High: 34 | Low: 34 | — 0 | A scout not tied to FC Dallas told me that Pela was the best 8 in NCAA soccer last season. – Dan |
| 35 | Jesus, Geovane | High: 35 | Low: 35 | — 0 | Out TBD. Had some kind of setback in Portugal. But is at least in training to some extent. – Buzz |
| 36 | Sedeh, Sam | High: 36 | Low: 36 | — 0 | The 16-year-old is walking into his first full season with NTSC. Likely to be behind Natty James and Nick Simmonds. – Dan |
| 37 | Contreras, Jaidyn | High: 37 | Low: 37 | — 0 | In a wingless system, getting run outs at RWB. Which I actually think is a good idea. – Buzz |
| 38 | Newman, Enzo | High: 38 | Low: 38 | — 0 | Newman has been a big presence returning from injury. Let’s see how it translates to playing time. – Dan |
| 39 | Dymora, Eryk | High: 39 | Low: 39 | — 0 | The oldest NTSC keeper. Can he win the spot? – Buzz |
| 40 | Baran, Daniel | High: 40 | Low: 40 | — 0 | An out-and-out winger in a wingless system. Where does he fit in? – Dan |
| 41 | Biggar, Jonah | High: 41 | Low: 41 | — 0 | The newest NTSC signing is a lefty CB with some size.- Buzz |
| 42 | Aroyameh, Favour | High: 42 | Low: 42 | — 0 | Feeling like a bit of a spare part right now. Especially if Pela does translate to the 6. – Dan |
| 43 | Charles, Ian | High: 43 | Low: 43 | — 0 | Out TBD. Hopefully not too much longer. Probably an RCB in this system. – Buzz |
| 44 | Molina, Malachi | High: 44 | Low: 44 | — 0 | One of the more unusual loans. Loaned to Nashville, who in turn loaned him to their MLS NEXT Pro side, Huntsville City. – Dan |
| 45 | Molomo, Zach | High: 45 | Low: 45 | — 0 | I think the kid has a lot of potential, but the Biggar signing hurts his minutes. – Buzz |
| 46 | Luccin, Marlon | High: 46 | Low: 46 | — 0 | We haven’t seen a lot of the new Atletico Dallas coach’s son. – Dan |
| 47 | Burchfield, Thomas | High: 47 | Low: 47 | — 0 | He’s basically just a paid Academy player at 17. The 4th NTSC keeper on paper. – Buzz |
| 48 | Kaakoush, Isaiah | High: 48 | Low: 48 | — 0 | An ACL tear back in August keeps Koush on the sidelines. – Dan |
| 49 | Scabin, Kaka | High: 49 | Low: 49 | — 0 | We just learned on Thursday that he’s done a knee again and is out for the season. – Buzz |
Comments and Thoughts
Well, it should come as no surprise that Petar Musa leads the way with all the World Cup hype and an opening day brace that made him a starter on the MLS Team of the Matchday.
With no movement to talk about yet, let’s see how quickly things change in two teams that are looking to settle into the new season. Injuries always play their part, so the immediate futures of Geovane Jesus and Enzo Newman could see a big rise or fall depending on whether either has good news.

How do we know that Ricky Louis can play any better defense? Especially at the MLS level? A couple goals and assists against low level European teams is nice, but we saw Dante Sealy do the same thing 2 seasons ago.