Buried in yesterday’s official announcement of the roster moves for North Texas SC was a note that Isaiah Kaakoush signed a new contract with the club. Today, the announcement came that the move is a “new one-year MLS NEXT Pro contract ahead of the 2026 season.”
However, Kaakoush already had a contract option for 2026 *and* he will miss most of the season recovering from an ACL injury.
So why would the club give him a new one-year deal? That makes no sense. Was it just a raise for one season? Why would you give a raise to an injured player?
The answer is, they didn’t give him a new one-year deal. According to our sources, this new contract is the first season of a hybrid deal between Kaakoush and FC Dallas. As usual, these hybrid contracts are announced with just the NTSC part in the beginning. There will be a later announcement in a season when he moves to a Homegrown deal with FCD. (Just as we saw yesterday with three players.)
Kaakoush signed his first professional contract with North Texas SC on May 9, 2024, joining the club from Barça Residency Academy USA in Casa Grande, Arizona.
During the 2025 season, Kaakoush made 12 appearances with NTSC, including five starts, logging 523 minutes. He was selected to the 2025 MLS NEXT All-Star Game and was named captain for Team West. Kaakoush won the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Cup and the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Invitational with North Texas SC.
TRANSACTION DETAILS
Full Name: Isaiah Kaakoush
Preferred Name: Koush
Pronunciation: KAH-koosh
Connect with Isaiah: Instagram
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: January 20, 2008 (17)
Birthplace: Maricopa, Arizona
Hometown: Chandler, Arizona
Nationality: American and Lebanese
Height: 5-10
Weight: 170 lbs.
Last Club: North Texas SC
Transaction: North Texas SC signs defender Isaiah Kaakoush to a one-year contract ahead of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season.