DC United is fully in preseason mode, and now we have a training roster. Today, the Black-and-Red announced their preseason roster of 29 players who have traveled for training in California to prepare for the 2026 Major League Soccer season.
DC United have made a flurry of moves during this offseason, from the draft to transfers. The club has brought in Tai Baribo and Louis Munteanu as Designated Players and have added new players in every position group. DC United sporting director Dr. Erkut Sogut and head coach René Weiler have sought players that they think will help them achieve their vision of how the team can perform on the field.
The 29-player preseason roster:
Goalkeepers (4): Sean Johnson, Jordan Farr, Alex Bono, Grant Leveille*
Defenders (9): Lucas Bartlett, Keisuke Kurokawa, Conner Antley, Sean Nealis, Kye Rowles, Garrison Tubbs, Aaron Herrera, Nikola Markovic, Silvan Hefti
Midfielders (11): João Peglow, Matti Peltola, Jared Stroud, Gabriel Pirani (U22), Richie Aman, Brandon Servania, Jackson Hopkins (HGP), Caden Clark, Oscar Avilez (HGP), Gavin Turner (HGP), Hosei Kijima
Forwards (5): Tai Baribo (DP), Louis Munteanu (DP), Jacob Murrell, Gabe Segal, Hakim Karamoko
*Academy player
DP – Designated Player
U22 – U-22 Initiative
HGP – Homegrown Player
The surprise addition to the roster is Grant Leveille from the DC United Academy. The 17-year-old goalkeeper has excellent promise, and received his first senior call-up for the Haitian national team for a World Cup qualifier last September against Costa Rica. He did not see the field in that match. Leveille also was called into the Haiti U21 national team in November. While he is a super long shot to make the full-time roster, getting this experience shows the confidence Sogut and Weiler have in him developing into a future starting goalkeeper.
Club owners Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien have indicated in the past that they wish to fill each of their three Designated Player spots before the season starts. So far, the team has brought in Baribo and Munteanu and Gabriel Pirani is listed as a U-22 Initiative player. With 29 players on the roster, there is still a bit of wiggle room to bring in another Designated Player before the winter transfer window closes on March 26th.
DC United will participate in the Coachella Valley Invitational beginning next weekend in Indio, California. They will open up on February 7th with a preseason match against the Portland Timbers followed by another exhibition against Minnesota United on February 11th. They will close out play in California with a closed door match against St. Louis City on February 14th. It will be René Weiler’s job to turn this mix of returning players and newcomers into a team that is ready to compete in the Eastern Conference beginning with their home opener against the Philadelphia Union on February 21st.
Caden Clark is a U-22 player, by the way.
I didn’t realize this until I saw the preseason roster, but they have a pretty good number of players at the midfield. I think, I understand why they focused in the off season on acquiring defensive and attacking players.
Nice to see they have a goalkeeping prospect, It’s only been 16-17 years since Bill Hamid was in a similar position.
Obviously, if Weiler has a formation plan he intends to use, that could dictate who stays with the club. Right now, it seems likely that Turner, Aviles and Karamoko get loaned out. 5 CBs is not great depth if they plan to go with 3 CBs, and more so because Rowles is likely to miss a bunch of games when called into the Socceroos. That makes me think they must be looking at a four-man backline. Otherwise, they need to find another CB, and one they would probably have more confidence than they can have in Markovic and Tubbs right now.
If they go with a 4-4-2, Peglow and Clark are likely the wings, with Stroud and Kijima behind them. though Herrera or Kurokawa could push up to wing) and there’s Aman or Hopkins, though I don’t see them as ideally out wide, but they’re key depth behind Pirani and Peltola, as is Servania. 9-10 roster players there is about right for a team lining up with 4 or 5 players in the midfield.
It’s not a wildly talented team — and still far too slow, I fear — but I could see them on the bubble for playoffs. A lot has to fall in place for that to happen, most especially Baribo and Munteanu filling the goal-scoring chasm left by Benteke’s departure. Is it impossible? I can’t judge based on players I haven’t seen before, but I am feeling just a tad more optimistic than I have about the team in the last 3-4 years.
Hopefully, the young dudes, Turner, Aviles, Markovic, Amman, Tubbs, and Leveille (and maybe even Karamoko — too soon to give up on him) develop into MLS starters. Along with Caden Clark. Maybe Munteanu, Baribo and Peglow could be here for a while. That would be a really nice foundation, for the 2027-28, or 2028-29 seasons.