It’s time for the return of MLS NEXT Pro, and the Twos are back in action. Just like last year, they’re headed down to Austin for the season opener. If we’re in the business of repeating history, the young Loons will be looking to come out of game one with three points again.
Speaking of history, 2025 was truly a landmark season for MNUFC2. The boys set second-team club records all over the place, logging the most regular-season points (44), regular-season wins (12), and overall wins (14) in a single season. They finished fifth in the Western Conference to qualify for their first-ever playoff berth, beating league-leading St. Louis and getting all the way to the Conference Finals. Returning players like Troy Putt, Momoh Kamara, and Alpha Kabia will look to build on that incredible momentum for another big break in 2026.
Alongside those familiar faces are a host of new Twosies — Newsies, if you will. In a league so focused on vertical professional development, the turnover rate is always high. The team of young Loons taking the pitch this season looks markedly different from the one that finished out 2025. Kieran Chandler, Britton Fischer, and Kayne Rizvanovich were signed to first-team contracts over the offseason.
Some of the team’s new additions include keeper Kristers Bite from top-flight Latvian club FK Auda, defender Nick Dang from the University of Virginia, and a new trio of midfielders: Jakob Friedman, Sam Vigilante, and Luciano Pechota. With that trio of last season’s Twos signed to first-team contracts and leading scorer Logan Dorsey on loan to Rhode Island, it’ll fall to some of those fresh faces to push the team forward.
The team’s leadership has changed, too. Since Jeremy Hall’s departure to coach the U18 U.S. Men’s National Team, Fanendo Adi has taken the reins as head coach. Adi coached Minnesota’s U18 and U19 Academy teams following his own prolific MLS career, then moved to an assistant coaching position with the Twos before taking over this season.
“I’m feeling good. This is probably one of the best preseasons we’ve had in terms of workload, intensity, everything, and that clearly showed in our performance staff’s numbers,” Adi said. “Building on last year, Jeremy did a great job, so this year is a challenge to the players: Can we do what we did last year even better? Can we win away games more, can we dominate teams better, can we do all those little things we had to correct?”
Austin came in just below the playoff line last season, but has also experienced notable turnover, including new head coach Jason Shackell, who took over following Brett Uttley’s departure for FC Cincinnati. The young Verde and Black have maintained some continuity, though: Leading goal-scorer Jorge Alastuey (10 goals last season) and starting keeper Charlie Farrar are still on the roster.
Adi noted that Austin’s second team has always been impressive. Even in his time with the Academy, every trip down to Texas was a challenge. The combination of a drastically different forecast to the free-flowing nature of their play, especially in the middle, means Minnesota needs to stay particularly alert and really focus on spatial awareness. With so many new players, the on-pitch dynamic might drift to something less fluid, but the beauty of a season opener is that just about anything can happen.
Keeping in mind the club’s goals of making their second consecutive playoff berth and continuing to develop talent to a first-team level, the boys will look to hit the ground running this Sunday at Parmer Field. Catch the action at 7:30 p.m. CT on OneFootball or MLSNEXTPro.com.
