My first Power Rankings vote of the 2026 MLS season

First of all, let me start off by making it explicit in a way I failed to (because I am an idiot!) in Wednesday's post: I have monetized this newsletter. And you can sign up and choose to become a paid member by clicking that orange box below:

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Ok, onto the important business: the POWER Rankings are back! Even though I'm no longer part of the Power Rankings Politburo over at the mothership, I'm still going to put out my list every single week throughout the year. As mentioned on Wednesday, these will be in front of the paywall, free as a bird.

And since last year's format was a big hit, I'm just gonna stick with it. So... in we go:

1. Inter Miami: I don't think there's any question that they're the deepest, most talented team in MLS history. Doesn't mean anything in the year ahead is a gimme, especially with Messi starting the year carrying a knock.
2. Vancouver Whitecaps: I am mildly worried I'm underrating the Ali Ahmed departure, but I think they've done enough to fill that hole.
3. LAFC: Here's my worry: when Marc Dos Santos coached the Caps they were so, so risk-averse and boring. There's a good chance that was the talent on that roster being what it was, but maybe Dos Santos played a role in that whole ethos? He had to have, right? Well, this LAFC team has too much firepower to play boring, risk-averse soccer. I need them to ball out.
4. San Diego FC: Sure, they barely survived the second leg of their CCC tie with UNAM Pumas. But "barely survived" is another way to say "survived," which is the whole damn job.
5. Nashville SC: My worry here is that one or both of their fullbacks, each of whom is essential, gets old/hurt. There's no like-for-like backup for either guy.
6. Seattle Sounders: Does the central defense bounce back? Put last year's attacking performance with 2024's defensive performance and you've got like an 80-point team.
7. FC Cincinnati: The talent is undeniable. The fit... wasn't. I have faith that Pat Noonan will figure more of it (if not necessarily all of it) out.
8. NYCFC: If Seymour Reid is the Matchday 1 starter at center forward I might just move this team up to No. 1.
9. Philadelphia Union: They'll still be a very good team, but a ton of personnel changes and a packed schedule means a Shield repeat is extremely unlikely.
10. Chicago Fire: I might be too low on them. A Gregg Berhalter team is not going to be a bad defensive team two years in a row.
11. Columbus Crew: Kind of a mystery box: new coach, injured No. 9, jinxed No. 10, no center back upgrades... weird. Weird!
12. Orlando City: The underlying numbers REALLY liked Orlando last year but so much of that came from Alex Freeman getting forward. With his departure they're a different team.
13. LA Galaxy: They should be much-improved, but no team relying on big minutes from Marco Reus, Erik Thommy and Joao Klauss in spots where they need to be match-winners is going to be elite.
14. CF Charlotte: Could be too low on them, but there's an Adilson Malanda-sized hole in the backline which has me spooked. This team does a lot of box defending but lacks a dominant box defender.
15. FC Dallas: Floor's really high because of how they defend and how reliably Petar Musa puts the ball in the back of the net. I'd sure feel a lot better about their ceiling if they went out and got that No. 10.
16. Atlanta United: Part of me wants to ask "what kind of magic can Tata work?" and the other part wants to ask "what if Aleksey Miranchuk and Emmanuel Latte Lath just aren't any good?" and those are probably the most meaningful questions for this team.
17. Portland Timbers: Phil Neville got the Timbers to play HARD against San Diego in the playoffs. It was suicidal, man-mark everywhere stuff, but they executed with real commitment in pushing that series to three games. I just want to point that out.
18. New England Revolution: Had to talk myself out of moving them as high as 13th. I just kind of like the way this roster's built – it's balanced, and the pieces are mostly complementary rather than overlapping. But I can't go higher than this after the year(s) they just had.
19. Colorado Rapids: I just don't know. Left back, center back, d-mid, left wing, new coach... too many known unknowns.
20. New York Red Bulls: I went into the offseason expecting them to tack hard away from Energy Drink Soccer, but it now sounds like Taurine's back on the menu.
21. Austin FC: Pieces still don't fit. And I am again pointing out – very gently – that Brad Stuver really struggled down the stretch last year. I'm hoping it was just a blip (Stuver's young enough to have 3 or 4 more top years in him) but it's on my radar.
22. Houston Dynamo: I understand the rationale behind their offseason moves, but I am skeptical. This is a real "prove me wrong" team.
23. Minnesota United: How do you go from last year's game model to one where James Rodríguez is the centerpiece? I really hope Cam Knowles has the answers, and am looking forward to Wes dunking on my ass for ranking this team 15 spots too low if he does.
24. San Jose Earthquakes: I'm secretly much higher on this team than 24th, but am too much of a coward to put them where I really think they rate. Shhh don't tell anyone.
25. Real Salt Lake: Every year I list the reasons why RSL will be bad and every year – every single one this decade – they go ahead and make the playoffs anyway.
26. St. Louis City: The whole thing's under construction, but that's fine. Gonna be some growing pains but my guess is it'll be worth it in the long run.
27. Montréal Impact: If I could find someone that books MLS futures I'd strongly consider putting a few bucks on a Thomas Gillier GKotY campaign. He's not the favorite, but he's awesome.
28. Toronto FC: They laid good groundwork throughout 2025 to have a big window to open 2026, but it sure hasn't worked out that way. Yet.
29. D.C. United: They should be better in a bunch of different spots, but probably not enough.
30. Sporting KC: This roster's in rough shape.

Another episode of Inside American Soccer this week, this time with me, Tab and Clint Mathis:

Tab's favorite US player of all-time, and a one-of-a-kind dude. There's nobody quite like him in the current pool, and man I wish there was.

And finally, over at Soccerwise it was time for one of my favorite shows of the year: the Golden Boot Draft.

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Got a lot more – including my annual Tiers column! – coming next week, and I'm keeping all of it free until the end of Matchday 1.

Happy weekending, everyone.