Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union II Communications

Combining the first and second teams, the Union organization’s technical staff faces as many as 25 internal roster decisions as they build the two professional rosters for 2026.

One factor will be how many games they will have to play. But we cannot yet guess in which “extra” competitions Philadelphia will be enrolled next season. The U.S. Open Cup, the Concacaf Champions Cup, and the Leagues Cup are the possibilities. Nor can we forecast whether the World Cup might suspend any of those competitions from playing or amend their formats. Therefore we cannot forecast how many players Philadelphia’s professional teams will need. But the possibility of these cup competitions makes the roster decisions that much more important.

We assume Union II’s schedule may expand but only slightly. CT United of Bridgeport, CT, is expected to begin play in MLS NEXT Pro in 2026. Possibly Cleveland Pro Soccer might join them, although information scarcity makes it seem unlikely. In any case we doubt Union II’s roster size would increase because that would increase the salary budget.

Organization overview

Here is a chart of the current total 2026 roster situation for both the organization’s professional teams.

• “Op-“ means the club held or holds an exercisable option to bring the player back.
• Union II contracts are indicated by the player’s name being italicized, e. g., “Sheridan”
• Nothing is currently known about future provisions in Union II contracts, indicated thus “??“
• The exponent “ ^L “ means the player is loaned to the Union or Union II.
• The exponent “ ^PO“ means there is a purchase option available.
• The exponent “ ^A “ means the player is an amateur.
• 2025 loan players are left blank for 2026.
• 2025 amateur players are also left blank.
• 2026 Out-of-contract players are free agents after 12/31/25.

All Decisions

 The club holds 10 options for 2026.  Previously such options have sometimes meant noticeably higher levels of compensation. If the club wants to change those levels, it can retain a right of first refusal and therefore negotiate priority by declining the option but simultaneously submitting a “bona fide offer” to the player.

Six new contracts are perhaps being negotiated with amateurs or free agents.

Two loan situations exist

Seven Union II contracts’ statuses are unknown for 2026

Below we briefly enumerate or estimate each player’s situation.

Goalkeepers

Andre Blake and Andrew Rick are 2026 guarantees.

Pierce Holbrook is still under evaluation since he has only played four games. He has not been subjected to heavy barrage testing, yet. We suspect he is intended to replace Oliver Semmle among the goalkeepers (see below).

Mike Sheridan has served satisfactorily as the organization’s fourth professional goalkeeper. He is not a roster threat to those currently ahead of him. We assume but have no confirmation that Union II does not offer multiple option years. That the Union have sold all their draft picks to Colorado for the next three years means Sheridan cannot be replaced by a college draft pick, but there are other acquisition mechanisms available should he or the club want to move on.

Oliver Semmle’s option will likely not be exercised since it is probably expensive and he is the third goalkeeper. We suspect he himself may want to leave to find a club where he can play. Those assumptions help explain the mid-season signing of Holbrook.

Outside backs

Kai Wagner, Olivier Mbaizo, and Frank Westfield are 2026 guarantees.

Nathan Harriel’s option will be exercised. (Harriel is a serviceable MLS center back in an emergency.)

Isaiah LeFlore’s option will probably be exercised. He does not seem a candidate for the first team but will fill a role with the second team while amateur prospect Jordan Griffin matures.

Gio Sequera has only just begun to play as an outside back (three games). We expect that his loan will be extended a second time while he spends next year acquiring game experience at the new position.

Center backs

 Neil Pierre’s is the only 2026 center back contract that is guaranteed.

 We expect Jakob Glesnes to return. But the Union may decline his option and make him a bona fide offer to lower his compensation. To stay he probably must be willing to accept a shorter term deal, since that is likely what the Union will offer given his age. But the Union need him back so the money will remain good although it will not be magnificent.

Olwethu Makhanya’s option will be exercised.

Ian Glavinovich’s purchase option will be exercised. Whether the Union try to negotiate the price down because of his injury depends how tightly the Argentinian club’s lawyers wrote the loan’s language and how well he proves himself recovered.

Rafael Uzcategui’s status for 2026 is unknown since he has a Union II contract. All other things being equal – like pre-set prices – he should return to the organization as a candidate for promotion to first team reserve.

Oscar Benitez’s status for 2026 is also unknown since he has a Union II contract.  He should return next year as a prospective Union II starter in need of game minutes.

Defensive midfielders  

Jovan Lukic, Jesus Bueno and David Vazquez have 2026 guaranteed contracts.

Danley Jean Jacques’s option will be exercised. He has shown excellent potential to be a box-to-box midfielder, so another club higher on the food chain than Philadelphia may make an offer for him that cannot be refused.

Nick Pariano’s option will be exercised since he is a leading candidate to begin practicing with the first team and competing for one of their reserve roles.

Attacking midfielders

Quinn and Cavan Sullivan have 2026 contract guarantees.

Indiana Vassilev’s option will be exercised.

Ben Bender will probably not be offered a new contract.

Alejandro Bedoya may not be offered a new contract, although his leadership and versatility have remained assets to the team this season. He should be given serious consideration for addition to the Ring of Honor if he retires.

Jamir Johnson may choose to move on from the Union’s academy as he will probably be eclipsed by Willyam Ferreira.

Kellan LeBlanc may be offered a Union II contract for next year. His individual technical skills, mentality, and understanding of the Union’s system are excellent. His athleticism has developed a great deal, but whether it will develop sufficiently further is open to question. If his family moves away as his father pursues other coaching opportunities, the son might perhaps go with him.

Willyam Ferreira will definitely be offered a Union II contract for 2026, if he does not have one already.

CJ Olney is guaranteed for 2026, but — unofficially — is rumored to be going out on loan to Lexington of the USL-C. He has not practiced with the first team nearly as much this year under Bradley Carnell as he did last year under Jim Curtin.

Strikers

Bruno Damiani, Markus Anderson, Sal Olivas, and Eddy Davis have 2026 contract guarantees.

Tai Baribo’s option will be exercised. Other clubs in need of scoring may make serious offers for him. We know Baribo initiated his green card process during the recent June international break which seems to indicate his intent to return to the United States. It would make sense for the Union to begin the process of sweetening his contract, given his production since becoming a starter.

Chris Donovan’s option will probably not be exercised. His is highly trustworthy as an effective defensive dirty runner, but he is not scoring in games. His age suggests he has found his ceiling. His minutes on the field are needed to assess and develop younger first team players.

Mikael Uhre will likely be offered a new contract because he remains the second-most reliable goal scorer on the team. His age means the offer’s time frame  will be shorter, with higher proportions of performance triggers and lower ones of guaranteed money. He will be a free agent after December, so if he gets a better offer he can take it, or if he wants to go he can.

Stas Korseniowski will probably return to Union II for next year. He is an excellent hold-up striker, abetted by his size and physical power. He does not have elite pace to breakaway into green space leaving defenders behind. His technical skill handling the ball does not yet allow him to thread through packed zone 14 defenders. Now that he knows what he must prepare himself for in the off-season, he deserves a chance to improve himself. His determination to succeed is elite. Whether he is a candidate for the Union’s first team in the future is unclear.

Malik Jakupovic will definitely return to Union II for 2026.

At this writing his 16^th birthday occurred 16 days ago. He has played only 24 regular minutes plus 22 minutes of stoppage time. He has barely begun the evaluation process. We have no idea of his endurance. He has no starts.

He has also scored three goals, all in stoppage time. Two were well struck from outside the spot. One was a tap in. The Toronto II brace (90+2 and 90+14) came against a beaten team’s six substitutes (concussion protocol) after the issue had long been decided on a hot Chester afternoon. The Cincinnati account opener in northern Kentucky came in the 90+8^thminute. We have little real idea how he defends against opponents whose tails are still up, especially after he has been running for a while.

So far he has been a clinical, ruthless finisher.