2025 Season Preview: Chattanooga FC

Chattanooga FC’s collapse midway through the 2024 MLS Next Pro season ultimately cost previous Head Coach Rod Underwood his job and the club a much desired playoff berth. With a new Head Coach and a swath of new players, blending experience and youth, the club is looking to bounce back and give its loyal Chattahooligans playoff soccer and, perhaps, playoff glory in 2025.

Last Season

MLS Next Pro: 9 wins, 10 draws (8 shoot-out wins and 2 shoot-out losses), 9 losses; 9th place in Eastern Conference.

US Open Cup: 1st round.

Credit Chattanooga FC

2024 Recap

Plenty of eyes were on Chattanooga FC as the 2024 MLS Next Pro season commenced. The ‘jewel in the crown’ of American lower league soccer was finally playing among the country’s big boys (well, sort of) and expectations were quietly confident around Fort Finley. After years of frustration and uncertainty in the NISA-sphere, the fans could look forward to competing in a stable league environment, against fully professional outfits, and the players could look to trying their hand against some of the best young talent in the country. Statement signings were made in the form of Trinidad and Tobago international Jesse Williams and MLS veteran Carlos Rivas.

CFC began the season in strong form, recording 6 wins in its first 10 games and were top of the MLS Next Pro by May. However, a mid-season slump saw the club quickly fall down the table. July was a particularly challenging month with Chattanooga going on a four-match losing streak. This poor form would appear to have convinced CFC to re-sign club record goalscorer Markus Naglestad.

Some decent results in September, including away at New England Revolution II and snapping Columbus Crew 2's 12-match unbeaten run, saw Chattanooga re-emerge as playoff contenders. However, the club announced that it was parting ways with Rod Underwood later that month and was led thereafter by his assistant, Chris Nugent. CFC finished 9th in the MLS Next Pro Eastern Conference, level on points with the three teams above them, but missing out on the last playoff spot (8th place) due to an inferior win record.

Elsewhere, the club’s US Open Cup exploits were disappointing, as it fell to a 0-1 home loss to Miami United of the UPSL in the First Round.

Notable Moves

There were some eyebrow raising departures from Finley Stadium this offseason, across all positions, that potentially leave big holes to fill in 2025. Goalkeeper Jean Antoine, the NISA Golden Glove winner in 2022 and 2023 has departed. The Haitian has retired after having been the club’s reliable first-choice keeper for two seasons. In front of him, the steel and experience of Moldovan international Anatolie Prepeliță has departed, leaving a large void in the center of defense. Prepeliță has moved to the South Georgia Tormenta in USL League 1. Joining him in Statesboro will be Taylor Gray, a three-season veteran with CFC and the club’s top goal assist-man in 2024, and Joseph Pérez, a two-season veteran. Finally, there’s the departure of striker Mehdi Ouamri, who has left to join Union Omaha in League 1. The French target man hit 12 goals in 2024, being named to the MLS Next Pro Best XI. Replacing his and Gray’s combined 27 goal contributions will be a tall order.

Chattanooga has opted for a mixture of experience and youth when it comes to replacing the above. The standout signing is undoubtedly Eldin Jakupović, the Swiss international goalkeeper who arrives in Tennessee after last representing MLS’s LAFC in 2023. At 40 years old, he brings vast experience with him from his spells in Europe and will be part of the need to replace the leadership, as well as the talent, of Jean Antoine and Prepeliță at the back. A familiar face returning to the Scenic City is Tate Robertson. The right-back from Springfield, Ohio comes to CFC where he spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons, after two years in Lexington. Elsewhere Chattanooga is using its position in MLS Next Pro to snap up promising college talent, but the signings of defender Ethan Dudley (from Atlanta United 2), midfielder Nick Mendonca (from North Texas) and forward Ameziane Sid Mohand (from Columbus Crew 2) bring some needed MLS Next Pro experience. Shoutout also for the exciting Peter Plougmand, more on him below.

Who to watch for

Key Player: Alex McGrath

Age: 27 | Position: Central Midfield | Nationality: England

The heartbeat of this CFC side, club captain McGrath is the linchpin of so much that Chattanooga does well. Last season he was in the top 5 CFC players across multiple performance measures including games played (2nd), games started (5th), minutes played (3rd), goals (3rd), assists (3rd), scoring attempts (2nd), shots on target (1st), key passes (1st), and drawing fouls (2nd). Statistically, no other player covers so much ground and does so much work. Added to this is the immeasurable impact of McGrath’s influence as the leader of this side and his ability to pull his team through tough patches.

With 12 goal contributions in 2024, the highest of any non-attacker, the Englishman’s importance to this team cannot be understated. CFC will need to manage his fitness carefully and keep him injury-free if he’s to lead this team in 2025 to a hallowed playoff spot.

Young Player to Watch: Peter Plougmand

Age: 25 | Position: Forward | Nationality: Denmark

While 25 might not count as ‘young’ in such a youthful squad, I’ve elected to choose Plougmand as this is his first professional contract.

The Dane was the top goalscorer and National Player of the Year in NCAA Division II soccer in 2024, notching 25 goals for Mars Hill. His goals helped lead the Lions to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. In 69 matches played for Mars Hill, Plougmand scored a whopping 59 goals, 15 of which were game-winning goals, and provided 17 assists. If he can produce anything close to these numbers for CFC in 2025, the loss of Ouamri will seem a distant memory.

Coach: Chris Nugent

Nationality: England

Named interim Head Coach last September after the dismissal of Rod Underwood, and promoted to the role full-time a month later, this is the Englishman’s first senior management role. Nugent was hired in 2022 as Underwood’s assistant after previously serving in coaching roles with Stumptown AC, NC Fusion, and Queen City Mutiny. His time as CFC Head Coach got off to the perfect start, securing a 1-5 win away in Toronto. However, a 1-1 home draw with the Red Bulls II ended Chattanooga’s play-off hopes on the final day of the season.

Known for his innovative use of data for evidence-based coaching and key performance indicators, Nugent is not an old-fashioned manager. He has recruited a young coaching team of fellow Brits, as well as the legacy and institutional knowledge of former club captain Richard Dixon, to his coaching ticket for 2025. Is this band of youthful and innovative coaches the one that can learn from past mistakes and finally lead CFC to glory?

Credit Chattanooga FC

Biggest Question

Can CFC regain playoff status?

After a series of heartbreaking seasons in NISA, semi-finalists in 2022 and 2023 when they lost to admittedly weaker teams, crowds at Finley Stadium wanted another good playoff push, but hoped for better results. Uncertainly reined as it wasn’t clear how the club would do in a new league. 2024 showed that Chattanooga FC can be competitive in MLS Next Pro, but lapses in concentration and failures to finish off opposing sides need to be exorcised.

Its been a while since the club’s glory years in NPSL, and their growth as a professional organization has yet to be mirrored in the trophy cabinet. Fans at Finley Stadium will want the following this season; 1. a playoff berth come Fall; 2. a home playoff if possible; and 3. a serious challenge for silverware. Failing that, a decent cup run might provide satisfactory.

Reason to Watch

As a well supported and true ‘club’ there’s always a good reason to be interested in the fortunes of CFC, especially if you can visit in-person and soak up its unique supporter atmosphere. From afar, Chattanooga’s season will be an interesting watch to see just how well an independent club can actually fare in MLS Next Pro. Rochester’s still-birth in 2022 wasn’t a good omen, but if CFC (and the Carolina Core) can improve this season and push for play-off soccer, the league will look a lot more appealing to other independent groups looking for a league to call home.

First 5 games

@ Inter Miami II – Mar 8

v Huntsville City – Mar 15

v Corpus Christie (Cup tie) – Mar 19

@ Atlanta United 2 – Mar 30

v Orlando City B – Apr 5