Chattanooga Post-Season Bulletin - December
News and updates from the Scenic City
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Post-season’s greetings from the Scenic City. Writing to you on the cusp of a new year from the base of Lookout Mountain, and with the floodlights of Finley Stadium visible out my window; I’m taking time to think about the year that 2025 has been. The one word I would talk about is ‘growth’, the growth of soccer in this area. Not only did the two professional teams in the region enjoy successful seasons (in men’s and women’s soccer); but we’ve seen new UPSL teams spring up as well as existing teams solidify at that level. And April’s Open Cup ‘derby’ put a huge national and international spotlight on this city and its love of the beautiful game. You can’t help but feel there’s more to come.
But enough of all that sentimentalizing, I’m here to share news and developments from December across the soccer scene that you might have missed.
Starting out, we got the news of the new US Open Cup format, covered brilliantly for the Southeast Soccer Report by Alex Ashton. Of interest to soccer fans in Hamilton County is that both Chattanooga FC (MLS Next Pro) and Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (USL League One) will compete in 2026 and will enter the competition in Round 1 (to be played Tuesday, March 17 – Thursday, March 19). Nearby Tennessee Tempo FC (UPSL) and One Knoxville SC (USL League One) will complete the Volunteer State’s representation, with the eye-raising omission of holders Nashville SC (MLS).
Chattanooga FC
Busily assembling its roster for 2026; CFC announced the acquisition of Canadian defender Yves Tcheuyap to a one-year contract with a club option for a further year. The full-back comes to Chattanooga from league rivals Crown Legacy, where he started in 14 of his 20 appearances and racked up a total of 1,310 minutes with two assists. At college-level, Tcheuyap played for three years with East Tennessee State before transferring to NC State.
The club also announced the return of popular back-up goalkeeper and Chattanooga-native Michael Barrueta and Argentine defender Farid Sar-Sar. Barrueta signed a one-year deal with a club option for a further year, while Sar-Sar, captain for most of 2025, was handed a contract for 2026 and 2027, with an option for 2028. Tcheuyap, Barrueta, and Sar-Sar added to the contract renewals announced in October; fellow new signings Anton Sorensen and Griffin Huff, and the returns of Ameziane Sid Mohand, Alex McGrath, and Eldin Jakupović bring CFC’s current roster for 2026 to 16 players.
While more new signings are to be expected; ongoing discussions are still taking place with defender Milo Garvanian and forward Yuval Cohen. From a post on his Instagram on 1 December, it seems Danish forward Peter Plougmand will not be returning.
At the academy-level; CFC announced that it will host its third MLS NEXT ID Center to identify more MLS NEXT prospects on January 30. This followed the club’s participation at MLS NEXT Fest in mid-December, in which its U14 and U15 sides competed. The club will also host 2026 open tryouts for its MLS Next Pro team on Saturday, January 10 at Finley Stadium.
In case you missed it, Head Coach Christ Nugent, was busy answering questions from the community in December. On December 10th he hosted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Reddit that drew over 60 questions asking about everything from tactics and leadership, to mascots and Red Wolves. You can read the transcript here. He also joined the lads from the Section 109 Podcast to discuss the 2025 season. The episode was a great in-depth conversation that really shed more light on how this manager thinks and approaches the game.
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
There were no new roster announcements from East Ridge in December, with the Red Wolves going quiet as usual in the offseason. As of 29 December, the fate of defenders Aaron Lombardi and Declan Watters as well as attackers Omar and Pedro Hernández appear to still be undecided. Watters and the Hernández pair are some of the side’s key performers, so it will be interesting to see if the franchise can lock them in. No new signings have been announced.
The only piece of news in December was the schedule drop from USL League One on the 16th. 2026 will see a 34-week, 306-game regular season, the biggest campaign in the league’s history. Each club will play 34 home and away games in the regular season as well as four group stage games in the newly renamed Prinx Tires USL Cup. The Red Wolves will welcome five new clubs to CHI Memorial Stadium in the 2026, with AC Boise, Corpus Christi, Fort Wayne, New York Cosmos and Sarasota Paradise entering the league. The home opener for the Red Wolves will come on Saturday 11 April when they’ll host Fort Wayne.
In the USL Cup, the Red Wolves will be in a group with Corpus Christi and One Knoxville, as well as San Antonio and Birmingham Legion of the USL Championship. Group stage fixtures will be:
Saturday 25 April v Corpus Christi (Home)
Saturday 16 May v Birmingham Legion (Home)
Wednesday 10 June v One Knoxville (Away)
Saturday 11 July v San Antonio (Away)
UPSL
Scenic City SC’s playoff run in the UPSL ended dramatically on 30th November when they lost 7-5 away to Kalonji Pro-Profile in Snellville, Ga. After taking a surprising 3-0 lead after 35 minutes through a goal from Marcus Odeny and a brace from Jack Conrad, the game slipped away from Scenic City in the second half as both sides banged in goals freely. The more favored Kalonji, who went on to win the UPSL Georgia Division outright, showed their experience and class to get back into the game and ultimately win it in additional time. Clay Gallant and Sam Conrad also notched goals for a Scenic City side that can be immensely proud of its season, especially in light of the injuries the squad weathered. They’ll come back stronger in spring.
Over in the KY-TN conference, the Chattanooga Kaistorms’ playoff run got off to a great start when they defeated the much fancied Southern Indiana 3-2 at home on December 7. A brace from Alhassan Alhassan and a Taylor Aaron strike, got the better of a Southern Indiana side that had initially gone 1-0 up. In the KY-TN final however, the Kaistorms would lose to 5-0 to favorites Tennessee Tempo on December 14. Another excellent showing from a Chattanooga-based lower league side and another team that will be aiming for more in Spring.