For the first time since MLS NEXT Pro’s inaugural season in 2022, Tacoma Defiance missed the postseason last year. The Seattle Sounders affiliate finished with 36 points, five shy of the playoff line.
But to Sounders Director of Development Wade Webber, 2025 was by and large a resounding success.
“There’s just so much to be optimistic about,” said Webber. “The number of players who came in and had a clear impact to the First Team: Kalani [Kossa-Rienzi], Osaze [De Rosario], Snyder [Brunell]—10 goals between them for our First Team last year. That’s amazing.”
Kossa-Rienzi, De Rosario and Brunell all started the year with Tacoma before signing First Team contracts in March, May and July, respectively, and they combined to make 40 MLS regular-season appearances in 2025. The Sounders signed two more Defiance players this past offseason as well in Sebastian Gomez and Yu Tsukanome.
“It’s really five players on last year’s team that made it to the First Team,” said Webber. “Unbelievable, great success."
Tacoma has reloaded for 2026, a roster comprised of a mix of talented youngsters and older, second-chance players, who are likely more First Team-ready. One of the new faces that excites Webber is forward Mark Bronnik, who scored six goals for Union Omaha last season en route to being named the USL League One Young Player of the Year.
“He has good instincts as a striker,” Webber said of Bronnik. “He scored the equalizer in our first game of the season, coming off the bench in that game. We think again his instincts and movement in the box are pretty good. He’s got a good eye to finish as well.
“Mark has a lot going for him. He has a lot to prove as well, and he’s so far been a really good inclusion from a culture perspective.”
Webber is also high on 20-year-old midfielder Xavi Gnaulati, who spent the last five years in the USL Championship with San Diego Loyal and Monterey Bay FC. The son of a highly respected coach in Southern California, Gnaulati is an intelligent player who can play multiple midfield positions.
“[Gnaulati is] young enough that you can project he’ll get bigger and stronger, but his first touch is clean, [he has] a good eye for a progressive pass to play forward again,” said Webber. “There’s a lot about him that we’re just still starting to uncover, and I think the First Team is going to like him when they see him.”
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Another young player with a ton of professional experience joining Defiance is 21-year-old Rafael Jauergi, who has already logged over 70 USL Championship appearances with Sacramento Republic and Charleston Battery. Webber, though, is especially excited by 21-year-old defender Codey Phoenix, who Tacoma signed from Auckland FC. He was a member of New Zealand’s squad at the FIFA U-20 World Cup last year and is a left-footed left wingback/fullback with plenty of potential.
“From a profile sense, [Phoenix] has the traits that would suggest he’s got a bright future in the game,” said Webber. “But from a club perspective, we don’t have a lot of depth at left-footed, left-sided defensive players. It’s Nouhou on the First Team, and that’s it. You come down even in the Academy…you’d probably have to go into U-16s to find the next true lefty.
“Codey is [left-footed], and there is something about having the balance of a natural-sided player playing left back that makes us intrigued.”
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It’s not just the new players that have Webber enthusiastic about the 2026 season. Tacoma has two new coaches in Head Coach Paulo Nagamura and Assistant Coach João Paulo. Nagamura was a former MLS player himself before coaching Sporting Kansas City II, the Houston Dynamo and being an assistant with the Chicago Fire. João Paulo, meanwhile, made 158 appearances in all competitions for the Sounders from 2020-25 and helped Seattle win two major trophies before retiring this past offseason.
“[Nagamura] might be the most experienced coach who’s ever taken our second team,” said Webber. “He’s seen a lot as a coach. Forget about his playing career, which was actually very good as well.
“And then João Paulo, of course, has such a pedigree with our First Team,” Webber continued. “He’s a trophy-winner and everything else, but he’s a quiet, cerebral, meticulous sort of observer of details. Those traits indicate to me that he’s going to be a good coach.”
The Nagamura era kicked off on March 1 with a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against LAFC II. Tacoma rallied for 81st and 85th-minute goals from Tsukanome and Bronnik respectively, before falling 4-1 on penalties. Defiance will visit Houston Dynamo II on Sunday (4 p.m. PT; Watch HERE) looking to grab their first win of the year.
“We’re very, very satisfied with the mentality that these new players have brought in,” said Webber. “They’re nice guys off the field, very hard workers on it and willing to tackle and fight and push.”
