Where we left off last year
2025 season: 55 points, 5th in the Western Conference, 10th in MLS
It’s a cruel world where you can exit the postseason without technically losing a game, but that’s exactly what happened to the Sounders last year in their first round penalty shootout-driven exit at the hands of Minnesota United. While 2025 ended sooner than anyone in Seattle hoped, it’s hard to argue against last year being a success for the Sounders. They beat Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup final and put in three respectable showings in the Club World Cup against Botafogo, Atletico Madrid, and PSG, all while missing key players due to injury for much of the season.
The Sounders were good and deep in 2025, and they're back for more in 2026.
What changed in the offseason
Notable arrivals:
- Hassani Dotson, CM: Back in his home state of Washington after spending his entire MLS career with Minnesota United, Dotson is an extremely savvy free agency pickup given Obed Vargas’ departure. The 28-year-old is an above-average No. 8 who is in the prime of his career and can do a bit of everything on both sides of the ball. Injuries are the only red flag here: Dotson missed most of last year with a knee injury and missed most of 2022 with a different knee injury. Still, he’ll slot right into the starting lineup.
- Nikola Petkovic, CM: Signed on loan from Charlotte FC, Petkovic will occupy a U22 Initiative spot for Seattle. The Sounders are taking a flyer on the 22-year-old (that’s the name of the U22 Initiative game). But that he has 600 MLS minutes and another 1,100 in MLS Next Pro, a league Seattle pay closer attention to than just about any other of their peers, isn’t nothing. There’s talent here. If anyone is going to mine it, it’s the Sounders.
