Parity has been the defining factor of Major League Soccer through its 30 previous seasons and in the Western Conference, it will likely reign supreme again in 2026.
2024 champions LA Galaxy crashed to a 14th-place finish last year, proving any team can fall below expectations in any given season, but they have plenty of reason to think that their fortunes could be very different this time round.
With the season kicking off on Feb. 21, Sports Illustrated previews and predicts what 2026 could have in store for all 15 Western Conference MLS sides.
15. St. Louis CITY SC
St. Louis CITY SC did not have the year they hoped for after firing manager Bradley Carnell after the 2024 season. After just 15 games, they split with manager Olof Mellberg amid a sputtering start to 2025 and only slightly improved under interim manager David Critchley for the rest of the season.
It was a slow-moving offseason for St. Louis, but their moves came fast and furious after appointing Corey Wray as sporting director, replacing Lutz Pfannenstiel. Since then, they have separated from 12 players, including now former DP striker João Klauss.
With those departures, they have added a few potential key pieces. Daniel Edelman, 22, comes in from Red Bull New York, where he played 104 MLS games and helped the team reach the 2024 MLS Cup. Meanwhile, Mamadou Mbacke Fall bolsters the center back position, returning to MLS after leaving LAFC in 2023 for a spell with Spanish giants FC Barcelona.
Led by manager Yoann Damet and with a significantly overhauled roster, there are reasons to think positively for St. Louis, but 2026 may be too early for them to find any significant success.
14. Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City had one of the most intensive offseasons in MLS, undergoing an ownership change, naming new general manager David Lee and manager Raphaël Wicky, while making 20 combined arrivals and departures, all with hopes of finishing above last place in the Western Conference.
Led by striker Dejan Joveljić, who scored 18 goals in 2025, SKC enters 2026 with hopes of improvement and laying the groundwork for new success, with a supposed increase in investment in the short and long-term future.
That investment has yet to hit the current roster, and there is not much experience within the team to pose a significant threat to the top of the conference this season.
Can Wicky find something in a rejuvenation project for defender Justin Reynolds, acquired in a trade from Chicago Fire, or forward Calvin Harris, who had nine goals in three seasons with the Colorado Rapids? Maybe, but the ceiling does not seem exceptionally high in 2026 for one of the Western Conference’s storied clubs.
13. Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids made massive shifts in 2025 by selling key talismanic midfielder Djordje Mihailovic to Toronto FC for $8 million, then instantly spent that cash on Paxten Aaronson, bringing in the young American for $8.5 million from Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt.
This year’s team and the next era of Rapids soccer will be defined by Aaronson’s success or failure as the central piece. His reintroduction to MLS, though, did not go as swiftly as hoped, scoring just one in his first seven matches, while not influencing games at a similar level to Mihailovic.
At 22 years old, there is clear hope that he can find his form in MLS and be a key player for the Rapids, but that remains an unanswered question. Meanwhile, the club also parted ways with 24-year-old homegrown standout Cole Bassett, former Danish international Andreas Maxsø, and homegrown midfielder Oliver Larraz, leaving gaps in the squad.
The biggest shift is off the roster, though, with former Tottenham Hotspur assistant coach Matt Wells entering his first season as manager, making the step to MLS to take a club’s top coaching role for the first time.
12. Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake is a club fighting for an identity as they enter 2026. They made 22 combined moves during the offseason, splitting with much of the core that saw them finish ninth in the Western Conference last season, sneaking into the Wild Card matchup.
This season, they enter a fifth under manager Pablo Mastroeni, with questions mounting about his ability to continue elevating the side after it slipped from third in the conference in 2024 to the edge of the playoff picture.
They will look to find some hidden gems in 17-year-old attacker Chance Cowell, acquired from the San Jose Earthquakes and Zach Booth, a loan signing from Excelsior Rotterdam, yet neither are locks for success.
Overall, there is not much top-end talent on the roster to bring them back to the MLS Cup playoffs, but it could lay the groundwork for some big-name signings with vacant premium roster spots this summer.
11. Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers have plenty of adjustments to make this season as they weather the loss of David Ayala to Inter Miami and navigate their path forward without midfielder Felipe Carballo and goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, whose options were both declined.
Last season, the Timbers struggled to find their identity after losing MLS MVP contender Evander to FC Cincinnati. They replaced him with David da Costa at the last minute, but the Portuguese midfielder mustered just four goals and eight assists—not a bad output by any means, but a significantly less influential role than Evander’s tenure.
Led by manager Phil Neville for the fourth season, Portland has not changed much, aside from losing a key player in Ayala and committing to James Pantemis as their starting goalkeeper, which should give the Canadian a chance to elevate his game.
The marquee signing thus far has been former New England Revolution defender Brandon Bye, who signed as a free agent. He brings 192 games of MLS experience to the table and has been a key player for a struggling Revolution, but is unlikely to be the talent injection Portland need to reach a new level.
Veteran DP attacker Jonathan Rodríguez is still taking up a key spot on the roster, which is another problem. He had an outstanding 2024, but played just 150 minutes last year due to injury and has not recovered.
This season could be tough for the Timbers, but they should be in the playoff hunt.
10. Minnesota United
The changes at Minnesota United will be challenging to handle. Midway through last season, they lost leading scorer Tani Oluwaseyi to Villarreal and struggled to maintain their counterpressing style—then, this offseason, they lost 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Clair to Inter Miami and midfielder Robin Lod in free agency.
If that wasn't already a less-than-ideal start, they then lost manager Eric Ramsay to English Championship side West Bromwich Albion less than two weeks before the start of preseason.
To help soften the blow of those losses, they secured famed Colombian midfielder James Rodríguez through at least June and potentially the entire season, giving them some superstar excitement and hope heading into the campaign. However, after an underwhelming spell with Liga MX's Club Léon, he is not guaranteed to be a success.
While the club has done what they can given the circumstances, naming longtime assistant Cameron Knowles and manager mere hours after Ramsay departed, they will be in for a challenge.
The most significant question remains with their playstyle and goalkeeping. Without a superstar backstop, how reliant can they be on a counter-press, and how familiar will Knowles be in maintaining and tweaking their best tactic to find success?
9. San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes had one of the most interesting offseasons in all of MLS before their second campaign under legendary manager Bruce Arena.
After finishing 10th, a mere tiebreaker outside the playoffs in 2025, the club lost key winger Cristian Espinoza to Nashville SC in free agency and couldn’t bring back their top two scorers, Josef Martínez and Cristian Arango, who scored 14 and 13 goals, respectively.
From a departure standpoint, it was a transformative winter. All this came before they signed a surprise deal with 29-year-old German forward Timo Werner, who comes to the Earthquakes as the most significant signing in their MLS history.
Any success San Jose finds this year will rely on Werner, who has made just three appearances for RB Leipzig in 2025-26, totaling fewer than half a match's worth of combined minutes. Yet, he is still the same player who has 24 goals in 57 caps for Germany and isn’t yet on the wrong side of 30—MLS might just be what he has needed to rekindle his scoring touch, and Arena’s Earthquakes could use that too.
8. FC Dallas
FC Dallas will kick off their second season under manager Eric Quill, hoping to rekindle the form they showed at the end of 2025 and into the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs, where they fell to eventual Western Conference champions, Vancouver.
Zoning in on Dallas’s end to the season, there’s reason to believe this team can be a significant challenger in 2026. Much of their first half of the year was hampered by drama surrounding Luciano Acosta, who failed to spark a partnership with DP striker Petar Musa, while he also struggled to settle into his new club.
The squad improved significantly since splitting from Acosta and will hope to continue that rise in 2026. Once again, the onus will be on Musa, who looks to build on an 18-goal campaign, while Michael Collodi is expected to take control between the sticks following Maarten Paes’s departure.
While that trio will be critical, Dallas will also seek quick MLS adjustments from 21-year-old Israel youth international Ran Binyamin, who was acquired from Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Tel Aviv as a U22 Initiative player, as well as Herman Johansson, who won the Swedish top-flight with Mjällby AIF and earned his first senior cap with Sweden last year.
7. LA Galaxy
The LA Galaxy finished second-last in the Western Conference in 2025 and won’t be able to reintroduce superstar midfielder Riqui Puig back into the lineup, after he had a significant setback and additional surgery in his ACL recovery. Yet, they still stand for massive improvement in 2026.
Led by manager Greg Vanney in the first year of a new contract signed amid the team’s dismal 2025 campaign, the Galaxy are poised to return to their true level, which is likely closer to the team that won MLS Cup in 2024 and not the 2025 edition. At the same time, they have bolstered the squad by bringing in DP striker João Klauss from St. Louis, hoping to cushion the blow from Puig missing another season.
With hopes that Klauss can find success from the start, Vanney will also look for rejuvenated campaigns from Marco Reus, Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil. The six-time MLS Cup champions hope to find some consistency and success this season.
6. Austin FC
Austin FC finds itself with a massive opportunity as it enters the 2026 season, having moved on from weighted contracts and taken big swings to improve the roster ahead of manager Nico Estévez’s second year on the touchline.
Last season, they finished sixth in the Western Conference and were swiftly knocked out in the MLS Cup playoffs. However, much of their potential was held back by Osman Bukari’s three goals as one of the league’s most disappointing Designated Players, as well as the injury to key striker Brandon Vázquez.
This season, Vázquez will be back in the lineup, and he will have additional support alongside him. They’ve added Jayden Nelson from Vancouver, bringing in a Canadian international who had three goals and 11 assists in 40 matches across the regular season and playoffs, as well as Orlando City’s record goalscorer, Facundo Torres, who will have the potential to crack Uruguay’s World Cup squad.
With the transitions in key premium roster spots and with Estévez entering his second year at the helm, there’s plenty of reason for Austin to aspire towards a significant step forward in 2026.
5. Seattle Sounders FC
2025 was a relatively disappointing season for Seattle Sounders FC. Despite coming away with an emphatic Leagues Cup final win over Inter Miami, they struggled in MLS, finishing fifth in the Western Conference before losing to Minnesota United in the playoffs.
Much of those struggles, though, came down to poor injury luck, with Paul Arriola missing nearly the entire season, while Jordan Morris, Jesus Férreira, and several others dealt with significant injuries throughout the season.
This year, once again led by veteran MLS manager Brian Schmetzer, the Sounders enter with a relatively clean bill of health and several players to build around, including a rejuvenated Cristian Roldan in midfield, who hopes to represent the U.S. men's national team at the World Cup.
Their biggest shift, though, comes as they adjust to not having 20-year-old Obed Vargas in the lineup after he moved to Atlético Madrid in the final hours of the Spanish transfer window. Instead, Schmetzer must find a way to replace his 26 starts from 2025 in midfield.
Outside of the stars, the Sounders have quietly added strong depth this offseason, signing defender Ryan Sailor from Inter Miami and midfielder Hassani Dotson from Minnesota United, while also securing energetic homegrown midfielder Paul Rothrock to a new contract.
The standard for soccer in Seattle is high, and there will be significant demand given that they are the only MLS team playing in a stadium that will host the USMNT at the World Cup—now, they just have to deliver.
4. Houston Dynamo
If there’s one sporting director who hasn’t gotten much sleep this offseason, it’s probably the Houston Dynamo’s Pat Onstad, who has led an aggressive transfer campaign for the Orange and Black, with the hopes of a 2026 return to the MLS Cup Playoffs.
After finishing 12th in the Western Conference in 2025, the Dynamo have added Polish international Mateusz Bogusz from defending Concacaf Champions Cup winners Cruz Azul, former Santos FC captain Guilherme, as well as former Mexico international and DP midfielder Héctor Herrera, who spent the 2025 season with Liga MX’s Deportivo Toluca.
Guilherme, a Brazilian winger on a DP contract, is the central piece of the offseason and possibly the most transformative, given he has spent most of his career with historic Brazilian sides Santos, Botafogo, Grêmio, Fortaleza and Chapecoense, totalling 12 goals and 11 assists in 121 Brazilian top-flight appearances.
His qualities in MLS will also catch some defenders by surprise, a well-known advantage to newcomers in the league. Meanwhile, Herrera, 35, returns as a non-DP and will look to be influential in depth, while Bogusz has been a punishing player for in MLS for LAFC.
There’s plenty of hope for Houston. With a marquee trio and an experienced manager like Ben Olsen at the helm, there's a possibility of a rapid rise up the Western Conference table.
3. San Diego FC
San Diego FC makes its way into its second season in MLS after breaking nearly every record for an expansion team in its inaugural season, topping the Western Conference with 63 points.
Given their success, they will start the season balancing Concacaf Champions Cup duties with MLS, a test that often throws off teams, managers and players who have not dealt with heavy early-season schedules. Yet, there could be a blessing in disguise with their tough opening draw against Liga MX giants Pumas UNAM and the potential for a first-round exit, allowing full focus on MLS.
The key to their fortunes will be 2025 MLS Newcomer of the Year, Anders Dreyer, who will look to continue at the level that saw him score 19 goals and contribute 19 assists while playing in every single one of the 34 regular-season games in his first MLS season. Making his role even more vital is the ongoing issue with Mexico star Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, who remains with the club, despite sporting director Tyler Heaps announcing that the two parties would part ways at the beginning of preseason.
Outside of Dreyer’s importance, manager Mikey Varas will likely continue to employ a tactic reliant on wide transitions, while looking for a striker to fill the role down the middle—potentially, an adjusted role for new midfielder Lewis Morgan, acquired from Red Bull New York.
2. LAFC
LAFC enter their first season under manager Marc Dos Santos with lofty expectations and a front-line led by the best attacking duo in MLS, Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min.
While LAFC could have gone with a drastic coaching shift and changed the way they played, the move to appoint Dos Santos after his four seasons as an assistant under former manager Steve Cherundolo offers consistency and a chance to build on a relatively successful style through the last five years. As such, it helps Bouanga and Son, the two keys to the club's success this season.
If LAFC had not signed Son and the South Korean superstar had not scored 12 goals in his first 13 games while developing an outstanding relationship with Bouanga, they may have gone in a different direction in the coaching search. Instead, the club opted to stick with what works as closely as possible, hoping to build on the third-place finish from 2025.
Outside of the attacking duo, the Black and Gold made savvy offseason moves, bringing in Canadian international Jacob Shaffelburg from Nashville SC to add a pacy, direct option up the wing, and signing Amin Boudri from Swedish top-flight side GAIS on a U22 Initiative deal, injecting creativity into the midfield.
Expect a level of consistency with LAFC in a year that should bring plenty of fun highlights as Son takes on his first full season and Bouanga looks to build on his Western Conference-leading 24-goal 2025 season.
1. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Nobody expected Vancouver Whitecaps FC to have the kind of success they did in 2025. The campaign, which began with the club being listed for sale, saw them make the Concacaf Champions Cup and MLS Cup finals, finishing runner-up in both, as well as win the Western Conference playoffs and a fourth-straight Canadian Championship.
On top of all their success and after reaching the Champions Cup final, they signed German legend Thomas Müller, attracting a bona fide European superstar for the first time in club history. This season, they enter with lofty expectations in every competition, especially in the first full campaign with Müller and the second under MLS Coach of the Year finalist Jesper Sørensen.
For them to find success, return performances will be key in the 4-2-3-1 setup. USMNT midfielder Sebastian Berhalter will look to build on his high-tempo play and four-goal, 11-assist campaign, with hopes of a 2026 World Cup roster spot. Fellow American Tristan Blackmon hopes to follow up his 2025 success as the 2025 MLS Defender of the Year.
Müller, meanwhile, hopes to stay fit and lead the team after an incredible start to life in MLS saw him score seven goals and three assists in seven matches. Up top, Brian White looks to stay healthy and build on his 16-goal campaign.
The biggest sporting questions facing the team are the health of DP midfielder Ryan Gauld, who will be out until at least April, and how tactics will evolve after Ali Ahmed’s departure.
On the pitch, expect consistency and continuity. Off the pitch, though, the club is in dire straits, which could be a major distraction. They sit bottom of MLS revenue, with relocation looking like a realistic option after this season, especially with several matches unable to be played at their current home stadium, BC Place.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2026 MLS Western Conference: Preview, Season Predictions—Repeat Success in Store.
