Nashville SC’s first regular season is in just 55 days, on February 29th. The game is at home and it is against the 2018 MLS Cup Champions, Atlanta United. Nashville SC is Western Conference while Atlanta is in the East though these two teams seem likely to form a rivalry because of location.
The players on Nashville’s current roster represent 23 International appearances, 1,558 MLS appearances, 215 senior national caps, 6 world cup caps, 51 MLS Playoff appearances, and 433 Goals for club and country. (via NashvilleSC.com)
Nashville SC currently has 24 players and their are a few important events upcoming. The MLS Superdraft happens on Thursday, January 9th and Nashville has the 2nd overall pick. The superdraft works similarly to the NFL and NHL draft. The two expansion teams, Nashville and Miami, receive the first two picks with non-playoff teams coming next according to their record.
Here are the players currently listed on Nashville SC’s roster:
Goalkeepers: (2)
Joe Willis 6”5 189lbs 31yrs
Adíran Zendejas 6”5 185lbs 24yrs
Defenders: (10)
Jalil Anibaba 6”0 185lbs 31yrs
Brayan Beckeles 6”1 176lbs 34yrs
Aníbal Godoy 6”0 165lbs 29yrs *listed as defender and midfielder
Daniel Lovitz 5”10 170lbs 28yrs
Jimmy Medranda 5”5 150lbs 25yrs
Eric Miller 6”1 175lbs 26yrs
Miguel Nazarit 6”1 172lbs 22yrs
Dave Romney 6”2 190lbs 26yrs
Ken Tribbett 6”2 170lbs 27yrs
Taylor Washington 6”2 170lbs 26yrs *came from Nashville USL team
Midfielders: (5)
Derrick Jones 6”4 178lbs 22yrs *came from Nashville USL team, injured last season
Matt LaGrassa 6”0 174lbs 26yrs *came from Nashville USL team
Randall Leal 5”7 163lbs
Dax McCarty 5”9 150lbs 32yrs
Hany Mukhtar 5”8 159lbs 24yrs *Nashville’s first designated MLS player
Forwards: (7)
David Accam 5”8 156lbs
Dominique Badji 6”0 170lbs
Abu Danaldi 5”10 170lbs 24yrs
Cameron Lancaster 6”0 192lbs 27yrs *came from Nashville USL team
Randall Leal 5”7 163lbs 22yrs
Daniel Ríos 6”1 185lbs 24yrs *came from Nashville USL team
Alan Winn 5”10 165lbs 23yrs *came from Nashville USL team
The roster currently consists of 24 players though a full MLS roster has 30. With just 5 midfielders, I think Nashville will look to add some midfielders early in the draft. Most drafted players will head into the team’s training camp though not all players make the roster. Drafted players are placed on the “College Protected List” until December 31st and after that date, the team loses priority rights to sign the player.
While recent expansion teams like Atlanta United targeted young, Central American players, Nashville had no definitive strategy. GM Gary Smith, who was also the USL manager, has a lot of experience and he won the MLS cup in 2010 as the manager of the Colorado Rapids. Smith has signed his fair share of older players though I trust what he is doing because of his experience and success.