Chicago has 30 players on its preseason roster but will still be without Mallory Swanson as the club will head to Spain in February for three friendlies
Chicago Stars FC dropped a whole lot of news on the afternoon of Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026 as the club announced its preseason roster, coaching staff updates and preseason schedule ahead of the first day of training on Tuesday.
Chicago, which is entering its first season under head coach Martin Sjögren, will start preseason in Bridgeview, Illinois before shifting to Murcia, Spain from February 1 through February 19. While in Spain Chicago will take on Danish side HB Køge on February 6, Spanish side Alhama CF on February 11 and there is one more friendly to be announced soon.
Chicago has thirty players on their roster for preseason but three will not be immediately available. Mallory Swanson remains on maternity leave, Jameese Joseph is away with the United States Women’s National Team and Mackenzie Wood is still recovering from an injury she suffered last year. Joseph will re-join the team for their trip to Spain.
Sjögren added three members to his coaching staff alongside Anders Jacobson in new head of performance Sebastian Larsson (who joins Sjögren and Jacobson in making the move from Hammarby IF), assistant coach Mariana Cabral and goalkeeper coach Daniel Ball. Brenton Saylor and Jimmy Haley, who were Chicago’s goalkeeper coach and head of performance, respectively, in 2025 were not retained for the 2026 season.
Chicago has four non-rostered invitees for preseason and all of them are rookies. Maya Matesa just finished her four-year collegiate career at Duquesne, where she was named the A-10 Offensive Player of the Year in her senior season. Hannah Gryzik, an Elk Grove Village native who just finished up her career at UIC, is one of two non-rostered midfielders at Chicago Stars preseason camp alongside former Florida Atlantic standout Morgan McDonald. Makenzie Malham just finished up her collegiate career at Arkansas and will join her sister Taylor (now Wood) on Chicago’s roster for preseason.
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Chicago Stars FC 2026 preseason roster* (as of January 19):
Goalkeepers: Alyssa Naeher, Katie Lund, Mackenzie Wood (D45), Halle Mackiewicz
Defenders: Sam Staab, Michelle Alozie, Samantha Angel, Elise Evans, Kathrin Hendrich (INTL), Natalia Kuikka (INTL), Makenzie Malham (NRI), Taylor Wood
Midfielders: Brianna Pinto, Tessa Dellarose, Emma Egizii, Bea Franklin, Julia Grosso (INTL), Hannah Gryzik (NRI), Manaka Hayashi (INTL), Maitane (INTL), Morgan McDonald (NRI), Leilanni Nesbeth
Forwards: Jenna Bike, Ivonne Chacón (INTL), Ryan Gareis, Nádia Gomes, Micayla Johnson, Jameese Joseph (NYR), Maya Matesa (NRI), Mallory Swanson (ML)
*Key: INTL=international player, D45=45-day injured list, ML=maternity leave, NRI=non-rostered invitee & NYR=not yet reported