Power Rankings: Where does your team start the 2025 MLS season? | MLSSoccer.com

The Power Rankings are back. You’re welcome. Or, um, we’re sorry? I’ve been doing this like four years now and it’s never been clear which.

What’s clear is a collection of Major League Soccer soccer dot com experts and experts adjacent got together and did their best to rank each team from 1 → 30 based on whatever “power” means. We averaged those rankings out and got the list you see below.

Think of this less like a preseason prediction and more like a preseason Rorschach test for each team that tells us we’re all broken in some way.

The Supporters’ Shield is still here. Lionel Messi is still here. And the questions that followed Inter Miami for all of 2024 until they crashed out of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs are still here, too.

Can the additions of midfielder Telasco Segovia and defenders Gonzalo Luján and Maxi Falcón (plus a full season of center back David Martínez) help them sort out those defensive issues? And can they really keep outrunning their underlying numbers? Because, folks, take out Messi and Luis Suárez’s comical 16 goals worth of overperformance and Inter Miami still would have ended up as the eighth-most overperforming team in American Soccer Analysis’ database (back to 2013).

Anyway, it’s cups (plural) or bust for this group in 2025. It’s weird to say it, but a second straight Supporters’ Shield alone won’t be enough to call this year a success.

Things aren’t going to feel the same for the defending MLS Cup champs.

Year two of Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec on the wings should make all those losses relatively manageable, though. Also, looking at the sixth star above their crest always helps.

LAFC went out this winter and did a whole bunch to remind everyone of their pre-2022 offseason. Basically, they added a whole handful of proven MLS Guys to an already impressive roster.

Former San Jose striker Jeremy Ebobisse, former Galaxy midfielder Mark Delgado and former FC Dallas center back Nkosi Tafari are all here (among others). Those are the kind of smart moves we’ve come to expect from one of the best front offices in MLS.

However, we’ve gotta point out how the central midfield is basically entirely remade and attackers Mateusz Bogusz and Cristian Olivera are gone, too. There are some questions Steve Cherundolo’s group needs to answer early on.

Yeah, they’re fourth in “power,” but some believe Seattle are the odds-on favorite to win the Western Conference this year after adding former FC Dallas standouts Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola.

They’ll be your typically stout Seattle side with a needed dose of attacking flexibility (and a ready-made stand-in if DP Pedro de la Vega can’t stay healthy). With all the questions surrounding the LAs, Seattle’s floor is the highest in the conference.

You might have spent a few days panicking about 2023 MLS MVP Luciano Acosta leaving for FC Dallas. That’s understandable. He might have been even better in 2024. But you can go ahead and stop panicking now.

In typical Cincy fashion, they immediately spent big to find a more-than-suitable replacement. Evander arrives from Portland after a 15-goal, 19-assist season that would have been MVP-caliber in any other year. On top of that, they splashed a then-MLS-record $16.2 million on striker Kévin Denkey. Expectations should be sky-high once again.

(Man, imagine showing this blurb to someone in 2021.)

“Atlanta United are back” is back. Maybe, just maybe, it has some merit this time.

The Five Stripes had an all-timer of an MLS offseason, swiping sporting director Chris Henderson from Inter Miami, hiring former MLS Cup-winning head coach Ronny Deila, and spending reportedly roughly $33 million to bring back Miguel Almirón and add MLS-record transfer Emmanuel Latte Lath. Somewhere along the way, they added D.C. United DP midfielder Mateusz Klich for practically nothing.

If “Atlanta United are back” isn’t true this time, it may never be.

No one gets rich betting against a Wilfried Nancy-led team. But, man, this will be more of an uphill battle than expected after the departure of superstar striker Cucho Hernández to LaLiga side Real Betis.

Columbus will spend to bring in a replacement, but it’s unclear when. Also, Cucho was a unicorn. He did everything at an extremely high level; you don’t just find another player like him lying around.

The Crew’s ceiling is limited until they find a solution. It’s the first time in a long time there are actual concerns with a Nancy-led team.

Charlotte seem primed to pile up points. They should be strong defensively and they’ve added DP winger Wilfried Zaha on loan from Galatasaray. He should elevate an attack that doesn’t have to be elite for this team to be successful. They should be better and more cohesive than the 2024 side that earned 51 points.

Orlando City had two major concerns this offseason after DP winger Facundo Torres was transferred to Palmeiras (for reportedly up to $14 million) and central midfielder Wilder Cartagena picked up a season-ending Achilles injury.

They’ve replaced Torres with Croatian winger Marco Pašalić, who arrives as a DP from the Croatian first division. We’ll just have to assume Orlando know something we don’t there. They’ve replaced Cartagena with Eduard Atuesta, who arrives as a proven high-level MLS starter and clearly makes the team better. We’ll have to give Orlando full marks there.

Will those moves be enough to improve on last year’s Eastern Conference Final appearance?

New York added DP striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and jettisoned former DP striker Dante Vanzeir. There’s some concern about the defense after the departures of John Tolkin and Andrés Reyes. Yet, as always, the Red Bulls’ success likely comes down to whether Choupo-Moting and DP To Be Named Later can lift their attack to somewhere near 2018 levels.

It will be tough to follow up an MLS Cup appearance, but the 2025 regular season will be more enjoyable than 2024 if those new pieces are clicking and Emil Forsberg remains healthy.

If DP striker Kelvin Yeboah is as good as the 9g/2a in his first 12 MLS matches suggest he is, Minnesota will be just fine. They’re at least a top-tier central midfielder away from truly contending, but there’s significant upside during Eric Ramsay’s second year in charge.

It’s not a bad idea to default to placing New York City FC this high, but there are more question marks around this team than normal.

Central midfielder James Sands is injured long-term (after being loaned to FC St. Pauli), attacking midfielder Santiago Rodríguez is reportedly set to join Botafogo, and new head coach Pascal Jansen is an unknown in MLS.

They’ll have DP flexibility if Rodríguez indeed leaves… but, as always, NYCFC are leaving their big offseason moves a bit late for everyone’s comfort. As of now, a team that finished sixth in the Eastern Conference last year hasn’t improved.

Houston at No. 13 is… well, it’s not a Puig-less LA at No. 2. But still, I’ve got a dissenting opinion.

The Dynamo lost midfielders Coco Carrasquilla and Héctor Herrera this offseason. They added Philadelphia’s Jack McGlynn via trade to help compensate for those subtractions, but replacing them is easier said than done. Elsewhere, it’s largely the same team. They have an open DP spot and need to use it, likely on a No. 10.

Austin might be the most interesting team in the Western Conference?

They unexpectedly hired ex-FC Dallas manager Nico Estévez, then turned heads when reportedly spending $20+ million combined to acquire DP forwards Myrto Uzuni and Brandon Vazquez. Add in Osman Bukari and Austin broke their club-record transfer three times in about eight months.

Last year, the Rapids took a major step forward in attack after a busy 2023-24 offseason. However, their defense did not get the memo. Can the additions of center backs Chidozie Awaziem and Ian Murphy from Cincy and midfielder Josh Atencio from Seattle correct that?

It’s been a relatively quiet offseason in St. Louis, but new head coach Olof Mellberg seemingly has talent to work with after last year’s midseason additions of Marcel Hartel and Cedric Teuchert in attack looked like bonafide plus-starters in MLS.

A full season with Hartel and Teuchert, plus a refreshed game model, could be enough to get St. Louis back to the playoffs.

There are serious concerns here after the departures of forwards Chicho Arango and Anderson Julio. DP No. 10 Diogo Gonçalves didn’t immediately click last season and, quite frankly, this team hasn’t looked the same since losing Andrés Gómez last August.

If Austin aren’t the most interesting team in the Western Conference, San Jose are.

Bruce Arena is in charge now and immediately got to work doing Bruce Arena things. Former Arena-era Revs Mark-Anthony Kaye, Dave Romney, Earl Edwards Jr. and Ian Harkes have reunited with their old coach in San Jose. Meanwhile, Chicho Arango and Josef Martínez have arrived as the club’s new strikers.

Arena has won big everywhere he’s been in MLS, and a very Arena-esque roster is starting to take shape.

It’s tough to be sold on the Timbers after losing Evander, but they at least had a contingency plan ready to go. Portland immediately struck a deal to acquire DP midfielder David Da Costa from Ligue 1’s RC Lens. Evander is a mighty tough act to follow, though.

The Stuart Armstrong era came and went in an instant. Now, the Whitecaps are again looking for a third DP. Until they add one and he stays around a while, Vancouver’s station as a good-but-not-great team is unlikely to change.

It’s officially Caleb Porter’s team after the Revs worked overtime to reshape their roster. The big additions are striker Leo Campana, winger Ignatius Ganago, midfielder Jackson Yueill, and center backs Brayan Ceballos and Mamadou Fofana. As a whole, this group has a ton of unknowns.

A quick check on our patented Chicago Fire FC Season Timeline.

I can see it → Oh, no → Oh, yikes, no → Well, maybe → Nope → But let’s just… → Oh, ok immediate no on that → But what if they tweak this → This looks better! → OH NO. THEY GOT ME AGAIN → No. → I’m not falling for that → No, forever. → Offseason → I can see it.

We’ve never been more at “I can see it” than right now. New head coach and director of football Gregg Berhalter has already started utilizing Chicago’s deep pockets. DP winger Jonathan Bamba is the standout of their new additions and they still have an open DP spot to utilize when they want. For the first time in a long time, things genuinely feel like they’re heading in the right direction.

FC Dallas had plenty to worry about and then Lucho Acosta showed up. They may not be an elite side on paper yet, but Acosta is a superstar who should only make Petar Musa better.

Also, moves for central midfielder Ramiro, wingers Anderson Julio and Léo Chú, and defenders Shaq Moore and Osaze Urhoghide give Dallas some extra upside. Don’t count them out in year one under head coach Eric Quill.

No. 24 feels… maybe a little high. D.C. have reigning Golden Boot presented by Audi winner Christian Benteke, but are missing other high-level pieces. There are real worries here.

Montréal might be the youngest team in the league this year, which at least makes them interesting. This could go so many ways.

How much different will Nashville look during B.J. Callaghan’s first full year in charge? A new and more viewer-friendly game model can only take you so far if the pieces aren’t there. Maybe the additions of midfielders Edvard Tagseth and Gastón Brugman can make what’s new truly matter.

It’s been years since we’ve thought about Philadelphia sitting this low, but here we are. Bradley Carnell has replaced Jim Curtin as head coach and Jack Elliott, Leon Flach and Jack McGlynn are all gone. The teardown of the best Union side we’ve ever seen is essentially complete. Now, we’ll find out how far Energy Drink Soccer can take this roster.

Starting out higher than 30th as an expansion side is a tremendous accomplishment (or an indictment of the teams below them). San Diego’s roster already includes DP wingers Chucky Lozano and Anders Dreyer, USMNTer/San Diego native Luca de la Torre in midfield, and former Red Bulls center back Andrés Reyes as the centerpiece of their defense. They’re already trending more towards LAFC than FC Cincinnati on the expansion spectrum.

Sporting KC added two new DPs in LA Galaxy striker Dejan Joveljić and No. 10 Manu García. There are still real questions almost everywhere else though, especially in defense.

Robin Fraser’s first year in charge will be about laying the foundation for something better to come.