Committed to completely retooling their technical staff and bringing in new players, the Oakland Roots bid farewell to longtime technical director Jordan Ferrell. To start the rebuild, they welcomed Ryan Martin, an experienced USL head coach, while saying goodbye to nine players from the 2025 squad, and retaining the contracts of thirteen.
It wasn’t surprising that Jordan Ferrell and the Roots decided to part ways after successive underperforming seasons. While largely unsuccessful in bringing success to the first team, Ferrell did have some achievements with the Roots development squad, Project 51O.
“To the players, staff, and ownership, thank you for your trust, your relentless commitment, and for sharing in the dream of building something special,” said Ferrell during the announcement. “I leave with immense pride in what we’ve established together and full belief that the roots we’ve planted will continue to grow stronger for years to come.”
To right the ship on the technical side, the Roots gave up on appointing head coaches with limited experience and chose one with extensive knowledge of how to construct a roster and deliver results on the field.
Ryan Martin has been the head coach of Loundon United FC since 2019. When he joined the club, it was still a developmental squad for MLS’s DC United. The club went independent in 2023, and despite leading Loundon into the USL playoffs this year, they decided to part ways even before the end of the 2025 campaign.
“My family and I couldn’t be more excited to join the Oakland community and the Roots family,” said Martin during the announcement. “I want to help create an attacking, proactive style of play that our fans enjoy watching and are proud to support — one built on relentlessness, resilience, and a blue-collar honesty that truly reflects this city.”
With Martin in charge, one of his first acts was to decide which players he could trust for the upcoming season and which ones he didn’t. The new head coach decided to bring back a core of thirteen players.
In the attack, there was little doubt that Golden Boot winner Peter Wilson would return. Joining him are Wolfgang Prentice and Danny Trejo.
In the midfield, mid-season acquisition Faysal Bettache joins returners Danny Gomez, Bobosi Byaruhanga, Ali Elmasnaouy, and veteran Tyler Gibson.
In the defense, only three defenders, Ilya Alekseev, Julian Bravo, and Neveal Hackshaw, were retained.
The two starting goalkeepers from last year, Kendall McIntosh and Raphael Spiegel, look destined to fight it out again to see who starts games in between the posts.
As for departures, Camden Riley announced his retirement from pro soccer at the end of the season. In the defense, Kai Greene is out of contract, and Gagi Margvelashvili and Abdi Mohamed were also let go.
Midfielders Jurgen Damm, Panos Armenakas, and Morey Donner have also left the club, as have forward EJ Johnson and goalkeeper Tim Syrel.
