Corey Wray is on his way: What that means for St. Louis CITY SC.
Corey Wray is set to become the next St. Louis CITY SC Sporting Director. Here's what that means for the STL Sporting structure.
St. Louis CITY SC appears to have its new Sporting Director.
Just as anticipation was beginning to turn to unease, Doug Carslisle and ESPN broke the news that former Columbus Crew assistant GM Corey Wray was preparing to sign on as the club’s second-ever Sporting Director.
Wray comes to St. Louis with high praise around the league. He’ll be hoping for a better situation after his brief stint as Director of Soccer in Montreal ended with owner Joey Saputo shuffling his sons, Luca and Simeone Saputo, into roles serving President/CEO Gabriel Gervais in the sporting department. It was a mess. Wray lasted just ten months in the role, with Forbes brilliantly stating at the time:
“Maybe most troublingly, two of the three top sporting executives remaining appear to have, as their biggest qualification, being owner Joey Saputo’s sons.”
In St. Louis, the Mississauga native will have more freedom in his role without constant meddling from ownership and their progeny. However, there still appears to be some reshuffling within the club, with President and GM Diego Gigliani reportedly looking to take a larger role in the club’s Sporting operations.
Bogert’s reporting arrives on the heels of Gigliani and interim Sporting Director John Hackworth coming to an agreement with Captain Roman Bürki ahead of Decision Day. The contract will make Bürki a Designated Player over the next two seasons. The decision is a large commitment to make, especially while negotiations were narrowing in on a potential Sporting Director. The pair then signed off on the club’s end-of-season roster decisions, triggering the options on Chris Durkin, Sangbin Jeong, João Klauss, Brendan McSorley, Christian Olivares, Jaziel Orozco, and Miguel Perez, while opting to negotiate with CB Henry Kessler.
With Wray’s signature apparently on its way, the decision to trigger the options of Durkin and Sangbin is especially eye-opening.
Last month, I argued in this newsletter that those options – along with any decision that made Bürki a DP – were probably worth walking away from and starting fresh.
Justin Horneker
It’s hard to know what Gigliani's reported ”larger hand in sporting matters” may mean until Gigliani and Wray sit down with the press.
In the past, Gigliani's role has been in managing all day-to-day operations of the club across the sporting, revenue, marketing, experience, operations, administration and community departments. Those responsibilities have seen him at the head of contract negotiations and departmental searches, famously touting the database of managers from which former Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel landed on Olof Mellberg. Out of necessity, the President/General Manager took on a larger role in the sporting department this fall with Hackworth continuing his role as Technical Director and interim CITY2 manager with some additional help from Academy Director Dale Schilly.
...Give those men a vacation.
Bluntly, Gigliani is running out of runway to deliver a winning product. Back-to-back playoff misses won’t satiate an ownership group that has quickly pivoted in subsequent seasons. Ownership signed off on firing Bradley Carnell in 2024, and moved swiftly to correct the obvious mistake of signing Olof Mellberg.
Now, the President and GM appears to be asserting more control ahead of a season where he must deliver success on the pitch. If things go sideways for a third straight season, the blame lies squarely on his shoulders.
Luckily for Gigliani, Corey Wray has proven he can find value around the edges in the North American market.
Wray understands the pipeline:
Corey Wray started his career in 2007 as an intern for Toronto FC. He meticulously worked his way up through the club’s sporting department, eventually landing in the good graces of General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko. During his time at TFC, he assisted in creating the club’s affiliate squads, the club’s original academy regional ID program, and oversaw the club’s scouting and analytics departments.
As Wray worked his way through the club’s organizational structure into his final role as Assistant General Manager of Team Operations and Strategy, TFC won MLS’s first domestic treble and came a penalty shootout away from winning the 2018 Concacaf Champions League.
Following that dynastic run, Bezbatchenko left Toronto to take on a new role as President and General Manager of the Columbus Crew. He quickly moved to hire Wray, naming the Canadian Assistant GM and eventually the sole GM of Crew 2.
Wray’s role in Columbus became pivotal in the Crew’s ascent. He helped reshape the Academy pipeline, building a Crew 2 side that developed key contributors in the Crew’s 2023 MLS Championship run under Wilfried Nancy.
Take that Championship-winning roster.
The Crew benefited from key production derived from Crew 2 graduates. Patrick Schulte, Mo Farsi, Aidin Morris, Sean Zawadsky, Max Arfsten, and Jacen Russell-Rowe were important cogs in the MLSNP side’s 2022 Championship win. It’s easy to trace their acquisitions to Wray, with most arriving as academy signings, developmental bets, and MLS SuperDraft picks.
While the acquisitions of Cucho Hernández and Diego Rossi were largely attributed to Issa Tall and Bezbatchenko, Wray built the foundation of the Crew’s supporting cast. An impact that is now being felt in the US and Canadian national teams.
A proven eye for young talent, he will bring those skills to Mound City at a pivotal time.
CITY SC has an important class of academy players working through the MLS NEXT and USYNT ranks. Wray’s vast experience in cultivating that pathway to the first team is crucial for CITY SC’s current outlook.
Many roster frustrations can be solved with a competent young player pathway. TFC proved that in their run, and the Crew proved that during their recent dynasty.
Wray will have space to maneuver.
However, Wray has never been the guy to make the final decisions on first-team roster moves. A potential worry for CITY SC supporters with so much work is needed up and down the current roster. For better or for worse, there will be opportunities to reshape the club’s outlook over the next three transfer windows.
Working off the most recent MLSPA salary drop, CITY could have up to six senior roster spots available, and up to five supplemental spots depending on the outstanding options of Joey Zalinsky, Jayden Reid, Seth Antwi, and negotiations with Ben Lundt, Josh Yaro, and Henry Kessler. That’s eleven potential roster spots, allowing space for homegrown players Miggy Perez and Tyson Pearce to be added to the roster.
Then, there will be either a DP or U22 spot – depending on the club’s roster designation – to address some crucial areas of need on a roster that missed the play-in match by nine points.
*I also believe the club should be able to buy down Jake Girwood-Reich’s U22 designation in the summer.*
Wray needs to use that flexibility to add: goals without blocking the path for Mykhi Joyner on the wing, multiple two-way wingbacks, a defensively responsible DM, and a positionally responsible CB to pair with Fallou Fall and Timo Baumgartl.
That’s a lot of work on top of hiring a manager who will use the roster as intended.
Next up: A pivotal Coaching search.
John Hackworth’s status
One final note: What will happen with John Hackworth?
Diego Gigliani laid out the plan last fall. Hackworth will return to his role as the club’s technical director, presumably having input in roster decisions, technical hires, and coordinating with Schilly and the Academy. Those roles also appear to have some crossover with Wray’s expertise. As hard as it is to envision a CITY SC without Hackworth, it can’t feel good to be passed over for important roles in back-to-back offseasons.
During his recent CITY2 availabilities, it was clear that the former Philadelphia, Louisville City, and interim CITY SC manager feels at home delivering instructions from the touchline.
"I feel at home down here."
He won the MLSNP Coach of the Year for his efforts.
Hackworth will most likely return to St. Louis; there’s no indication that he won’t, but if another club were to offer an opportunity to manage again, it is difficult to see him refusing the call.
