Major League Soccer's newest clubs, Portland and Toronto FC, are preparing for an expansion draft to build their inaugural rosters. The draft is scheduled for Friday, December 12, 2025, allowing the teams to select unprotected players from existing MLS clubs.
Each existing MLS team will protect a certain number of players on their roster, leaving others available for selection. The expansion draft rules typically allow the new clubs to select one player from each participating team, with clubs losing a player becoming exempt from further selections.
While specific player projections vary, available players often include experienced veterans, promising young talent not on protected lists, and those with favorable contract situations. The selections will be a critical first step in constructing competitive squads for the 2026 MLS season.
The draft process is a standard mechanism in MLS for integrating new franchises, with previous drafts helping to establish teams like Charlotte FC and St. Louis CITY SC. The results will shape the initial player pools for both Portland and Toronto FC.
