Chicago’s offseason rebrand from the Chicago Red Stars to the Chicago Stars didn’t show up on the pitch in the way that they wanted, dropping from their 8th place finish in 2024 to bottom of the table in 2025. 

The Stars have seen four different head coaches—including interim—through their season. Lorne Donaldson was hired ahead of the 2024 preseason, but was let go of at the end of April after a lackluster start to the season—5 losses and 1 win at the time of his departure. Masaki Hemmi took over as the interim head coach until July (3 draws, 3 losses) when he left to take a full-time head coaching position with USL Super League club Lexington SC. 

With the exit of Hemmi, Masar took the interim position for the second time in her career and had the most successful stint of the season (5 draws) until the club announced that the new head coach would be Martin Sjögren with Anders Jacobson taking over the interim title until Sjögren’s season in the Swedish Damallsvenskan completes. Jacobson’s record through the end of the season was (2 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses). 

Hopefully with the offseason Sjögren and general manager Richard Feuz are able to make the moves to complement the style of play Sjögren wants to play next season—however, with already 19 players signed for the 2026 season, there might be some limitations in any transition of play. 

The Positives

Although the Stars lost USWNT star Mallory Swanson to maternity leave this season, they do have her signed through the 2028 season, with the expectation that she’ll be returning next season. The real question here is how to maximize the effectiveness of both Ludmila and Swanson when they are on the pitch together — something that wasn’t really seen during the 2024 season. 

In terms of cohesiveness, the majority of their field player minutes are coming back for 2026, and there were key long-term extensions this season including Sam Staab, Julia Grosso, and Bea Franklin. 

The Stars singular U18 player, Micayla Johnson (17 years old) was another key midseason signing who should be a big part of the long-term future of the club. 

The Negatives

The team unfortunately led the league in goals conceded with 54, a 12 goal margin to any other team and so defense must be shored up heading into next season. Part of the issue through the season was dealing with untimely injuries that temporarily saw defensive midfielders sliding back into the centerback role. 

They were also tied for 8th for goals scored among the 14 teams, which combined with the goals conceded is not a recipe to make it above the playoff line. 

Due to the above mentioned coaching chaos, one would hope that having a consistent team identity throughout the season should help for the. 

Roster Flexibility 

The big question for the Stars in the offseason is whether captain and starting goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher will re-sign with the Stars. Ahead of the final regular season match, Naeher said to the media, “I'm just going to play on Sunday and then, like I've done for the last eight years, make a decision at the end of the year.”

Outside of Naeher, the players with substantial minutes who are free agents are midfielder Shea Groom, forward Ally Schlegel, defender Cam Biegalski, and midfielder Cari Roccaro—who has been mysteriously ‘excused’ since the summer break. 

As for incoming signings, the Stars only have one available international spot for 2026.

Offseason Priorities

The other thing the Stars need to focus on is not just getting the absolute best from the players they have, but getting the talent that allows them to compete with the top of the league, which has been setting the bar higher and higher every season. 

The real question is whether the owners, and GM Richard Feuz, are willing to spend the necessary money in order to compete with the top teams in the league.