In the world of data and analytics in MLS, there are many faces.
Club-by-club it varies as well, with extensive resources dedicated to specific analysts as well as collaborative efforts in the front office and coaching staff, it's a wide-ranging effort.
Here's a rundown of the lead data/analytics staffer at every club (Note: Inter Miami opted not to participate in this series). Get to know your staff:
Atlanta United: Lucy Rushton
Having joined the club in 2015, Rushton is Atlanta's head of technical recruitment & analysis. She aids in player recruitment, by preparing video clips and recruiting packages and organizing the club's scouting department. She also utilizes video to help prepare the club's first-team players for games.
Rushton previously worked at Reading FC in England, where she was head of technical scouting, and at Premier League club Watford FC as a player recruitment analyst. She has a bachelor's degree in sports leadership from Reading University and a master's degree in sports performance analysis from the University of Wales Institute.
Chicago Fire FC: Georg Heitz
Led by sporting director Georg Heitz, the Fire work with a number of analytic consultants, both independently and abroad, including Driblab. Chicago's scouting department, both for players and opposition, is heavily influenced by data and analytical profiling.
The club's analytics are housed on SAP SportsONE via SAP’s Analytic Cloud, storing performance, scouting and physical data for both the first team and the academy. The Fire also work with MLS league-wide analytic models to compose roster and spend per position.
Also on Chicago's team is Director of Performance Ben Donachie, who previously worked with Premier League club AFC Bournemouth.
FC Cincinnati: Alexander Schram
Schram became FC Cincinnati's first-ever director of soccer analytics in September of 2019, following a stint as manager of data science for REMIQZ Football Analytics in Amsterdam. He has a degree in economics and quantitative economics from the University of Amsterdam as well as a graduate degree in the same subject. His former clients include the Dutch Football Association, the Romanian Football Federation and PEC Zwolle, the former club of General Manager Gerard Nijkamp.
Colorado Rapids: Fran Taylor and Matt Pfeffer
Rapids assistant GM Fran Taylor | Colorado Rapids
Taylor, the club's assistant GM, oversees the Rapids' recruitment strategy. He was a co-founding member of Arsenal's analytics arm StatDNA, which the Rapids have access to through their shared ownership with the Premier League giants. Pfeffer is a data analyst at the club, joining from the NHL's Nashville Predators. He also worked for the Montreal Canadiens.
The Rapids use StatDNA in identification and recruitment of international targets, while they use tracking data for domestic recruitment and match analysis. First team analyst Jase Kim leads that endeavor, alongside an analyzing firm.
Columbus Crew SC: Alex Mysiw
Mysiw is the Crew's data analyst, focusing on player performance and injuries. He reports to technical director Pat Onstad.
It's his fourth season in the role, after initially joining the club as an intern in 2016. Mysiw has a Master's of Public Health in Biomedical Informatics from The Ohio State University as well as a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from Denison University.
FC Dallas: Mikey Varas
FCD assistant coach Mikey Varas oversees the third-party provider, Kin Analytics. Varas studied coaching at professional clubs in Argentina, Italy and Spain before starting his coaching career in California, and was an academy coach before being named to Luchi Gonzalez's staff last year.
Kin Analytics also consults for Brazilian club Palmeiras as well as Liga Pro, the Ecuadorian top flight, among other clients.
D.C. United: Stewart Mairs and Sam Marich
Stewart Mairs (left) with the USWNT | Stewart Mairs
Now D.C. United's technical director, Mairs previously held the title of director of soccer strategy and analysis. In his role, he assists club GM Dave Kasper with "his expertise in data and tactical understanding of the game," Kasper says. Mairs previously worked for Prozone, the performance analysis and statistics company based in the UK, and the US women's national team. During his time with the USWNT, they won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics and the 2015 World Cup.
Marich works closely with Mairs on opposition analysis and acquisition scouting. He has been with the club full-time since 2018 after previously working as an intern under Mairs. He received his bachelor of business administration from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2018.
Houston Dynamo: Matt Jordan and Paul Caffery
Under general manager Jordan, Caffery (head of performance) and Carl Edwards (video analyst) lead the Dynamo's analytics efforts with Sebastian Romero (Scouting Coordinator/Analyst) and Sean Steffan (Data Analyst).
Caffery keeps track of everything in performance, from how much the players sleep to how much distance they cover during training while Edwards leads the first team video analysis and scouting. Assistant coach Omid Namazi and head of sports science Alex Calder assist as well.
Prior to joining the Dynamo, Caffery worked with Chivas USA and the Colorado Rapids. He played collegiate soccer at Adelphi University and professionally with the Long Island Rough Riders. Edwards began his career in New Zealand, including a stint as team manager for the New Zealand futsal team as well as serving as head analyst at Wellington Phoenix, who play in the Australian top flight.
LAFC: Will Kuntz
Kuntz joined LAFC ahead of their expansion season, playing a key role alongside EVP John Thorrington in assembling the club's roster. He coordinates LAFC’s scouting and data analysis and oversees the salary budget.
He previously worked for the New York Yankees, moving from summer intern to manager of pro scouting for the Major League Baseball team over the course of 10 years before joining the MLS league office in 2014, serving as director of player relations.
Kuntz oversees data analyst Max Odenheimer and video analyst Carlo Valladares.
LA Galaxy: Dennis te Kloese
The Galaxy use analytics across multiple sectors on the technical side, all under GM Dennis te Kloese. He oversees analysis across in-game player performance, training, scouting, opposition scouting and more.
Te Kloese joined the Galaxy ahead of the 2019 season after working for the Mexican Football Federation since 2011. He oversaw the men’s and women’s youth and senior-level programs as director of national teams.
Minnesota United: Amos Magee
Magee is the head of the Loons' analytics department, with a committee of staff members beneath him who oversee data and analytics at the club. The committee maintains data sets as well as bringing in new data and analytics.
Joining the club in 2016 ahead of their expansion season the following year, Magee has been around the league a long time. He was a player with the Tampa Bay Mutiny and Chicago Fire before an assistant with the Portland Timbers then D.C. United before landing with Minnesota.
Montreal Impact: Vassili Cremanzidis
Montreal's assistant sporting director, Cremanzidis heads the club's analytical efforts after originally rejoining the club in 2019 as head of analysis and assistant director of player personnel.
Cremanzidis manages the first team’s salary cap, as well as performing an advisory role in the different player acquisition processes in MLS. He also assists in scouting, including developing profiles for potential acquisitions.
Nashville SC: Oliver Miller-Farrell
Miller-Farrell (left) with chief scout Chance Myers | Nashville SC
Miller-Farrell joined the expansion club as director of strategy and analysis after previously working for Perform Group for seven years, where he held a variety of roles, including data analyst. He played collegiate soccer at Oberlin College, where he earned his bachelor's degree in neuroscience.
He oversees data analyst Caleb Shreve.
New England Revolution: Tim Crawford
Crawford joined New England ahead of the 2012 season as an analyst and is the head of the club's analytical efforts, working alongside two other analysts. They assist in multiple areas, from scouting to analysis and more.
A Revs season ticket holder from 2003-08, Crawford graduated from the University of Connecticut and worked as a math teacher in California before joining the club. He's still a tutor in math and statistics.
NYCFC: Dan Fradley
Fradley, NYCFC's head of performance analysis, leads a team of three analysts who focus on all video and data analysis at the club, from the first team to the academy. Their duties include match preparation, player development, opposition scouting, in-game analysis and more.
The analysis team also profile all players in the academy from U-12 through U-19 to support the developmental process.
Fradley joined the club after working for Rochdale AFC in England, where he held the same title. His group at NYCFC includes analysts Dan Miller and Kevin Tosti.
New York Red Bulls: Natasha Patel
Patel joined the Red Bulls as head of performance analysis from Premier League club Southampton, where she held the same role.
With the Red Bulls, Patel oversees the club’s use of analytics in areas including opposition scouting, game preparation and player evaluation from the first team through the academy. During eight years at Southampton, Patel led the club's video analysis to support coaches and players as well as opposition scouting.
She oversees two other analysts.
Orlando City SC: Ricardo Moreira
Moreira (left) with Kaka and Luiz Muzzi | Courtesy Ricardo Moreira
Orlando's director of scouting, Ricardo Moreira, supports all player relations and recruitment matters for the club.
He previously worked for Columbus Crew SC and holds a law degree from the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie in São Paulo and an MBA in sports management from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro.
Philadelphia Union: Dean Costalas
Joining the Union ahead of the 2018 season, Costalas is the club's first team data analyst, primarily focusing on opposition scouting.
Costalas was previously executive director and director of coaching at Palumbo Soccer Club. He graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor's in business administration, where he played collegiate soccer. After college, he worked in finance.
Portland Timbers: Vacant
The Timbers head of analytics is currently open, per the club.
Shannon Murray is the club's video/data analyst on head coach Gio Savarese's staff. He spent time on the Timbers 2 coaching staff and played six professional seasons in the A-League and Continental Indoor Soccer League. Nick Milonas is Portland's director of sports science. He joined the club in 2014 after previously working with Toronto FC and AS Monaco.
Real Salt Lake: Elliot Fall and Tony Beltran
RSL's general manager Elliot Fall and assistant GM Tony Beltran oversee the club's objective models to help evaluate player performance. The data goes alongside subjective evaluation like scouting reports, while also using models to project future spend on the MLS salary cap.
Fall was promoted to GM this offseason after getting his start with the club in 2007 before being promoted to assistant GM in 2013. At 34, he's currently the youngest GM in MLS. Beltran spent his entire MLS career with RSL, making 245 appearances before retiring in 2019 and joined the front office soon thereafter.
San Jose Earthquakes: Matias Almeyda
The Quakes analytics team is comprised of their coaching staff, led by head coach Matias Almeyda, with an external data science expert and a machine-learning team from a renowned local university.
Almeyda joined San Jose ahead of the 2019 season after a successful spell with Chivas in Liga MX. He's also managed Argentine clubs Banfield and River Plate.
Seattle Sounders: Ravi Ramineni
Ramineni is the Sounders' director of soccer analytics after originally joining the club in 2013. He runs Seattle's analytics platform, helping the coaching staff on a day-to-day basis with opposition scouting, training plans and identifying potential player signings, both domestically and abroad.
Prior to linking up with the Sounders, the Tenali, India, native worked for six years at Microsoft. He has master's degrees in computer science and mathematics and a bachelor’s degree in electronics & instrumentation engineering.
Sporting Kansas City: Ash Wallace
SKC's tactical analyst, Wallace helps scout and develop game plans for opponents, assists in training sessions and provides strategic analysis for coaches and players.
Wallace's first assignment with the club was in 2012, when he was contracted to produce a scouting report on the Seattle Sounders ahead of the US Open Cup final. SKC ended up winning and the rest is history. The Englishman previously worked in his home country as a member of the Preston North End coaching staff and an opposition scout for Fleetwood Town.
Toronto FC: Devin Pleuler
Pleuler is Toronto's director of analytics, joining the club in 2015. His analytical and data science work manifests itself in opposition analysis, player recruitment, scouting and performance.
Prior to TFC, Pleuler worked for Opta and even used to write a column for MLSsoccer.com called Central Winger. He graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology with a degree in computer science, where he also played collegiate soccer. He also briefly served as an assistant coach for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Vancouver Whitecaps: Andy Peat
Vancouver's video analyst coach, Peat oversees video analysis with both the first team and the academy. He uses video analysis as part of the coaching, education and development process.
Peat joined the Whitecaps after working as an assistant coach and U-19 head coach of Auckland City FC in New Zealand. He also worked as an analyst for seven years in international women’s football in New Zealand and Canada, including trips to two World Cups.
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