FC Cincinnati Youth and Academy Products Bring Energy, Life to Final Friendlies of 2026 Preseason
MLS FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati Youth and Academy Products Bring Energy, Life to Final Friendlies of 2026 Preseason

Published on February 15, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


FC Cincinnati Academy products, both graduates and current members, made their mark on preseason activities this year, earning praise from the coaching staff and veteran players alike as they looked to both learn and prove themselves to open 2026.

In all, five graduates of the FC Cincinnati Academy participated in the entirety of preseason action, with another three contributing at different times during the camp. The experience gained during this time has been an invaluable resource for first-team staff, not only to analyze each player's level, but also to spend time coaching them and helping them prepare for the future.

The five graduates - Gerardo "Dado" Valenzuela, Stiven Jimenez, Stefan Chirila, Andrei Chirila (FC Cincinnati 2) and Ademar Chavez - each participated in the length of the camp, while Connor Dale, William Kuisel and Jack Mize (FC Cincinnati 2, signed from the academy this offseason) each participated in sections.

The club's youth participated in multiple games - players like Valenzuela, Chirla and Jiminez played in at least four of the five games - and they most prominently saw minutes and attention in the final two preseason games, when FC Cincinnati took on Brooklyn FC of the USL Championship and Orlando City SC.

Dado Valenzuela and Stef Chirila played well, each scoring a goal in extended minutes against Brooklyn FC; FC Cincinnati 2 players Andrei Chirila and Jack Mize also performed well, with Andrei Chirila playing a full 90 minutes in the match. Ademar Chávez and William Kuisel also received praise from Noonan for their performances in the Orlando match.

Chávez, one of the newest graduates from the academy who signed a first-team deal this offseason and is with the team for a full preseason for the first time, received specific praise from FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan for his performance this preseason and the progress he's made in a short time with the group.

"(He had) fewer game minutes to analyze, but I would say, a lot of the progress has come just in the training environment. In what we've seen from the beginning of preseason till now," Noonan said after the final friendly of preseason.

"It's a young kid that has a high ceiling. But also a lot to learn about the game and being a pro, and that's going to take time," Noonan continued. "It's different for each player, but in what I've seen and what we've seen from his time last year and now being with the first team consistently through a preseason, is understanding consistency and day to day, how you recover, how you take care of your body, there's still so many things that you know he's got to improve that are going to help and impact the on the field and the on the field in the last two games, the end of the Brooklyn game and the end of the Orlando game, where we're certainly positives.He had the assist for Tom (Barlow's) goal yesterday."

Chávez, 17, was one of the two FC Cincinnati academy players to train with the team during the 2025 preseason, so while this is his first preseason as a pro, he is building off that experience. The midfielder, who has been called into USA and Mexico youth national team camps, also made 12 appearances for FC Cincinnati 2 in MLS NEXT Pro last season, scoring twice.

"Based on who we had in reserve and players that we were monitoring and where he was going to potentially find some time on the field, it ended up being on the left side as a wing back, and that's an unfamiliar position, so that's challenging for a young kid that's typically playing closer to goal, that's typically playing more central, to have a positive impact," Noonan continued in his evaluation of Chavez. "But he was outstanding. We pushed Kévin (Denkey), Evander, and then when we took Tom (Barlow) off, it was to have Stefan (Chirila) up top, and but that's how we were going to analyze just how the kid could be thrown out there and see how he responded. He passed that test. He had a great assist. He had a couple moments where he was isolated in the box and showed his creativity, his one-v-one attacking ability."

"But he had an errant cross after a decent one-v-one moment, and it was important that he understood very quickly the action was good, the outcome wasn't, but on to the next. He just had a good response to how he recovered to get in position and be ready for the next thing. So it's those little things that we're trying to help him with, and help him understand the game at a higher level so that his individual qualities come out at the right time, and he understands how to fit within the group on both sides of the ball. So good progress from him."

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Major League Soccer Stories from February 15, 2026


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