As Austin FC continue to fill out its roster ahead of its debut MLS season in 2021, the club is also working on assembling its staff behind-the-scenes, announcing a series of new hires in the soccer operations department in a Monday release.
Austin have made four additions from within MLS and the USL Championship: The club has hired Satoshi Iida from Sporting Kansas City as athletic trainer, Luis Jeronimo will become their strength & conditioning coach from USL side Reno 1868 FC, Chad Kolarcik joins from the Colorado Rapids as head fitness & rehabilitation coach and Andrew Roberts makes the move from Atlanta United as equipment manager.
The new hires also include a pair of transplants from the NBA, with Corey Jez joining from the Utah Jazz as the club's director of sports science and analytics and Aki Tajima joining from the Orlando Magic as the director of sports medicine.
“We are pleased to welcome Cory, Aki, Satoshi, Luis, Chad and Andrew into our growing Soccer Operations department,” Austin sporting director Claudio Reyna said in Monday's release. “Between them, our six newest appointments bring a wide range of experience in top-flight sports, particularly MLS. They are welcome additions to Austin FC, and I know they are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for our club.”
It continues a busy offseason for the expansion side ahead of its MLS launch, as the club has made its selections in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft and acquired former NYCFC midfielder Alex Ring in a blockbuster trade in recent days.
Reyna also has two Designated Player slots available, Targeted Allocation Money to spend and the 2021 MLS SuperDraft as he continues to assemble his team for their debut league campaign.
