Kansas City Comets enter 2025-26 MASL season with deeper roster — and bigger goals

After an injury-plagued 2024-25 campaign derailed their title hopes, the Kansas City Comets believe they have built one of the deepest and most dangerous rosters in the Major Arena Soccer League heading into the 2025-26 season.

The biggest splash came in October, when the Comets signed Dom Francis, a top goalscorer from the Harrisburg Heat. Francis, who has scored over 150 goals throughout his career and played on loan with the Comets in 2021, instantly upgrades an attack that already features a pair of 2025 MASL All-Star forwards in Rian Marques and Zach Reget.

The other big signing over the offseason was David Stankovic, who led the Texas Outlaws with 15 goals out of the midfield as a rookie last season. The Comets’ midfield will also benefit from the return of Marcel Berry, who missed the majority of last season due to injury.

Defensively, the Comets remain anchored by reigning MASL Defender of the Year Chad Vandegriffe, who led the league with 81 blocks last season. Comets captain Nacho Flores, who previously announced his retirement over the summer, has since reversed his decision and will provide more veteran leadership to the defense.

“I feel like I’m enjoying it more,” Flores said of his unexpected return. “I’m enjoying everything about it: the locker room, the warmups, the playing time, everything. Good and bad moments, I’m enjoying it all. It’s definitely a different perspective this year.”

After two weeks of preseason, Flores likes the team’s fitness levels. The team has a point to prove after losing in the first round of last year’s Ron Newman Cup Playoffs, despite making it to the championship series in 2023-24.

“It’s not the team that got to the finals anymore,” Flores said. “It’s the team that lost in the first round of playoffs. When you have seasons that are not the best, that’s when you learn the most. We know what it takes to make it, and we also know where we lacked last year and why we didn’t make it.”

The Comets open the season with a home-and-home I-70 Series against the St. Louis Ambush over Thanksgiving weekend. The Comets visit the Ambush on Nov. 28 before hosting the return leg at Cable Dahmer Arena on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m.

With a fully loaded roster, Flores believes the only way the season is a success is if the Comets get to lift the coveted Ron Newman Cup in April. Tickets are available at kccomets.com/tickets.