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Nashville SC announces end-of-year roster decisions; declines option on Aníbal Godoy
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- Nashville SC announces end-of-year roster decisions; declines option on Aníbal Godoy
Nashville SC announced its end-of-year roster decisions Monday. The club exercised contract options on Lukas MacNaughton and Julian Gaines , and declined options on Aníbal Godoy , Brian Anunga , Amar Sejdić , Forster Ajago, Joey Skinner and Ben Martino .
Godoy, Anunga and Sejdić will enter free agency, which begins Dec. 12. Dru Yearwood and Brent Kallman , who are both out of contract, are also set to become free agents.
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In addition, Nashville revealed it is in contract negotiations with Josh Bauer , whose contract is up.
Nashville declines options on mainstays Aníbal Godoy, Brian Anunga
Godoy, 34, and Anunga, 30, both have been with Nashville since its first season in MLS. From 2020 to 2024, the midfielders combined for 220 appearances and 133 starts in league play and were among the most stable presences of a weak midfield this season.
Godoy, who captains the Panama national team, had one goal and four assists in 23 games this season as Nashville (9-16-9, 36 points) finished 13th in the Eastern Conference and missed the MLS playoffs for the first time . Anunga played in a career-high 30 games this season, starting 17.
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Sejdić, a reserve midfielder, appeared in 16 games off the bench in what might be his lone season in Nashville. Ajago, a rookie, played in 12 league games and scored two goals against Moca FC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Skinner, the club's first-round draft pick in 2022, made his MLS debut with a pair of substitute appearances this summer. Martino has spent the past two seasons as the starting goalkeeper for Huntsville City FC, Nashville's MLS Next Pro affiliate.
Oct 2, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville SC midfielder Anibal Godoy (20) dribbles the ball against the D.C. United during the first half at Geodis Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Dru Yearwood, Brent Kallman enter free agency
Nashville acquired Yearwood in December in a trade from the New York Red Bulls , hoping to add athleticism and ball progression to the midfield. Though the former Arsenal youth player finished with one goal and four assists in 25 games (20 starts), he saw his playing time decrease after the arrival of new coach B.J. Callaghan.
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Kallman played in 13 games, starting five, after being signed as a reserve center back in February.
To be eligible for free agency, players must be at least 24 years old the year the preceding league season concludes and have at least five MLS service years. Ajago, 23, and Martino, 22, will enter the MLS re-entry draft in December, while Skinner, 21, will go through end-of-year waivers on Dec. 12 as he is ineligible for the re-entry draft.
MORE: Many things went wrong as Nashville SC missed MLS playoffs. Here are 5 biggest
Nashville working to re-sign Josh Bauer
Bauer had a bit of a breakout season in 2024. The 26-year-old center back made 19 starts after appearing in just 10 games all of 2023, pushing returning starter Jack Maher for playing time alongside Walker Zimmerman while also receiving minutes at right back.
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Bauer is ineligible for free agency, but he could be due for an increase on his $94,202 salary, which made him just the club's 21st-highest paid player in 2024.
Lukas MacNaughton, Julian Gaines have options picked up
MacNaughton became a regular starter at center back late in the 2023 season after he was acquired in a trade with Toronto FC . He continued to receive plenty of playing time in 2024, starting eight of Nashville's first 12 games across all competitions. However, MacNaughton injured his leg in April, keeping him out until the final game of the season.
Gaines, 21, worked his way back from an injury to enter Callaghan's setup in the last month of the season. The right back, who represented the United States as a youth international, started a pair of games and appeared in two others as a sub.
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Assistant coaches Kosuke Kimura , Matt Pickens depart
Nashville announced the departure of assistant coach Kosuke Kimura and goalkeeping coach Matt Pickens.
Pickens played for Nashville SC during the club's two seasons in the United Soccer League before retiring to join Gary Smith's coaching staff when Nashville entered MLS. Kimura, who also played for Nashville in 2018-19, had been on the coaching staff since 2022.
Pickens and Kimura were teammates on the Colorado Rapids , then coached by Smith, from 2009 to 2012. Smith was fired in May after six-plus seasons as Nashville's coach.
Callaghan hired John Bello an assistant coach in July, shortly after his own hire.
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Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC announces roster decisions for 2025 MLS season
