Tacoma Defiance announced the team’s roster decisions on Friday, just a few days after the Seattle Sounders announced the corresponding decisions for the First Team. When Tacoma’s season ended in the Western Conference Final against St. Louis CITY 2 back in early October, the team’s roster included 16 players signed directly to the MLS Next Pro team.
Three of those 16 players had their options exercised for the 2023 season - Wallis Lapsley, Travian Sousa and Hal Uderitz - while Juan Alvarez, Cody Baker and Stuart Hawkins are already under contract. That leaves six players signed to Defiance for 2023, although that likely would have been seven if not for Sota Kitahara signing an MLS contract.