According to the player himself, Josh Drack will sign a contract with Huntsville City FC and Nashville SC.
Estoy firmando con el segundo equipo de Nashville por un año y luego pasaré al plantel estelar. Se pusieron en contacto con mi agente y me interesó la oportunidad.
– Josh Drack in an interview with AS Chile
While confirmed details are not yet known, Drack’s signing appears set to chart a new course for Nashville SC made possible by the club establishing a reserve team of its own. Drack will be the first, but you can expect more of these types of deals in the future where Mike Jacobs leverages Huntsville City to park a player for a year before moving them up to the MLS-registered squad.
About Josh Drack
The Los Angeles Galaxy selected Drack with the 16th overall selection in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. He was signed to LA Galaxy II and played with Los Dos for two seasons in the USL Championship. Drack logged a single MLS appearance with a 90+4th minute substitution in a July 2021 win for the Galaxy. For the reserve side, Drack started 47 matches across two seasons netting five goals and 11 assists.
Drack will be intimately familiar to at least one member of the dual Nashville / Huntsville front office. Liam Doyle, recently named Director of Soccer Operations for Huntsville City, spent 2022 alongside Drack with LA Galaxy II. It was Doyle’s final season as a professional player. Doyle, more than perhaps anyone, will have his thumbprints on Drack’s signing.
An Arizona native, Drack’s youth career took a winding path. Prior to joining the Galaxy, Drack spent two years with Grand Canyon University before finishing out his college career with the University of Denver. Following his sophomore season, Drack spent the summer playing with the Colorado Switchbacks U23 team in USL League Two. Prior to college, Drack played a season in two MLS academies, Real Salt Lake and Portland Timbers.
Drack is of dual Chilean and Japanese heritage. Through his father, he gained the attention of notable Chilean clubs Colo-Colo and Universidad Católica having trialed with both as a youth.
How Drack fits into a suddenly crowded field at left-back
Drack is a versatile, left-sided player. He primarily plays at left-back but can play higher up the pitch in a left-winger role, similar to Taylor Washington.
Immediately and into the future, Drack’s biggest competition will be Joey Skinner. Nashville selected Skinner with the 11th overall selection in this year’s MLS SuperDraft. As a Generation Adidas signee, Skinner is already on the roster with Nashville. However, barring injury or transfer of Washington or Daniel Lovitz, Skinner will primarily pick up playing time with Huntsville as well. It will create a direct competition between Drack and Skinner for reserve team minutes.
With an influx of left-backs, it also raises a few interesting questions as to the long-term futures of Lovitz and Washington.
Lovitz, 31, enters the second year of a new contract that pays him just under $500,000 per year. Because MLS loathes any semblance of public transparency, the length of Lovitz’s contract is unknown. Whenever his contract does expire, Lovitz would be eligible for free agency.
One player who is not eligible for free agency in the near future is Taylor Washington. The cult hero of Nashville SC has his MLS rights under club control through the 2024 season. At a yearly salary just a hair north of $100,000 per year, Washington is an absolute bargain. When called upon, he has filled in well for Lovitz as his speed can erase mistakes in the back.
Might one of Nashville’s two left-back fixtures be headed for the exit sign?
I do not believe we see any movement this season. However, if Drack is indeed to be added to the MLS squad in 2024, four left-backs may be surplus to the requirement.
Whether Nashville does move on from Lovitz or Washington, sooner rather than later, will come down to the development of Drack and Skinner. If neither demonstrates that they are ready for the next step, a changing of the guard will not occur.
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