2025 Breakout Players
(image via Aldo Canale)
With the 2025 season beginning, watching the players at the club develop throughout the year is always one of the highlights of any season. Today we will look at a potential breakout player in each position who can make real strides in 2025.
Goalkeepers- Andrew Tarbell
This is a tough position group to talk about as both goalkeepers on the senior roster are over the age of 30 and there is no goalkeeper to get excited about on the second team with Xavier Valdez moving to Nashville. Andrew Tarbell sees himself in a unique position to make a big leap in his career at the ripe age of 31. Andrew has mostly been a backup in his career in San Jose, Columbus, and currently Houston. Steve Clark has now left the building making a clear path for Tarbell to be the current starter. Pat Onstad and Ben Olsen have both spoken him up to be the guy in net in 2025 and he has the chance to prove to the league that he is a starting quality goalkeeper in MLS.
Defenders- Obafemi Awodesu
Like the goalkeepers, there is not a whole lot of youth to discuss. I would like to highlight Isaac Mwakutuya as well, who was a key player in MLS NEXT Pro last year even making their All-Star team. Unfortunately, he has yet to sign an MLS contract, making him ineligible for this list. Awdoesu was also a key player for Dynamo 2 in 2024, making 29 appearances. He was a player who went undrafted in the 2024 SuperDraft for his lack of ability to play out of the back. This is something he improved massively on under Kenny Bundy in 2024, earning himself a first team contract. He is behind Erik Sviatchenko and Ethan Barltow on the center back depth chart, but can find his way on the field in US Open Cup matches to try and impress the coaching staff into giving him regular MLS opportunities. He is certainly a raw prospect still and can certainly prove to be a nice piece of the Houston Dynamo squad for years to come.
Midfielders- Erik Dueñas
The obvious pick for this spot would be Brooklyn Raines, however Jack McGlynn has just recently signed and will provide very tough competition for Raines to start games in his best position. Erik Dueñas has been said to be a huge addition that can play in all four positions in Ben Olsen’s box midfield. We have seen Dueñas feature on the right side of midfield where the Dynamo have yet to sign a starting replacement for Coco Carrasquilla. This leaves Sebastian Kowalczyk and Dueñas to battle it out for the spot until another player potentially comes in. Dueñas has also been among the goal scorers in what has been a very bright preseason for the midfielder. It is important to note that Raines is also capable of playing that right midfield spot and can be a part of that competition as well. Expect Dueñas to see regular minutes, especially in the earlier parts of the season as they identify where they want that second Designated Player spot to be allocated.
Forwards- Exon Arzu
Exon Arzu is entering his first real season as an MLS player in 2025. He was a regular for the second team in 2024 while on loan before missing a large chunk of the season to an injury. He was a real standout when he was on the field, earning himself a full transfer from Real Espana and getting an MLS contract. He never managed to make an MLS appearance last year after signing that contract as he was still a regular with the second team. To begin the 2025 season, Nelson Quiñones and Lawrence Ennali will still be recovering from knee injuries, opening a spot for Exon to backup Ibrahim Aliyu. Nelson may be ready soon, but who knows how he will look coming off such a severe knee injury that has kept him out over a full calendar year. This is a perfect opportunity for Arzu to show Ben Olsen what he is all about. He is certainly the quickest player on the roster and among the fastest in the league. He can provide a similar spark off the bench that Ennali showed in 2024 before his knee injury.
Houston Dynamo 2 Honorable Mentions
We already mentioned Isaac Mwakutuya earlier, but there are a few more Dynamo 2 players who can potentially break out and earn MLS contracts in 2025. We obviously have to mention Diego Gonzalez, who has been the guy for the second team for two straight seasons. You must think if he was going to earn an MLS contract, he would have already been given it by now given his incredible play in MLS NEXT Pro. Sebastian Rodriguez is another midfielder of note who was given an MLS contract this offseason, however there is no real expectations to see him play MLS minutes at this point, given his age. The last two players to highlight are wingers Mattheo Dimareli and Andy Batioja. Dimareli has been very impressive at just 15 years of age this last season for the second team. He scored two goals including one in the playoffs and provided four assists as well. He can be a name the Dynamo will want to tie down long term if he has another impressive campaign. Andy Batioja is only on loan from Atletico Nacional in Colombia making it hard to include him on this list. However, you cannot deny the talent this player brings. Hopefully he impresses and earns himself a permanent transfer like Arzu did last season.
It is certainly exciting to even be able to talk about players like this as in the past there has been almost no young players to note for the Dynamo. Lots of progress has been made in the youth development side of the club that we are just now seeing the beginnings of. It is important to note that some of these players are extremely young so we must temper expectations, but there is loads to be excited about going forward for the Houston Dynamo.
