Chicago Fire Release 2024 Preseason Roster

The Chicago Fire kept themselves busy on the holiday by releasing their preseason roster on the day they traveled to Bradenton, Florida to begin camp ahead of the 2024 Major League Soccer season.

Earlier in the day, the Fire announced the signing of their first-round pick from the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, Bryan Dowd, to a first-team contract through at least this season with team options for 2025, 2026, and 2027. He will compete with Jeff Gal and Spencer Richey for the backup goalkeeper spot behind Chris Brady during camp.

Chicago Fire II’s Omari Glasgow and Lamonth Rochester are among the non-roster invitees to first-team camp alongside unsigned draft picks Laurence Wootton and Jason Shokalook.

Offseason acquisitions Tom Barlow and Andrew Gutman will get their first chance to shine in a Fire kit when camp begins on Jan. 16.

Chicago Fire 2024 Preseason Roster

Goalkeepers: Chris Brady, Bryan Dowd, Jeff Gal, Spencer Richey

Defenders: Rafael Czichos, Jonathan Dean, Andrew Gutman, Wyatt Omsberg, Justin Reynolds, Lamonth Rochester, Arnaud Souquet, Carlos Terán

Defender/Midfielder: Mauricio Pineda

Midfielders: Javier Casas Jr., Gastón Giménez, Brian Gutiérrez, Fabian Herbers, Federico Navarro, Sergio Oregel Jr., Xherdan Shaqiri, Laurence Wootton

Wingers: Omari Glasgow, Maren Haile-Selassie, Chris Mueller, Jairo Torres

Forwards: Tom Barlow, Victor Bezerra, Georgios Koutsias, Kacper Przybyłko, Missael Rodríguez, Jason Shokalook

The camp roster is as of Jan. 15, 2024.

Analysis

There aren’t any surprises from the top of the Fire’s preseason roster, but the players they brought who aren’t under contract with the first team are incredibly intriguing.

Omari Glasgow spent the entirety of 2023 playing top-level soccer for both club (Fire II) and country (Guyana) and should be pushing for a spot on the first team in 2024. Bringing Lamonth Rochester along for the preseason speaks to how highly he is regarded by the Fire’s front office. There’s an opening in the center back room since the Fire didn’t bring back Kendall Burks, and Rochester appears to be in the driver’s seat to fill that role.

Dowd is the only member of the Fire’s 2024 draft class that has signed a contract with the club. He'll be joined by two fellow draftees at camp despite Chicago making five selections last month. Second-round pick (33rd overall) Olu Oyegunle and third-rounder (72nd overall) Shane de Flores are not currently involved in the Fire’s camp.