San Antonio Soldados 2026 Preview - Heating Up The Frontier

By: Whitney Ho

Last Season: 

After an absolutely superb 2025 season that resulted in their first MLQ Championship in program history, the San Antonio Soldados are back for more. 

Last year, the San Antonio started their season off hot and went undefeated in a historical regular season, sweeping both the Houston Legends and the Kansas City Stampede 3-0. And when the Austin Outlaws forfeited their series, the Soldados clinched the Southern Division Championship for the second year in a row. 

More records were shattered by this championship winning team as the Soldados entered MLQ Championships in Buffalo and crushed everyone in their path, taking down the Washington Admirals, the Minneapolis Monarchs and the New York Titans to claim a truly special (and undefeated) Benepe Cup.

The Soldados will look to build on their success from last season and will certainly defend their title with all their might. Similar to last year, this team’s roster is made up of current and former Texas State and UTSA players with great additions from all over the region. But with the average age of the Soldados going down by a few years, the question on many fans’ minds is if this young team will be able to keep up with the powerhouses in their conference, including Kansas City and the Chicago Prowl. As they navigate a new conference and manage MLQ rookies desperate to make their mark, San Antonio will make this season one to remember.

Returning Players:

D’Adrian Avila (Texas State)

David Avila (Texas State)

Hayden Boyes (Texas Copperheads)

Kristopher De La Fuente (Texas Copperheads)

Miguel Esparza (Reign QC)

Baldemar Nuñez (Texas Hill Country Heat)

Julie Picasso (Texas State)

Izzy Ramirez (Texas State)

Theron Ratliff (Texas Hill Country Heat)

Terra Robinson (Texas Hill Country Heat)

Nate Targonski (Texas State)

Alyssa Villalba (Texas Hill Country Heat)

New Players:

Andrew Alexander (Texas State)

Joey Alviar (Unaffiliated)

CJ Dumas

Dilan Freeman (Houston Cosmos)

Ella Jordan (Texas Hill Country Heat)

Ryan Kaiser (Baylor)

Jarod Kaltenbaugh (Lost Boys)

Kai Pacheco (Texas State)

Sam Regardia (Texas State)

Finn Roberts (Texas)

Jonathan Ruiz

Sohum Sharma (Illini Ridgebacks)

Isaac Sueltenfuss (Texas)

Notable Losses:

Daniel Williams (Reign QC)

Louis Sanchez (New Jersey Dice)

Catherine Hay (Texas State)

Brandy Gomez (Texas State)

Javi Tijerina (UTSA)

Javien Stewart (Texas Hill Country Heat)

Kyle Bryant (Texas Hill Country Heat)

John Alvarez (Texas Hill Country Heat)

Christian Cortez (Texas Hill Country Heat)

Matt Blackwood (Texas Hill Country Heat)

Riley Moehlmann (Texas Hill Country Heat)

Milena Sousa (Texas Hill Country Heat)

The Season Ahead:

The Soldados begin their season on the road against the Legends on June 27th. Last year’s series against Houston the Legends finished with a 3-0 Soldados victory, and despite Game 2 coming down to golden goal, they outscored the Legends 450-355. However, when last year saw San Antonio gain Hayden Boyes and Baldemar Nuñez from Houston, this year, Houston has poached quite a few players from San Antonio, including Rsuch as Riley Moehlmann, Milena Sousa, Javi Tijerina, and almost the entirety of UTSA. With the transfers between the two teams shaking things up, expect this series to finish a lot closer than last year.

After a three-week break, San Antonio will stay home to face the Kansas City Stampede on July 18th. While the Soldados have beaten the Stampede in recent years, Kansas City has certainly gotten a roster boost, with USNT level talent joining the fray. The Soldados were able to decisively beat the Stampede 3-0 and outscored them 550-255 in the Cattledome, but this series will likely look much different. When the Stampede travel to Texas for this series, all eyes will be on San Antonio as they  Soldados prepare for either a hard fought victory or a bloodbath.

If all goes well for the Soldados in the regular season, they will qualify for the Central Conference Championship, where the Frontier Division (San Antonio, Houston, Kansas City) will meet the Lakes Division, which contains the Chicago Prowl, the Minneapolis Monarchs, and the Toronto Raiders. The location for the Central Conference Championship has yet to be determined, but the dates have been set for July 25-26. 

Why They Will:

While many have doubted the Soldados after the official roster was released, this team has proved that it knows how to win. The Soldados have retained both the reigning Rookie of The Year, Izzy Ramirez, and the South Division Player of the Year, David Avila. 

Other crucial members of the 2025 Championship team are USNT members Boyes, Alyssa Villalba, and Miguel Esparza, along with Texas Hill Country Heat players Nuñez and Ella Jordan, coming off a USQ Club Championship win. Additionally, this team has picked up some of the most premium college talent available in the form of David Avila, Ramirez, Nate Targonski, Sam Regardia, and Andy Alexander from Texas State, straight  off of their 2026 USQ Cup Finals run. Another huge asset to the Soldados is Beater Sohum Sharma, who was a crucial part in Illini’s show-stopping performance at USQ Cup in April, did amazing things for the Illini Ridgebacks in one of the best seasons the Ridgebacks have had in a while.

The chasers of this Soldados squad are still some of the best in the game. David Avila was one of the top scorers in the league last year, and he will be supported by Boyes, Esparza, Villalba, Targonski, and Ramirez. These Chasers are fast, confident, and are not afraid to take a shot from outside the Keeper zone. With these weapons supported in beater play by Nuñez, Kris De La Fuente, Sharma, and Regardia, the Soldados have a strong foundation that has a very high ceiling if they can truly develop their newer players. 

With a long break between the first official MLQ games of the season and the Soldados’ first series, this team will have plenty of time to prepare for Houston and should not be underestimated entering the postseason.

Why They Won’t:

Many fans have cemented their early predictions with the Soldados finishing on the bottom of the Frontier Division, and if you look at them on paper, it definitely doesn’t look good. The absence of the majority of the USQ Club champions , the Texas Hill Country Heat, is the most glaring problem with this roster, and the Soldados will definitely take a major hit without players like Jay Stewart, Moehlmann, Kyle Bryant , and Matt Blackwood. Additional losses include USNT talent such as Daniel Williams and Louis Sanchez , as well as and the trio of Moehlmann, Tijerina, and Sousa, who left for Houston.

The biggest loss overall for the Soldados lies in their seeking. Last season, the Soldados had multiple stellar seekers in the form of Christian Cortez, Stewart and John Alvarez. Cortez tallied two catches in the regular season and one at MLQ Champs, and Stewart also caught once during the tournament. All three of these players brought crucial experience, confidence and technicality that will certainly be missed as San Antonio looks to replace them. Early shouts include De La Fuente, who led the Soldados in catches at Champs with two, and Terra Robinson, a UTSA alum who has proven her seeking prowess in the college game.

This edition of the Soldados is also full of MLQ rookies who are eager to gain experience in the big leagues, but there’s a chance that that acts as a disadvantage instead of a strength. These newbies will have to heavily rely on vets such as Boyes, Esparza, Avila, Villalba, and Nuñez to show them the ropes, and if the vets can’t deliver, it could be a rough year for the Soldados. 

Final Prediction:

3-3 regular season record