PORTLAND, Ore. — Former U.S. national team defender and Hall of Famer Jeff Agoos was named the new president of soccer operations and general manager for the Portland Thorns on Tuesday.
Agoos, who also had a lengthy Major League Soccer career, replaces Karina LeBlanc, who has moved on to an executive position with the Bhathal family's RAJ Sports, which owns the National Women's Soccer League club and an expansion WNBA team set to start play in 2026.
“I think the NWSL has great tailwinds — the women’s game and women’s sports are really growing by leaps and bounds,” Agoos said. “This is still soccer/football. It’s a great sport, a great game, and I'm really excited to be back in the sport on the club side.”
Agoos was a defender for the United States over 15 seasons, playing in both the 2000 Olympics and the 2002 World Cup.
He memorably burned his jersey when he was the final cut from the 1994 World Cup roster, then made the 1998 squad but did not play. He finished his international career with 134 appearances and four goals.
Agoos won three MLS championships with D.C. United and two more with the San Jose Earthquakes. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2009.
Following his playing career, Agoos served as technical director of the New York Red Bulls from 2007-11 before working in several roles for MLS, most recently as senior vice president of competition, operations and medical.
“The Thorns are a premier club in the NWSL, but really, more expansively, they have a global brand and have an incredible fan following, so there were a lot of reasons to be drawn to this club,” Agoos told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “I’ve been working in the (MLS) league office for 14 years and wanted to improve the game and build the game. One of the things I really missed was being on the club side and that competitive week-in and week-out feeling, so getting back to the club side was certainly something I wanted to do as a former player.”
Portland also announced that Lucy Rushton, former general manager at Bay FC, and Angus McNab will serve as strategic advisers to the club.
The Thorns, one of the NWSL's founding clubs, finished sixth in the league standings last season. They were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs by Gotham FC.
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