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Jeff Carlisle
St. Louis City SC has reached an agreement on personal terms with Corey Wray, a former executive with CF Montréal, for the role of the team’s next sporting director, sources informed ESPN.
Wray is anticipated to finalize a multi-year deal as early as Friday evening. He will succeed Lutz Pfannenstiel, who was dismissed last August. As a Canadian citizen, Wray will need to secure a work visa prior to starting his new position in St. Louis, with an official announcement expected on Monday.
Wray outperformed several candidates, including current St. Louis technical director John Hackworth. Additionally, it was confirmed to ESPN that Brentford’s technical director Lee Dykes was in the running as well.
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Wray’s immediate priority will be to hire a new head coach after the team parted ways with Olof Mellberg on May 25, following just 15 matches in charge.
David Critchley, who was managing the reserve team, has taken on the interim coaching role. St. Louis concluded the season in 13th place in the Western Conference, finishing with a record of 8 wins, 18 losses, and 8 draws, nine points shy of the playoff spots.
A source with knowledge of the club’s operations mentioned that Wray is expected to find a coach who aligns with the club’s preferred aggressive and high-intensity style of play, as well as aid in building a robust infrastructure for sustained success. A mix of both domestic and international candidates will be considered.
The insider also suggested that Critchley is being considered for the full-time managerial position, although Hackworth, who has experience with the St. Louis organization and has previously managed in MLS with the Philadelphia Union as well as St. Louis in 2024, is currently “not actively a candidate.”
Wray has had an extensive career at Toronto FC, beginning as an intern in 2006 and advancing to assistant general manager by 2017. He left in 2020 for a similar role under former Toronto executive Tim Bezbatchenko, and also served as GM for the reserve team, Columbus Crew 2, which competes in MLS Next Pro.
Under Wray’s leadership, Crew 2 clinched the MLS Next Pro championship in their inaugural season in 2022, and he was honored as the MLS Next Pro Executive of the Year that same year.
Wray’s time in Montréal was relatively short-lived. He began as a technical consultant in June 2024 and was promoted to director of soccer in November. Although Montréal reached the playoffs in 2024, the subsequent season was challenging, with the team finishing 13th out of 15 in the Eastern Conference, holding a record of 6 wins, 18 losses, and 10 draws.
This performance left the club, which had the lowest payroll in the league according to MLS Players Association data, trailing 25 points behind Orlando City for the last playoff position. Wray was released from his contract in August.
It was largely Wray’s prior experiences in Toronto and Columbus that solidified his candidacy for the role in St. Louis. A source familiar with the selection process stated that Wray has a proven record of developing teams into “high-performing organizations.”
In St. Louis, Wray is expected to have access to more resources than he had in Montréal, despite the club currently ranking 19th out of 30 in total spending, with a payroll of $19.3 million. Recently, St. Louis announced the acquisition of veteran goalkeeper Roman Bürki under a Designated Player contract.