Coachella Valley Invitational
In less than two months both the Timbers and Thorns will participate in the 2026 Coachella Valley Invitational preseason tournament held in Indio, California.
The Timbers will get to the Empire Polo Club first, and for the fourth consecutive season will play three matches against D.C. United (Feb. 7, 2:30 p.m. PT), the San Jose Earthquakes (Feb. 11, 3:00 p.m. PT), and the Chicago Fire (Feb. 14, 10:00 a.m. PT).
The Thorns will then play in two matches against Angel City FC (Feb. 15, 1:00 p.m. PT), and the Houston Dash (Feb. 21, 10:30 a.m. PT).
For those interested in making the trip from Portland (which sounds extremely nice right now after the seemingly endless amount of atmospheric rivers we're enduring at the moment), both day and weekend passes, which will grant you access to every game played on the day(s) you choose, can be purchased at https://coachellavalleyinvitational.com/passes/.
Day passes will run you $34 per person, while weekend passes (Feb. 7-8, and 14-15) will cost $68 if you order them prior to Jan. 5. I'd personally target the weekend of the 14th/15th to watch the Timbers on Saturday and Thorns on Sunday.
MLS SuperDraft
After extending goalkeeper Hunter Sulte, and reportedly agreeing to terms with free agent right-back Brandon Bye, Ned Grabavoy and co. further bolstered the Timbers' roster with three selections in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday.
At pick no. 15 in the first round the Timbers selected midfielder Justin McLean, 21, from NC State, who scored three goals and tallied five assists in the 2025 college season after transferring from Georgia State, where he spent his previous three years.
Justin [McLean] was someone we saw as being a top option for us at a positional need in the midfield with our first-round pick,” said Grabavoy. “We believe he can put himself in consideration for a first team contract with a strong showing in preseason.”
At pick no. 45 in the second round the Timbers selected forward Colin Griffith, 21, who scored nine goals and tallied six assists in 46 appearances over a four-year college career at the University of Maryland.
“With our second selection, we saw an opportunity for a high reward scenario. Colin [Griffith] is an attacking player that we have followed for a while, and we had rated highly back in the 2024 season before sustaining an injury that kept him out this past year. We can utilize preseason to evaluate where he is at physically, but we are excited with his potential,” said Grabavoy.
At pick no. 75 in the third round the Timbers selected midfielder Lucas Fernandez Kim, 22, who made a total of 53 collegiate appearances at UC Davis (2022-24), before transferring to Oregon State in 2025, where he tallied two goals to go along with four assists for the Beavers in 17 starts.
“Lucas [Fernandez Kim] was a player that we tracked closely this year while playing close by at Oregon State, and we are looking forward to giving him an opportunity with the club this preseason," said Grabavoy.
Out of the three picks, Grabavoy's statement about McLean was particularly interesting following 2024 SuperDraft pick Ian Smith's breakout year in 2025, and the same-sounding verbiage Ned used after they selected the left-back last winter.
