North Texas GM Matt Denny Deserves Every Accolade

Hear from North Texas GM Matt Denny as the team preps for another championship season and a future home in Mansfield.

Closing out 2024 with a championship, North Texas Soccer Club accomplished a historic campaign. The young side added another trophy to the FC Dallas family with a dominant season, an incredible come-from-behind victory to win the MLS Next Pro Cup, and a bevy of players showcasing their readiness for the next level. Case in point, 7 players from the 2024 roster have signed in recent days to the senior team, from standout keeper Michael Collodi to young phenoms Diego Garcia and wunderkind Pedrinho.

In December, the organization added another win, announcing a new stadium to call home in a partnership with the city of Mansfield. Not only is the stadium a place to call home and grow their fan base, the move brings more opportunities to expand the FC Dallas brand and cement its own identity in the vast Dallas-Ft Worth market.

With former head coach Michel moving up to the first team, John Gall returns to lead North Texas as head coach, building off the mentality he instilled in these young players before departing halfway through the season to support FC Dallas.

In some ways, the focus remains the same, especially with MLS Next Pro Executive of the Year Matt Denny putting the pieces in place for success.

Afterburn was able to sit down with Matt in December to chat about a variety of topics, from the project he has been building with North Texas to the roster makeup in 2025.

I asked him about the recognition for his work, being named the top executive for the development league.

“First of all, really great to get recognized. It's one of those things that reflects a lot of work behind the scenes by a lot of people. I know that's the company line to say, but it is true. There's so many people that kind of work hard, and without the people behind the scenes, it's just not possible,” Matt said. “Being able to get a championship is huge. Being able to host cup, I think, is a big component of that. But we're trying to do things the right way here. We're trying to use this platform, as you can see, to create on the field, off the field, and just really make the most of our opportunity because it's such a tool for the organization.”

What is unique about the North Texas “way” is the variety of strategies they employ to build a winning squad. You have, of course, academy players who get to make a professional debut and get experience. Then, you have young senior team players, mostly homegrown who need to develop further in the FC Dallas system. Next, you have the tryout system, giving young and promising players a shot to make the team and build something special on their resume for future success. And don’t forget - international signings, youngsters coming on loan at an early age from other markets. Mix it together, and it’s a potent way to build a roster.

I asked Denny if he thinks other Next Pro squads are going to mimic the North Texas way.

“We speak across the league, and I've talked to a bunch of the independent teams that are having success. I'm trying to find out what they're doing so we can replicate. Other teams are reaching out to me about open tryouts when you see the success. Having the success with Bernard and Tom Pondeca has helped kinda elevate that,” Denny said. “And we get players, you know, not just locally, but we've had players coming from Japan for our open tryouts. International people do come for this, and it's crazy to see how it snowballed.

“But we we take it seriously, and and it's just like everything. We want to maximize each opportunity and the tryouts that we've got now. We've had 2 (tryouts) this year, and we've already identified 8 players that we wanna bring in for a week in January and get a better look at them. So we're not just doing lip service. We're trying to sign players, and we think that if a player is good enough, there's an opportunity here.”

Denny reaffirmed that FC Dallas ownership is focused on growing the sport across Dallas-Ft Worth. Case in point, the development of an incredible new venue in Mansfield, Texas, a result of hard work that went through multiple stages and multiple potential destinations, until the right opportunity presented itself. He acknowledged the challenge when the team played in Frisco, competing against Major League Soccer, but also the commute for many fans interested in the lower leagues. Are there areas in the metroplex that can carve out a new fanbase?

And while Choctaw represented a nice compromise, the stadium was big, making it difficult to create the intimate, raucous environment (if those two adjectives can be used together) the team wants. Of course, that location was never intended to be permanent.

“This (Mansfield) is probably our 4th potential stadium, and by far the best one and the one that's come through, especially the support of the city, the council, everyone we spoke to, even local businesses. Mansfield's a growing city. It's a growing area, and everybody is so happy to be there and enjoys living there. And they want they want the luxury of having something on their doorstep as well. So, it's just it's a great area, and we couldn't be more happy,” Denny said.

The key too is to create the kind of crowd that helps prepare players for professional environments. It’s no secret that Choctaw at times felt empty. It’s a huge venue, and there is no way that North Texas fans, as young as the team is, could fill that space with energy. A smaller venue creates the opportunity to create an incredible experience for fans.

“That's the idea. We wanna get a good crowd in there. We wanna develop players here, and we see the difference between, you know, when we go to a a stadium and there's 2,000 people there and there's 200,” Denny said. “The final is a great example of that. It was rocking here at Toyota, and that's as close as an MLS experience you can get without being an MLS game.”

One of the tangents I took with Matt Denny was about the announcement of Garland bringing in a USL Championship side, how that might impact North Texas’ work, but to his credit, he sounded unfazed and even excited about the possibility.

“Garland's far enough away from us where we're not going after the same fans. And, you know, the more successful soccer is here, it's great,” he said. “And, again, like, we wanna grow the sport in the community and the whole DFW.”

Now that the New Year has come, North Texas has already started the work of putting together its next roster of young players to carry forward the championship legacy. Yesterday, they announced roster decisions, leaving six players on the roster. Of course, a handful of senior teams will likely get minutes throughout the year. More new signings, like Caleb Swan, are expected. Turnover should always be anticipated at this level.

Denny was clear about the expectations and the pathway that North Texas provides. Fans should not expect guys to stick around for long but recognize that even a year at North Texas can be the springboard for something greater.

“They're here for 2-3 years. If after a year, they're showing really well, if they're young, they can stay another year. If after, you know, a year, they do well, they go to the 1st team. If we don't see them project into the 1st team, it's the best thing for both parties to kind of move forward,” he said. “What we find is the players that are here, even the players that don't stay, have enjoyed the experience. They feel like they've improved. Having this organization on your resume, people take a look at it, and it helps them on the next step. So, sometimes it's hard at the end of the season to have those discussions with players. You know, they wanna stay, but they understand the process.”

Of course, with preseason, a new head coach for FC Dallas, and roster changes across the organization, things can change things rapidly. North Texas is going to look completely different, just as the senior team is undergoing a major overhaul (something many fans and pundits did not expect). With the senior team kicking off preseason in January, North Texas will have plenty of time to be a part of that process.

The new (and familiar) NTSC head coach, John Gall (who we spoke to earlier in December), offers some continuity in leadership, setting up the side in a form that eventual head coach Michel didn’t have to tweak that much.

“John's a class act, and John was our North Texas coach. He was always our coach, contracted to us,” Denny said about Gall moving from the first team back to North Texas. “People can take things different ways, but I think that the staff we have is what's best for the organization. And they know football. It changes quickly. But John got such a good experience going up to the first team. It's helped him grow, and it's gonna help us in the future.”

I reckon Matt Denny is an executive building a resume that will get the look of a Major League Soccer team sooner, rather than later, as the team prepares to defend its title in 2025.