5 things to know about new CITY sporting director Corey Wray

It’s a new era in St. Louis. St. Louis CITY SC announced Corey Wray as its second-ever sporting director. Wray is a familiar face within MLS circles, highly regarded for his work at Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew as an assistant general manager for multi-time MLS Cup winner Tim Bezbatchenko. Despite his status as one of the youngest chief soccer officers in MLS, he arrives in St. Louis with more than 20 years of MLS front office experience and a reputation for progressive thinking and thorough roster building. Here are five things to know about Wray as he takes the helm.

1. Wray worked his way up from the bottom in Toronto. Wray graduated from Brock University in Ontario in 2006 before working with Toronto FC as the club’s first-ever intern. Wray quickly worked his way up the organization, moving from manager of team operations (2012-2014), to senior manager of team operations (2014-2015) to director of team operations (2015-2017), before serving as assistant general manager (2017-2020). Wray’s first success in Toronto came through his work in developing Toronto’s academy-to-pro pipeline. Wray’s first taste of success in MLS came through his work in identifying talent for TFC’s developmental sides. The TFC II and TFC III sides graduated key players for the first team’s run atop the Eastern Conference throughout the 2010s and saw multiple players called into the Canadian national team. Specifically, Jakob Schaffelberg and Jayden Nelson were brought into the academy and TFC2 setup during Wray’s tenure.

2. Wray established Crew 2. When Bezbatchenko left Toronto for Columbus, he tapped Wray to join him for their new project. Wray was named assistant GM of the Crew under Bezbatchenko, along with GM of the newly established Crew 2 MLS NEXT Pro side. Despite starting from scratch, Wray quickly found success with the club’s nascent developmental squad. He built a roster from Academy graduates and young professionals, such as Jacen Russell-Rowe from Toronto, who finished with a 16-5-3 record. Wray was named the 2022 MLS NEXT Executive of the Year.

3. Wray found success in Columbus. Wray helped recruit some of the Crew’s key contributors in the 2023 MLS Cup Championship. While Cucho Hernandez and Diego Rossi led the way, the Crew stormed its way through MLS on the back of Wilfried Nancy’s usage of Crew 2 graduates such as Max Atfsten and Jacen Russell-Rowe, among others. It’s this success that landed him on the shortlist of sporting director roles, with a track record of progressive thinking that CITY president and GM Diego Gigliani touted. “His extensive knowledge of the MLS landscape, deep squad building and recruiting expertise, and proven track record in creating high performing, sustainable organizations and cultures makes him an ideal fit for the club,” Gigliani said in a club statement. Wray’s responsibilities in Columbus ranged from general player recruitment to overseeing the player pathway to developing the club’s MLS SuperDraft strategy.

4. Wray will get a fresh start after a short stint in Montreal. This won’t be Wray’s first time leading a sporting department. In November of 2024, Ontario native was named director of soccer in Montreal after originally signing with the club as a consultant in July. Wray wasn’t allowed much time in the job, however, before the club committed to an organizational reshuffling that saw Wray ousted in favor of Luca and Simone Saputo, sons of owner Joey Saputo, with the club eliminated from playoff contention. The short tenure in Montreal didn’t affect Wray’s stock, though, and Wray interviewed for multiple chief soccer officer roles this fall.

5. This marks a new era for St. Louis CITY SC. The club chose Wray after an exhaustive search, including a list of candidates that featured Brentford technical director Lee Dykes, Bahia sporting director Carlos Santoro, and interim CITY sporting director John Hackworth. Gigliani boasted Wray’s robust MLS experience in building competitive rosters and establishing winning cultures. Wray touts a data-driven approach, one that has succeeded in finding great soccer players who slipped through the cracks or needed a larger role to succeed. The potential to tap into CITY SC’s growing Academy success and CITY 2 pipeline should build excitement for a club that has stated a desire to be among the league’s most competitive clubs. 

“The vision and ambition here from the fans and the ownership group are clear and that is to build a winning and competitive team rooted in development, innovation, and community,” Wray said. “I can’t wait to work with the incredible staff, players, and fans to continue building a club that represents the very best of this city, both on and off the field.”