NM United holds opening news conference of 2026

There are quite a few new faces on New Mexico United, and one old face in a new place as the USL Championship team embarks on its seventh season after coming within a game of playing for the league championship a year ago.

Starting with the old face, uber-popular forward Daniel Bruce, who retired in the off-season, is being brought back to the fold as an assistant coach. 

“I love football,” Bruce said. “And I love the state, and when you love both those things, there's probably no better place to be. It's a special group that we have inside, and it's a special club.” 

In his first season transitioning from the field to sidelines, Bruce said he would take it slow. 

“I think I'm still on a journey of learning what I'm going to be able to give at my max potential and the opportunity to work with players on a more individual basis with their goals and what they want to achieve, and how that will align with the club itself,” he said of his role. “I think that's it maybe initially, where I think I can give value. But a lot of it will be a process, as well. It's going to be a lot of learning the first few weeks and months.”

United head coach Dennis Sanchez said he was happy to have a player with Bruce’s pedigree remain with the team “We're really fortunate to have Brucey on staff,” he said. “I think he brings a level of fresh ideas. He's, in his own way, making the progression from a player to a coach, and it's a different world. But we also are taking a lot of ideas from him, so he brings a great work ethic. We're lucky to have him continue on wit us and the staff and our club.” 

As for on the field, perhaps the most notable change will be in goal, where mainstay goalkeeper Alex Tambakis leaves after five seasons as the primary in net. 

“It's going to be a big presence that's missed,” goalkeeper coach Amando Quezada said. “I think it was an honor to work with him, and obviously he did a lot for this club, but now, moving forward, we have two goalkeepers (Raiko Arozarena and Kris Shakes) who have proven in this league that they can be starters, and the competition is open.” 

Arozarena joined New Mexico from Las Vegas, where he was the starter in goal last season, while Shakes saw his first meaningful minutes last season for United with 13 starts and 71.2 save percentage. 

Other meaningful departures include captains Kalen Ryder and Talen Maples, who manned the centerback slots for New Mexico. 

Longtime United player Will Seymore returns, and he should go a long way to helping fill the voids on and off the field.

“I'm the grumpy old guy,” he said. “I get to remind everybody they’ve got to work hard and stuff. But yeah, it's really not that hard of a process. It's more, I’m a bit more of a vocal leader, but it's showing the standards of play on the field, how you show up to training. These guys are all very talented and experienced pros as well, so it's not new for them. But I think we're different than a lot of clubs, so showing them how to get accustomed to being here is the biggest thing.” 

Likely joining him on the backline is former University of New Mexico player Maliek Howell, who was a Lobo player during UNM’s final season of 2018 and split last season between Las Vegas and Birmingham. 

“Maliek has a great story,” Sanchez said. “He came in to our (Las Vegas) combine, actually, two years ago in Tucson, it was invite only. But you're talking about a player that had national team caps with Jamaica who was willing to bet on himself.” 

He is the type of player who fits the United mold, the coach said, and also should help solidify the revamped defense.

“He fits exactly what we're looking for in terms of what we want out of our center backs: comfortable on the ball, able to progress, can defend an open space and just has a warrior mentality to him,” Sanchez said. “So we're excited to have him here.”

It’s all part of making United better from practice to the field, he said.

“We want competition. We think that internal competition is a very, very healthy thing,” he said. “So even though there was guys that had solidified themselves this year, we want them in a healthy way, looking over their shoulders and knowing that they have to earn the right every time we step on the field, whether that's individually or collectively. That's the same mentality that we're going to have this year as a group.”