The Seattle Sounders will soon announce the hiring of Henry Brauner to lead their academy, sources with knowledge of the hiring have told Sounder at Heart. Brauner was most recently one of the lead talent scouts for the United States youth national teams, had previously served as the head recruiter for the Sounders Academy and will now effectively replace Marc Nicholls, who recently accepted a job in the still unnamed Charlotte MLS team’s front office.

The announcement of Brauner’s hiring will also likely be accompanied by several other front office hirings. The other most notable vacancy is the the head of the sports science department, which had most recently been led by Damian Roden.

Brauner was first hired by the Sounders in 2017, replacing Junior Gonzalez. He oversaw a period in which the Sounders Academy recruited some of their most talented players, including Danny Leyva. He also helped oversee a period in which the academy expanded their talent identification system. Prior to working for the Sounders, Brauner had worked in the Real Salt Lake academy.