Flyover Footy: A St. Louis CITY SC and Soccer in STL Podcast · Flyover Footy, Bleav

This Is The Wray: Corey Wray Officially Announced as New CITY SC Sporting Director!

·1 hr 7 min·5 clips

Corey Ray is announced as St. Louis City SC's new sporting director—what does his MLS roster-building expertise mean for the club?

This special episode of Flyover Footy breaks down the official hiring of Corey Wray as the new Sporting Director for St. Louis CITY SC. Host Matt Baker is joined by soccer analyst Justin Hornicker to analyze the announcement and its implications for the club. The hosts examine the official press release, which highlights Wray's expertise in roster building, analytics, and creating a pathway from the academy to the first team. They reference an article by Tom Timmerman in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch containing quotes from club President Diego Gigliani about the hiring process and the club's sporting structure. Wray's 18-year MLS career began as an intern with Toronto FC, where he eventually rose to Assistant General Manager. He later served as Assistant GM for the Columbus Crew and was the GM for Crew 2, winning MLS NEXT Pro Executive of the Year in 2022. Wray was most recently the Director of Soccer for CF Montreal but was fired in August 2025 after less than a year in the role. The hosts note that other candidates for the St. Louis position included Lee Dykes from Brentford FC and Carlos Santoro from Brazilian club Bahia. A key topic is defining Wray's responsibilities alongside current Technical Director John Hackworth, particularly regarding roster strategy and player recruitment. An interesting insight is that Wray's hiring signals a shift toward a more analytical, process-driven approach, as Gigliani described him as a "low ego guy" who doesn't rely solely on personal networks. The hosts find it notable that Columbus Crew fans, in a Reddit thread, expressed positive sentiment about Wray and would have been comfortable with him as their GM. They discuss how Wray's proven success in MLS, like identifying players such as Max Arfsten and Patrick Schulte in Columbus, contrasts with the unclear circumstances of his short tenure in Montreal. Gigliani deferred questions about Wray's time in Montreal to Wray himself, indicating the club conducted extensive background checks and was satisfied with their findings. The episode has a conversational and analytical tone, blending immediate news reaction with deeper research into the hire's context. This episode is ideal for St. Louis CITY SC fans seeking a detailed, optimistic breakdown of a major front-office appointment. Listeners primarily interested in match analysis or who prefer to avoid front-office speculation might find less relevance here.

As heard by us

A steady breakdown of the hire, the timeline, and the next offseason steps.

Fly Over Footy treats the Corey Ray announcement as the offseason's cleanest signpost and keeps to what was actually confirmed. It moves from the Friday rumor cycle to Jeff Carlisle's report, then to the Monday announcement, the club framing, and Diego Gigliani's remarks, so…

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You want the Corey Ray hiring news without losing the timeline or the club mechanics.

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