HOUSTON (March 26, 2026) – Houston Dynamo FC announced today the hire of Bryan Scales as the second Houston Dynamo Academy General Manager in Club history.
Scales will lead all aspects of the Dynamo Academy, including the MLS NEXT teams, online school program, homestay program, player identification programs and college placement.
“We are thrilled to introduce Bryan as the new General Manager of the Houston Dynamo Academy,” said President of Soccer Pat Onstad. “Bryan brings extensive experience from the professional, international and collegiate levels, having worked with top academies and programs at Charlotte, New England, U.S. Soccer and Cornell University. He is a proven leader in the academy space, with a track record of developing high level players such as Diego Fagundez, Noel Buck and Nimfasha Berchimas. He joins an Academy that has made significant progress in recent years, leading MLS NEXT Pro in Academy minutes played, producing players for Youth National Teams and top college programs, and advancing Matthew Arana to the first team. We welcome Bryan and his wife, Mindy, to Houston and look forward to working together to accelerate the development of local talent and move more players from our community to the highest levels of the game."
Scales brings more than three decades of leadership experience in professional and collegiate soccer, including roles in Major League Soccer with Charlotte FC (2022-26) and the New England Revolution (2009-21).
The Medway, Mass. native joins the organization after four years at Charlotte as Executive Director of Academy. During his tenure, Scales contributed to more than 10,400 academy-developed minutes played with Crown Legacy FC (MLS NEXT Pro), 18 total youth national team call ups and played a key role in the MLS debut of Homegrown player Nimfasha Berchimas, the ninth-youngest player in MLS history to debut. Additionally, he helped facilitate the signing of five academy players to MLS and MLS NEXT Pro contracts, as well as helped establish an academy day-stay program, residency program and mental performance program.
In New England, Scales served as the Revolution’s Director of Youth Development, playing a significant role in seven Homegrown Players being signed to professional contracts, and more than 80 players being provided with paths to NCAA Division I scholarships. He also oversaw more than 40 U.S. Youth National Team call ups and helped establish a residency program, along with a methodology and curriculum program, and a mental performance program.
Notably, Scales stepped into the director role after leading the Revs’ U-16 squad to the Northeast Division title in 2010 and their first-ever appearance in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy playoffs. He was named U.S. Soccer Development Academy Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2015, while continuing to coach the U-16s and U-18s, and he earned the prestigious Elite Formation Coaching License (EFCL) in 2014.
Prior to his MLS experience, Scales served as head coach of the University of Massachusetts Lowell men’s soccer team (2009-10) and Cornell University’s men’s soccer team (1998-2008). He began his time at Cornell as an assistant coach for four years, before going on to a successful 11-year run as head coach. In 2001, Scales was a finalist for NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year after leading the Big Red to a No. 22 national ranking and earning New York region NCAA Division I Coach of the Year honors. He also spent two years as an assistant coach at Harvard University (1992-94) and one season at SUNY Plattsburgh (1991-92).
Additionally, Scales served as an assistant coach with the U.S. U-15 Boys’ National Team (2009-10), where he helped lead five domestic training camps and one international training camp in Germany.
