Twelve players from the 2025 Portland Hearts of Pine roster — along with coach Bobby Murphy and his staff — have been signed for a second season with Maine’s professional men’s soccer team.

Murphy, who is also the club’s sporting director, was already under a two-year contract.

Among the players returning will be Portland’s three all-USL League One selections: left back Nathan Messer, midfielder Masashi Wada and second-team forward Ollie Wright, who led the team in goals (13 overall, 11 in league play) and assists (nine overall, eight in USL1) and scored in each playoff game.

Wada was second on the team with nine goals. Messer led the team in minutes and was a key contributor to the offense, with seven goals and four assists.

Also returning will be both goalkeepers Hunter Morse, who led USL1 in saves, and backup Kash Oladapo; defenders Kemali Green and Jaden Jones-Reilly; midfielders Mikey Lopez, Khalid Hersi of Lewiston and Michel Poon-Angeron; and forwards Titus Washington and Jay Tee Kamara.

Murphy said the strengths of the returning players will be their experience and continuity. The club will return a strong offensive core with Wright and Wada. Green, the regular center back, and Washington, a forward, “will be better for this experience after playing their first year out of college.

Poon-Angeron and Lopez bring a strong defensive presence to the midfield. Washington (eight goals, five assists) and Kamara (six goals, five assists) will add offensive zest.

Hersi, who played sparingly in his first pro season, was the lone Hearts player under a two-year contract, Murphy said. The other players all had one-year contracts, the vast majority with a club option that could be picked up by the team.

Of the returners, 10 were on the 18-player game-day roster in the USL1 semifinals when Portland lost penalty kick shootout at Spokane Velocity. The exceptions are Hersi and Jones-Reilly.

Jones-Reilly started five of the club’s first six games at right back before suffering a campaign-ending knee injury.

“We think (Jones-Reilly) has a huge upside that’s worth investing in,” Murphy said.

Most notable among the players not retained are center backs Sean Vinberg, whose 33 total starts were second on the team to Messer, and former MLS player Sega Coulibaly, who took Vinberg’s spot late in the season. Three other defenders — Mo Mohamed, Shandon Wright and Colby Quinones — are also now “out-of-contract,” which means they were not resigned and can negotiate with any club.

“With Sega, there’s a possibility of renegotiating,” Murphy said, adding that defense in general, “was an area we could upgrade.”

Vinberg, 31, has been a pro since 2018.

“Sean did a great job for us, but we probably want to get a little younger and see if we can improve,” Murphy said. “We gave up too many goals last year.”

Also looking for a new job will be midfielders Pat Langlois, Natty James and Mickey Reilly, and forwards Jake Keegan, Azaad Liadi, Evan Southern, Walter Varela and Noah Kvifte.

Liadi had been on loan from USL Championship squad Lexington.

Langlois was the first Hearts player to wear the captain’s armband, in the U.S. Open Cup debut at Lewiston High, and started in the semifinal loss at Spokane

“Pat was such a big part of the dressing room and culture and all that and we left it with Pat if he wanted to stay or maybe go somewhere where he might play more. We left that decision to him,” Murphy said.

Portland finished its first season with a USL1 record of 12-8-12, finishing seventh in the regular season and upsetting the second-seeded Chattanooga Red Wolves in the quarterfinals. In non-league play, the club won its first two matches in the U.S. Open Cup, including a victory against USL Championship squad Hartford Athletic. It also beat USL Championship teams Detroit City FC and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds during the midseason USL Jagermeister Cup.

The club set the USL1 average attendance record (5,829) and the single-game mark (6,440), which was broken in the championship game when host One Knoxville beat Spokane, 2-0, before 7,500 fans.

The team will resume training in January. Murphy said he hopes to have the roster mostly filled by then. USL1 clubs are allowed seven foreign players. The Hearts have four foreign players under contract: Kamara, Poon-Angeron, Wada and Wright. This past season, visa issues delayed the arrival of Wada, Kamara and James. Murphy said he wants to have all his foreign player spots filled prior to the season beginning.

“We’re looking to upgrade all across the field,” he said. “We’re not closing doors on anything. We had a good first season. We want to make sure we keep getting better.”