Portland Hearts of Pine Sporting Director Ray Saari Outlines Vision for Future Success

“I have been very happy to see people who are very introspective, who are looking at themselves, who are willing to criticize themselves,” sporting director Ray Saari told UpTheHearts.com on Oct. 30. The admission comes after a season that left Portland Hearts of Pine 14th in a 17-team USL League One table, 12 points adrift of the playoff line.

The numbers tell a story of instability. A disjointed preseason and major injuries to Masashi Wada, Titus Washington, and Mikey Lopez loomed over a campaign where consistency proved elusive. Hearts used the same starting lineup just once all year, and their longest win streak stretched to only two matches, occurring in June and again in September. For a club that entered its second season with playoff ambitions, the gap between expectation and reality could not be bridged.

Hearts Announce Ray Saari as New Sporting Director

Saari’s El Paso Blueprint Offers a Roadmap

Saari knows what a turnaround looks like. In his capacity as technical director, he steered El Paso Locomotive from the bottom of the USL Championship Western Conference in 2024 to fourth place in 2025, a turnaround that saw the club finish atop its conference before he left for Portland in August. That experience shapes his confidence now. “Things can change quickly in the USL,” he said, pointing to his own track record as evidence that a last-place finish does not have to become a permanent address.

The parallels are not lost on the organization. Just as El Paso required structural fixes, Portland is already addressing how it manages player workload. While some injuries, including the ACL tear Ollie Wright suffered at Chattanooga, remain unavoidable, Saari believes soft tissue issues are controllable. “I confidently say that we’ve addressed our process, and how we go about load management and things of that nature,” he said. “I feel confident going into next year, even with what we’ve done already, that we’ll be able to remedy some of those issues.”

An up and coming young American, who deserves this fully! Congratulations Ray! https://t.co/KdJbdd9svs

— https://x.com/MilitarIvan9/status/2094499415994093868

Front Office Investments Signal Ambition

The club has moved quickly to bolster its recruitment infrastructure. Portland recently added Ahan Jain as chief scout and elevated Ford Bohrmann, who joined after last year’s recruitment cycle, to director of analytics. Together, they represent what Saari calls “the sheer amount of eyes, but also the expertise” needed to compete as the league grows. “I’m happy that the organization has trusted me to make those investments, because I do think that it’s very important as the league is growing,” Saari explained.

“The sheer amount of eyes, but also the expertise, will put us at the forefront of the USL landscape in general,” Saari said.

That growth mindset extends to where the club will hunt for talent. Saari’s search will be extensive across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with Jain focusing particularly on MLS Next Pro and the college game. “Anything within the domestic-based market is where I like to build a very strong base on my team,” Saari said, noting that much of the USL talent pool played college soccer at some point. The strategy prioritizes a strong domestic core before looking abroad.

Saari Outlines Key Traits for New Signings

With significant moves already underway, Saari indicated the club is scouting a “wide range of positions.” The goal is to have the bulk of the roster constructed by the time preseason begins, though he plans to leave “maybe four or five roster spots open” for trialists trying to find a team in January or early February. Every incoming player will be judged on one non-negotiable trait. “What I would like to add to the group, and I’ve seen it from the fan base, is the emphasis on players who truly empty the tank every single time that they play for the club,” Saari explained.

10.24.2026 | Portland Hearts of Pine vs. Charlotte Independence – USL League One Game Highlights

The returning players from last year’s squad fit both the tactical profile and the blue-collar attitude Saari wants, having kept showing up each week despite the difficult campaign. Yet the club must identify a new captain following Mikey Lopez’s retirement after a 14-year career. In his final game, Lopez scored a game-winner after a saved penalty, allowing the community to celebrate a player who clearly shared a kinship with the city. “There’s not a whole lot of things that I can say specifically yet, but we’re excited about the opportunities ahead for us to continue to have [Lopez] at the club in the future,” Saari said.

Murphy Stays, Championship Dreams Remain

While the roster will look different, Bobby Murphy will continue to instruct from the sidelines. The veteran manager has coached in MLS, MLS Next Pro, and the USL Championship, and came close to leading Hearts to a League One Final in its debut season. “I know it’s been disappointing for the club this year, but he’s a coach that we all, as a club, believe in,” Saari said. “It’s been very enjoyable working with him.”

'4 | Sarasota open the scoring early.

— https://x.com/hearts_sc/status/2103955446868726074

The pressure is real, and Saari acknowledges it. “I feel fully supported by ownership,” he said. “I feel that the collaboration that we have within the staff and the resources that we have at the club give us every single chance to be successful.” He pointed to the club’s ambition as a driving force in his decision to join. “This club does an amazing job of providing guys like me the resources we need to be successful… I can confidently say that our ownership group does both.”

Soccer remains unpredictable, but the analytical work underway for months aims to position Hearts for a home playoff game in 2027. “I’ve been in the USL for a long time, and I think anybody who’s been around has seen that there’s nothing that says that Hearts can’t win a championship next year,” Saari said. “So I guess that puts a lot of pressure on me, right? We need to deliver.”