SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane native Craig Waibel has been named general manager and chief soccer officer of the Seattle Sounders.
According to the Associated Press, Waibel will replace former general manager Garth Lagerwey and take the helm after Seattle failed to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season.
Born in Portland, Ore. on Aug. 21, 1975, Waibel graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane before playing college soccer at the University of Washington. He played briefly for the Spokane Shadow in the USISL Premier League and was later selected by the Seattle Sounders in the 1999 A-League Draft.
Waibel later enjoyed a successful career in the MLS, winning four cups through his time playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo. After retiring as a player, Waibel turned to a career in coaching and management, serving as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan in 2011 before becoming an assistant coach for the Washington Huskies in 2012. In 2014, Waibel was called up to the MLS once again to serve as an assistant coach for Real Salt Lake before being promoted to general manager the following year.
After parting ways with Real Salt Lake in 2019, Waibel found himself with the Sounders once again in 2021 as a sporting director.
The Associated Press says Waibel is the third GM in club history after current majority owner Adrian Hanauer and Lagerwey.
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