Fresh off a record-breaking expansion season, St. Louis CITY SC have signed head coach Bradley Carnell to a contract extension, the club announced Wednesday.
Carnell was a 2023 Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year finalist after guiding the club to a first-place finish in the Western Conference during their inaugural season.
"We’re thrilled to be able to extend Bradley’s contract and keep him and his family here with us in St. Louis," club president and general manager Diego Gigliani said in a statement.
"His leadership helped us achieve record-breaking results on the pitch and quickly established CITY SC as a club serious about building a winning tradition for our fans. We look forward to our future with Bradley leading the squad."
The South Africa native led St. Louis to a 5W-0L-0D start to their maiden MLS campaign, becoming the first MLS team to accomplish that feat. The club also became the quickest expansion team to reach 25 points, doing so in 13 games.
"I want to say thank you to Lutz, Diego, Carolyn and the ownership group for believing in me to help lead this project and continue from a successful Year 1," Carnell said. "I am excited to continue working with the STL group. My family and I love the St. Louis area and can’t wait to build on top of the strong foundation that was built."
St. Louis were also the first expansion team to win a conference regular-season title and record 17 wins (post-shootout era), all while tying for the second most points in a season with 56.
"During his first full season as a head coach, Bradley quickly became one of the top coaches in the league," sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel. "When we brought Bradley in to be CITY SC’s first-ever coach, we knew his work ethic and unique blend of MLS and international experience would help us be competitive, but I can safely say no one predicted CITY SC to finish the regular season as the best team in the Western Conference.
"When it came to developing a team of players, many of whom had never played together before, to execute a very challenging playing philosophy and style, Bradley overdelivered every step of the way."
Before becoming St. Louis' first manager, Carnell joined the New York Red Bulls as an assistant coach in 2017. He then became the club's interim head coach in September 2020 before returning to his role as an assistant coach in 2021.
St. Louis kick off their second season with a Concacaf Champions Cup meeting vs. Houston Dynamo FC before taking on Real Salt Lake in their MLS regular-season opener on Feb. 24 (8:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
