VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced on Sunday that seven players from Whitecaps FC 2 (WFC2) have been signed to MLS short-term agreements for this evening's home match against Seattle Sounders FC at BC Place. The club received an extreme hardship exemption from the league to sign more than the regularly allotted four short-term agreements per match.
Jackson Castro
Castro, 22, has two goals and two assists while starting all 12 matches for WFC2 this season, and leads MLS NEXT Pro with 35 key passes. This marks the first time that Castro has signed an MLS short-term agreement.
The midfielder was signed in February after graduating from the University of Creighton. In that time, he was twice named to the All-BIG EAST First Team (2023 and 2024), and once to the Second Team (2022). During his NCAA career, he scored 22 goals and recorded 22 assists over 74 appearances.
Jackson Castro
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-08
Weight: 160 pounds
Date of Birth: December 24, 2002
Hometown: Plano, Texas
Citizenship: United States
Status: Domestic
University: University of Creighton (2021-24)
Former Club: Vermont Green (USL League Two)
Youth Club: Solar SC
Antoine Coupland
The 21-year-old midfielder is in his third season with WFC2, and has started four of his eight MLS NEXT Pro appearances in 2025. In total, Coupland has recorded two goals and five assists during his 32 starts and 46 appearances.
The native of Quebec originally signed in 2023 from Croatian first division side HNK Rijeka, where he recorded nine goals and two assists across 19 starts and 23 appearances in two seasons with the club's U-19 team in the 1. HNL Juinori.
This marks the first time that Coupland has signed an MLS short-term agreement.
Antoine Coupland
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-08
Weight: 160 pounds
Date of Birth: December 12, 2003 in Chelsea, Québec
Hometown: Chelsea, Québec
Citizenship: Canada
Status: Domestic
Previous Clubs: HNK Rijeka (2022-23), Atlético Ottawa (2020-22), Ottawa Fury FC (2019)
Youth Clubs: Ottawa St. Anthony SC’s Futuro Soccer Academy, Ottawa Fury
Nikola Djordjevic
The 22-year-old has started seven of nine appearances in his first MLS NEXT Pro season, leading the team with three assists and adding one goal. This marks the first time that Djordjevic has signed an MLS short-term agreement.
The defender from Austin, Texas was selected in the second round of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft with the 45th overall selection and was part of the 'Caps preseason roster in Marbella, Spain. From 2022 to 2024, Djordjevic started 35 of his 38 appearances at Southern Methodist University, recording two goals and 12 assists. In his final season at SMU, he captained the Mustangs while starting all 21 matches, scoring one goal and adding five assists.
Nikola Djordjevic
Position: Fullback
Height: 5-09
Weight: 175 pounds
Date of Birth: November 14, 2002
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Citizenship: United States
Status: Domestic
University: Southern Methodist University
Youth Club: Capital City SC
Rayan Elloumi
Elloumi signed his first professional contract with WFC2 on Saturday, and this marks the first time that he has signed an MLS short-term agreement. The native of Edmonton, Alberta previously spent time playing with WFC2 as an amateur player during the 2024 and 2025 MLS NEXT Pro seasons. This season, Elloumi has started two of his seven appearances, recording one goal and two assists. In 2024, he made one start in four appearances and scored his first professional goal against Houston Dynamo 2 on October 6.
The forward originally joined the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy in August 2023 after previously playing with BTB Soccer Academy.
Elloumi has also competed with Whitecaps FC at the League1 BC and MLS NEXT levels.
Rayan Elloumi
Position: Forward
Height: 6-00
Weight: 180 pounds
Date of Birth: September 17, 2007 in St. Albert, Alberta
Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta
Citizenship: Canada, Tunisia
Status: Domestic
Youth Clubs: Whitecaps FC BMO Academy, BTB Soccer Academy
Adrián Pelayo
Signed in April, the 18-year-old has made two starts for WFC2 in MLS NEXT Pro. This marks the first time that Pelayo has signed an MLS short-term agreement.
Prior to coming to Vancouver, Pelayo made 14 starts in 16 appearances during the 2024/25 LIGA MX U-23 Apertura and Clausura seasons for Chivas de Guadalajara’s U-23 side after joining the club last July.
Internationally, Pelayo represented Mexico at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, making one start as the team reached the tournament’s Round of 16.
Adrián Pelayo
Position: Defender
Height: 6-01
Weight: 180 pounds
Date of Birth: May 16, 2006 in Stayton, Oregon
Hometown: Salem, Oregon
Citizenship: United States, Mexico, Argentina
Status: Domestic
Former Clubs: Chivas de Guadalajara U-23 (‘24-’25), North Carolina FC (‘23-’24), Portland Timbers2 (‘22-’23)
Youth Club: Portland Timbers Academy
Daniel Russo
Russo, 23, joined WFC2 in April and has gone on to start five of his seven appearances with the side, scoring twice. This marks the second time Russo has signed a short-term agreement with the club after previously getting called up for the TELUS Canadian Championship quarterfinal first leg at Valour FC.
The Jackson, New Jersey native spent the 2024 season with fellow MLS NEXT Pro side Atlanta United 2. He made one start and two appearances for the Five Stripes.
Prior to making the move to Atlanta, Russo spent four seasons playing at the University of Notre Dame, playing the majority of his minutes as a winger. In his first season at Notre Dame, Russo made 13 appearances, including five starts, and had one goal and one assist. He continued to progress the following season, playing in 24 matches and tallying three goals as well as four assists.
In his youth, Russo played his prep career at Jackson Memorial and was a member of the New York Red Bulls academy before heading to South Bend.
Daniel Russo
Position: Defender
Height: 5-11
Weight: 165 pounds
Date of Birth: March 24, 2002 in Jackson, New Jersey
Hometown: Jackson, New Jersey
Citizenship: United States
Status: Domestic
University: University of Notre Dame
Former Club: Atlanta United 2 (‘23-’24)
Youth Club: New York Red Bulls Academy
Johnny Selemani
Selemani, 17, signed his first professional contract on Saturday, and this marks the first time that he has signed an MLS short-term agreement. The native of Edmonton, Alberta spent time playing with WFC2 as an amateur player during the 2024 and 2025 MLS NEXT Pro seasons. This season, Selemani has started 11 of his 12 appearances, recording one goal and one assist. In 2024, Selemani became the youngest WFC2 debutant in the club’s MLS NEXT Pro era (16 years, one month, five days) with his start at Tacoma Defiance. He went on to make three total appearances during the season.
The forward originally joined the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy in August 2022 after previously playing with BTB Soccer Academy.
In addition, Selemani has competed with Whitecaps FC at the League1 BC and MLS NEXT levels.
At the international level, Selemani has represented Canada at the U-15 and U-17 age groups. The forward was part of Canada’s roster at the Concacaf U-17 Championship earlier this year, where he started two of his three appearances and scored once en route to helping Canada to a perfect 4W-0L-0D record to secure qualification to the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Johnny Selemani
Position: Forward
Height: 5-10
Weight: 165 pounds
Date of Birth: March 16, 2008 in Edmonton, Alberta
Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta
Citizenship: Canada
Status: Domestic
Youth Clubs: Whitecaps FC BMO Academy, BTB Soccer Academy
Whitecaps FC MLS short-term agreements:
1. Emiliano Brienza at Columbus Crew - February 26, 2022
2. Ali Ahmed at Austin FC - April 23, 2022
3. Vasco Fry at Austin FC - April 23, 2022
4. Max Anchor at Charlotte FC - May 22, 2022
5. Chris Lee vs. Minnesota United FC - July 8, 2022
6. Chris Lee at FC Cincinnati - July 13, 2022
7. Ali Ahmed vs. Houston Dynamo FC - August 5, 2022
8. Simon Becher vs. Houston Dynamo FC - August 5, 2022
9. Easton Ongaro at LA Galaxy - August 13, 2022
10. Simon Becher at Colorado Rapids - September 10, 2022
11. Vasco Fry at Real C.D. España and at LA Galaxy - March 15 to 18, 2023
12. Levonte Johnson at Real C.D. España and at LA Galaxy - March 15 to 18, 2023
13. Vasco Fry at Minnesota United FC - March 25, 2023
14. Levonte Johnson at York United FC - May 10, 2023
15. Levonte Johnson at Pacific FC and at St. Louis CITY SC - May 24 to 27, 2023
16. Levonte Johnson vs. CF Montréal - June 7, 2023
17. Giovanni Aguilar at Colorado Rapids - June 21, 2023
18. Giovanni Aguilar at LAFC - June 24, 2023
19. Giovanni Aguilar at Sporting Kansas City - July 1, 2023
20. Jeevan Badwal vs. Tigres UANL - February 7, 2024
21. Jay Herdman vs. Tigres UANL - February 7, 2024
22. Jay Herdman vs. Charlotte FC - March 2, 2024
23. Jay Herdman at Seattle Sounders FC - April 20, 2024
24. Cyprian Kachwele at Cavalry FC - May 7, 2024
25. Cyprian Kachwele at Colorado Rapids - May 15, 2024
26. Cyprian Kachwele vs. Cavalry FC - May 21, 2024
27. Jeevan Badwal at New England Revolution - June 15, 2024
28. Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau vs. St. Louis CITY SC - June 29, 2024
29. Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau at Minnesota United FC - July 3, 2024
30. Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau at CF Montréal - July 6, 2024
31. Jeevan Badwal at Pacific FC - July 10, 2024
32. Mihail Gherasimencov vs. Wrexham AFC - July 27, 2024
33. Finn Linder vs. Wrexham AFC - July 27, 2024
34. Buster Sjöberg vs. Wrexham AFC - July 27, 2024
35. Eliot Goldthorp vs. Wrexham AFC - July 27, 2024
36. Liam Mackenzie vs. Wrexham AFC - July 27, 2024
37. Malcolm Simmons vs. Wrexham AFC - July 27, 2024
38. Finn Linder vs. Club Tijuana - August 3, 2024
39. Eliot Goldthorp vs. Club Tijuana - August 3, 2024
40. Finn Linder vs. Pumas UNAM - August 7, 2024
41. Cyprian Kachwele at Austin FC - August 31, 2024
42. Jeevan Badwal vs. FC Dallas - September 7, 2024
43. Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau vs. FC Dallas - September 7, 2024
44. Liam Mackenzie at CF Monterrey and at FC Dallas - March 12 to 15, 2025
45. Liam Mackenzie vs. Chicago Fire FC - March 22, 2025
46. Mark O'Neill vs. Chicago Fire FC - March 22, 2025
47. Mark O'Neill vs. Pumas UNAM - April 2, 2025
48. Mark O'Neill vs. Colorado Rapids - April 5, 2025
49. Mark O'Neill vs. Pumas UNAM - April 9, 2025
50. Daniel Russo at Valour FC - May 20, 2025
51. Jackson Castro vs. Seattle Sounders FC - June 8, 2025
52. Antoine Coupland vs. Seattle Sounders FC - June 8, 2025
53. Nikola Djordjevic vs. Seattle Sounders FC - June 8, 2025
54. Rayan Elloumi vs. Seattle Sounders FC - June 8, 2025
55. Adrián Pelayo vs. Seattle Sounders FC - June 8, 2025
56. Daniel Russo vs. Seattle Sounders FC - June 8, 2025
57. Johnny Selemani vs. Seattle Sounders FC - June 8, 2025
