PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Pilots Men's Soccer continues to strengthen the roster ahead of the 2026 fall season, adding forward Javier Hernandez.
"I chose the University of Portland to be in a program that has a standard of winning," Hernandez said. "The baseline is to win, and with the style of footy that UP plays, I believed it was the best fit for me. I'm happy and blessed to bleed purple for Soccer City, USA. Go Pilots!"
Hernandez spent this past season with the North Carolina Tar Heels, playing in seven matches with one start, earning that start against the College of Charleston. Prior to joining the Tar Heels, Hernandez starred for Arlington High School and was named the 2023-24 Gatorade California Boys Soccer Player of the Year. He set a school record with 34 goals and was a first-team all-league selection.
Hernandez, who is the brother of Pilot goalkeeper Miguel-Angel Hernandez, starred in LAFC's academy, playing LAFC 2 in the MLS NextPro league. With LAFC 2 Hernandez had seven starts and scored six goals, including a hat trick in 2024. He'll bolster an attack that has been the top scoring team in the nation the last four seasons.
"We are excited about adding Javier to our program as he's a fox in the box and has shown at the MLS Next Pro level to be goal dangerous," Portland Head Coach He has intelligent movement in the box and we think once he gets into our system and training demands the best is ahead for him.
Momentum is strong for Portland, who put together one of the best seasons in program history this past season. Their 14-2-4 record gave them their best winning percentage since 1988 (.800) and helped them earn the 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament. It was the third time in program history the Pilots have earned the first-round bye and the second time under Carlin-Voigt. They advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time under Carlin-Voigt and third time since 1995, becoming one of just four programs to reach the Elite Eight twice in the last four years. It was the first time they've ever hosted the Elite Eight as well.
The Pilots were ranked in the top 10 nationally from Sept. 9 onward, including ranking as high as first in the nation. It was the first time in program history the Pilots have ranked first overall in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Along with the team success, the Pilots have had eight players selected to the MLS SuperDraft the last three seasons and three players earn invites to U.S. Men's National Team camps. Three of the Pilots' most recent MLS SuperDraft selections – Efetobo Aror (12
th overall in 2025), Joe Highfield (11
th overall in 2026) and Nikos Clarke-Tosczak (19
th overall in 2026) – have all elected to return for the 2026 season as well, and the Pilots added two other MLS SuperDraft picks in Isaac Emojong and Olayinka Ogunleye earlier this year.
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