EL PASO, Texas (November 4, 2024) – El Paso Locomotive FC announced today that it has appointed Ray Saari as its new Technical Director for the 2025 season, making him the first non-Head Coach in club history to hold the position.
“This is an exciting and momentous day for Locomotive,” Locomotive General Manager, Business and Technical Operations Andrew Forrest said. “Appointing Ray as our Technical Director will help shape the future of this club’s direction in terms of player recruitment and retention, further integration of our youth academy into the first team and increase our ever-growing relationship with FC Juarez. Ray and Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera will work tirelessly to ensure Locomotive fans and the El Paso community have a team which is consistently amongst the best in USL championship.”
Saari has been a member of Locomotive’s technical staff since 2023, serving as the club’s first Individual Development Plan (IDP) Coach where he worked with players on Locomotive’s roster to develop and improve their performances through individualized assessments and trainings. He would later transition into the club’s Assistant Coach in 2024, working hand-in-hand with Cabrera to organize and execute training sessions, game plan tactics, video analysis and player recruitment.
As the Technical Director, Saari will oversee all of Locomotive’s soccer operations moving forward, including scouting, player recruitment, youth development, strategic roster planning and contract negotiations. Alongside those duties, Saari will act as an additional link between the club owners, the head coach and technical staff, Locomotive Youth Soccer, FC Juárez (El Paso’s Liga MX sister club) and the Locomotive front office.
“It’s an honor to be named El Paso Locomotive FC’s new technical director and I thank MountainStar Sports Group, Alan Ledford and Andrew Forrest for their belief in me,” Saari said. “El Paso has been a top club in this league since its inception in 2019 and is held in high regards for its passionate fanbase, supportive ownership group, abundance of resources and its location in one of the most talent-rich footballing beds in the country. As a former player myself during the years in which El Paso made back-to-back Western Conference Final appearances, I can say that I have seen this club when it was at its best. As the new technical director, I will give everything I have to make sure our club gets back to the top of the Western Conference and USL Championship.”
Prior to joining Locomotive, Saari was an Assistant Coach for the University of Tulsa Men’s Soccer Team between 2022-23, helping the Golden Hurricane reach the Round of 16 in the 2022 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament.
Before having to retire due to complications with a knee injury, Saari played as midfielder for several USL Championship clubs between 2017-2021, including Seattle Sounders FC 2 (2017-18), Sacramento Republic FC (2019) and Oklahoma City Energy FC (2020-21). Saari was most successful with NPSL side Tulsa Athletic (2014-16) where he was a critical attacking piece for the club that won conference titles in two of his three seasons there. He is amongst one the club’s all-time point leaders with 12 goals and 13 assists and was recognized in 2020 as one of the league’s all-time best players.
Saari played his entire college career with the University of Tulsa (2013-16), making 69 total appearances with 12 goals and 12 assists under his name. He was named to the American Athletic Conference (AAC) All-Conference Team his sophomore year and made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances after winning three straight AAC Conference Tournaments between 2014-16.
Saari is currently working towards his U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) C-License and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tulsa (2016).