Defiance player reviews: Antonio Herrera

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories looking at the individual performances of Defiance players who are under contract in 2025. You can find all the stories here.

Antonio Herrera’s status has always seemed a bit shrouded in mystery, while also showing a good deal of promise. The Tacoma native signed his first professional contract in 2022, but didn’t actually join the Tacoma Defiance until 2023. He spent a season with Defiance before going on loan with Chivas’ U23 team for all of last season. He’s now back with Tacoma, at least for the time being.

Born: Jan. 7, 2005 (19)

2024 stats: N/A

Total professional minutes: 1,075

Year in review: Herrera went on loan to Chivas’ U23 team with the hope that he’d attract enough attention to possibly get an offer to join the senior team. Instead, 2024 will have to be chalked up as a “learning experience.” From all the available data, Herrera barely played while he was in Mexico with his appearance in a friendly against USL2 side Ballard FC one of the few documented times he got on the field.

Suffice it to say, he did not make enough of an impression to warrant a permanent move and the expectation, at least for now, is that he’ll spend 2025 with the Defiance.

If it all works out: For all his ups and downs, Herrera still has talent. He’s been called into Mexico’s youth national teams a fair number of times and has the potential to be a solid attacking midfielder. He probably best projects as a sort of pocket-winger.