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MLS Young Player of the Year Award

Award in Major League Soccer

MLS Young Player of the Year Award
Summary

Award in Major League Soccer

[[Tampa Bay Mutiny]]'s [[Steve Ralston]] was the inaugural winner in 1996
MetroStar]]'s [[Rodrigo Faria]] became the first non-American player to win the award
homegrown player]] to win the award
In 2020, [[Los Angeles FC]]'s [[Diego Rossi]] became the first player to win it under the under 22 format

The MLS Young Player of the Year Award (known as the Rookie of the Year Award from 1996 to 2019) is an annual award given to the top player in Major League Soccer under the age of 22.

The award was initially awarded to a rookie, or a player who no prior professional experience, usually to players that had previously played in MLS youth team academies or played college soccer. This practice is fairly common in other American sports leagues, such as the MLB Rookie of the Year (baseball), NASCAR Rookie of the Year (motorsports), NFL Rookie of the Year Award (American football), the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy (basketball), and the Calder Memorial Trophy (ice hockey).

In 2020, MLS replaced the Rookie of the Year Award with the MLS Young Player of the Year Award, given to the best player in the league aged 22 and under, regardless of prior professional playing experience.

Winners

Rookie of the Year Award (1996–2019)

SeasonPlayerPositionTeamDraft
PickDraft ClassCollege
1996USAMidfielderTampa Bay Mutiny1996 MLS College DraftFlorida International
1997USADefenderTampa Bay Mutiny1996 MLS Inaugural DraftUNLV
1998USAMidfielderD.C. United{{sortN/A}}Project-40
1999USADefenderMiami Fusion1999 MLS College DraftDuke
2000USADefenderChicago Fire2000 MLS SuperDraftUCLA
2001BRAForwardMetroStars2001 MLS SuperDraftConcordia College
2002USAMidfielderColumbus Crew2002 MLS SuperDraftVirginia
2003JAMForwardChicago Fire2003 MLS SuperDraftConnecticut
2004USAMidfielderNew England Revolution2004 MLS SuperDraftFurman
2005USADefenderNew England Revolution2005 MLS SuperDraftWake Forest
2006USADefenderChivas USA2006 MLS SuperDraftUCLA
2007USAMidfielderToronto FC2007 MLS SuperDraftMaryland
2008USADefenderLA Galaxy2008 MLS SuperDraftCal State Northridge
2009USADefenderLA Galaxy2009 MLS SuperDraftMaryland
2010HONMidfielderD.C. UnitedN/AHomegrown PlayerN/A
2011USAForwardSporting Kansas City{{sort10}}2011 MLS SuperDraft
2012USADefenderChicago Fire{{sort9}}2012 MLS SuperDraft
2013USAMidfielderColorado Rapids{{sort11}}2013 MLS SuperDraft
2014CANForwardFC Dallas{{sort6}}2014 MLS SuperDraft
2015CANForwardOrlando City SC2015 MLS SuperDraftConnecticut
2016USAForwardSeattle Sounders FC{{sortN/A}}Homegrown Player
2017GERMidfielderAtlanta United FC2017 MLS SuperDraftProvidence College
2018USAForwardReal Salt Lake{{sortN/A}}Homegrown Player
2019BRAForwardColorado Rapids2019 MLS SuperDraftDenver

Young Player of the Year Award (2020–present)

SeasonPlayerPositionTeamAge
2020URUForwardLos Angeles FC22
2021USA Ricardo PepiForwardFC Dallas18
2022USAForward21
2023ARGMidfielderAtlanta United FC22
2024USAMidfielderReal Salt Lake21
2025USADefenderOrlando City SC21

Wins by playing position

PositionNumber of
winners
Defender9
Forward9
Midfielder10
Goalkeeper0

Wins by nationality

NationalityNumber of
winners
20
2
2
1
1
1
1
1

Wins by team

TeamNumber of
winners
Chicago Fire3
FC Dallas3
Colorado Rapids2
D.C. United2
Los Angeles Galaxy2
New England Revolution2
Tampa Bay Mutiny2
Atlanta United FC2
Real Salt Lake2
Orlando City SC2
Chivas USA1
Columbus Crew1
MetroStars1
Miami Fusion1
Seattle Sounders FC1
Sporting Kansas City1
Toronto FC1
Los Angeles FC1

References

References

  1. (October 28, 2020). "MLS Unveils AT&T Young Player of the Year Award; 2020 Awards Nominees Announced". Major League Soccer.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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