MLS Young Player of the Year Award

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.[1]

Winners

Rookie of the Year Award (1996–2019)
Season Player Position Team Draft
Pick		 Draft Class College
1996 Steve Ralston Midfielder Tampa Bay Mutiny 18 1996 MLS College Draft Florida International
1997 Mike Duhaney Defender Tampa Bay Mutiny 87 1996 MLS Inaugural Draft UNLV
1998 Ben Olsen Midfielder D.C. United N/A Project-40 Virginia
1999 Jay Heaps Defender Miami Fusion 2 1999 MLS College Draft Duke
2000 Carlos Bocanegra Defender Chicago Fire 4 2000 MLS SuperDraft UCLA
2001 Rodrigo Faria Forward MetroStars 13 2001 MLS SuperDraft Concordia College
2002 Kyle Martino Midfielder Columbus Crew 8 2002 MLS SuperDraft Virginia
2003 Damani Ralph Forward Chicago Fire 18 2003 MLS SuperDraft Connecticut
2004 Clint Dempsey Midfielder New England Revolution 8 2004 MLS SuperDraft Furman
2005 Michael Parkhurst Defender New England Revolution 9 2005 MLS SuperDraft Wake Forest
2006 Jonathan Bornstein Defender Chivas USA 37 2006 MLS SuperDraft UCLA
2007 Maurice Edu Midfielder Toronto FC 1 2007 MLS SuperDraft Maryland
2008 Sean Franklin Defender LA Galaxy 4 2008 MLS SuperDraft Cal State Northridge
2009 Omar Gonzalez Defender LA Galaxy 3 2009 MLS SuperDraft Maryland
2010 Andy Najar Midfielder D.C. United N/A Homegrown Player N/A
2011 C. J. Sapong Forward Sporting Kansas City 10 2011 MLS SuperDraft James Madison
2012 Austin Berry Defender Chicago Fire 9 2012 MLS SuperDraft Louisville
2013 Dillon Powers Midfielder Colorado Rapids 11 2013 MLS SuperDraft Notre Dame
2014 Tesho Akindele Forward FC Dallas 6 2014 MLS SuperDraft Colorado School of Mines
2015 Cyle Larin Forward Orlando City SC 1 2015 MLS SuperDraft Connecticut
2016 Jordan Morris Forward Seattle Sounders FC N/A Homegrown Player Stanford
2017 Julian Gressel Midfielder Atlanta United 8 2017 MLS SuperDraft Providence College
2018 Corey Baird Forward Real Salt Lake N/A Homegrown Player Stanford
2019 Andre Shinyashiki Forward Colorado Rapids 5 2019 MLS SuperDraft Denver

Young Player of the Year Award (2020–present)
Season Player Position Team Age
2020 Diego Rossi Forward Los Angeles FC 22

Wins by playing position
PositionNumber of
winners
Defender8
Forward8
Midfielder8
Goalkeeper0

Wins by nationality
NationalityNumber of
winners
 United States17
 Canada2
 Brazil2
 Germany1
 Honduras1
 Jamaica1
 Uruguay1

Wins by team
TeamNumber of
winners
Chicago Fire3
Colorado Rapids2
D.C. United2
Los Angeles Galaxy2
New England Revolution2
Tampa Bay Mutiny2
Atlanta United FC1
Chivas USA1
Columbus Crew1
FC Dallas1
MetroStars1
Miami Fusion1
Orlando City SC1
Seattle Sounders FC1
Sporting Kansas City1
Toronto FC1
Real Salt Lake1
Los Angeles FC1

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