MLS Aces 2024 Award Winners!!!
As the end of the 2024 MLS regular season comes to a close, it means more than just the beginning of the MLS Cup Playoffs. It also means that award season is here as well!!! Obviously the league itself will drop their “official” awards, but we here at MLS Aces have our own voted upon awards as well. Jason, myself, and a few members of MLS Aces past did a preliminary vote to create a final ballot. This final ballot was voted upon again by us here within MLS Aces as well as you all… the fans of soccer in North America! Here is how the voting an final results went down:
MLS Aces Newcomer of the Year:
This award is dedicated to a player who is playing their first ever season within Major League Soccer and shined! This can technically also include players who have arrived to MLS via the MLS SuperDraft, but, they do get their own award in our ballot. The finalists for this award came down to; Luca Orellano (FC Cincinnati), Gabriel Pec (LA Galaxy), Miki Yamane (LA Galaxy), Luis Suarez (Inter Miami), and Jonathan Rodriguez (Portland Timbers). The winner of the vote was…
Gabriel Pec - LA Galaxy
The 2024 MLS All Star takes home the first award of the MLS Aces award season after a season in which he scored 16 goals, recorded 14 assists, in a total of 2,730 minutes this 2024 MLS season.
MLS Aces Rookie of the Year:
As I mentioned in the previous award, players who’ve played their first professional season coming out of the MLS SuperDraft are eligible here for the MLS Aces Rookie of the Year. This is an award that Major League Soccer used to give out, but stopped. We wanted to continue the honor of the MLS SuperDraft and keep awarding this year end honor. The finalists were; Malachi Jones (New York City), Yannick Bright (Inter Miami), Logan Farrington (FC Dallas), Hosei Kjima (St. Louis City), and Leo Afonso (Inter Miami). The winner of the vote was…
Logan Farrington - FC Dallas
The 22 year old striker was drafted out of Oregon State University by FC Dallas in the SuperDraft. The American attacker transitioned very nicely from college to MLS scoring 4 goals and assisting on 8 goals in his rookie campaign. Farrington stepped up big for FC Dallas this year as DP attacker Jesus Ferreira missed most of the season due to injury.
MLS Aces American Player of the Year:
As being the top division soccer league within the United States it is only fair that we award an American Player of the Year within the league! There are no real qualifications here for this award other than this player must be American born and/or eligible for a U.S. senior or youth national team. The top 5 finalists for this award are; Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Cole Bassett (Colorado Rapids), Matt Freese (New York City), Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado Rapids), and Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew). The vote was very close but the winner was…
Djordje Mihailovic - Colorado Rapids
It has been a big 2024 for Djordje as outside of a return to MLS and a stellar campaign with the Colorado Rapids, he also was selected to the U.S. Olympic squad this summer. Djordje was strong in his Olympic debut as well as scoring 11 goals and recording 14 assists within the Major League Soccer season.
MLS Aces Young Player of the Year:
Our young player of the year award comes down to a very simple qualification, be 22 years old or less (even if you are 22 years and 364 days) by the end of the MLS season. We’ve seen young players year after year dominate within MLS and get big moves to Champions League, Europa League, or other large clubs within Europe. This award is also somewhat of a testament to the youth development and scouting within this country. The finalists for this award were Obed Vargas (Seattle Sounder), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy), Diego Gomez (Inter Miami), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), and Cristian Olivera (LAFC). The winner of this year’s award is…
Diego Luna - Real Salt Lake
This was the first award winner that I was a little shocked by! And please if Diego Luna or anyone from the RSL world reads this do not take this as a dig. Luna has had an incredible 2024 campaign in which he’s fought through adversity and still has proven to be one of the best young attackers in this league. I did vote for Diego Gomez from Inter Miami however. Maybe the reports of a $20m+ deal to the Premier League swayed me a bit here… I don’t know. Luna is completely deserving of this award with his 20 goal contributions in this 2024 MLS season (8 goals & 12 assists). Hopefully we see his name floating around the radar of large European clubs like Brighton too!
MLS Aces Manager of the Year:
This one is one where people can vote upon with different qualifications. Does Manager of the Year mean the manager that won the most trophies? Just won the Supporters’ Shield? Did the most with the least? All of the above? This award is a tough one most seasons, and 2024 was no different. With the success that the Crew had in 2024, Inter Miami winning the Shield on potentially a points record season, and various other coaches really having success around the league. The finalists in this one came down to; Tata Marino (Inter Miami), Pat Noonan (FC Cincinnati), Wilfried Nancy (Columbus Crew), Dean Smith (Charlotte FC), and Chris Armas (Colorado Rapids). The winner is…
Wilfried Nancy - Columbus Crew SC
This was another award for us that came down to a single vote difference to decide the winner. The one vote difference wasn’t between Nancy and Tata, it was between Nancy and Chris Armas! But, what Wilfried Nancy has put together with the Crew side in 2024 is unbelievable. Coming off of winning MLS Cup last season, the Crew have made it to three finals in 2024, winning the Leagues Cup title over LAFC. With adding a ton of games to their schedule the Crew still won a title, played the best soccer in the league, and at this point can still finish top three in the Supporters’ Shield standings. Nancy deserves this also for getting the most out of guys like Max Arfsten, Alexandru Matan, Christian Ramirez, and others… all on top of having a MVP candidate in Cucho Hernandez.
MLS Aces “Uncle Sam” Goalkeeper of the Year:
Our goalkeeper of the year award goes out to honoring a former co-host of the MLS Aces Podcast, Sam Nelson. Sam is a man dedicated to loving the art of the goalkeeper position. Goalkeepers have a unique impact on the game of soccer; some can be game winners, some can keep their team’s in games, and others create offensive moments from excellent passing abilities. The top 5 finalists for our award in MLS in 2024 are; Hugo Lloris (LAFC), Drake Callender (Inter Miami), Matt Freese (New York City), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids), and Kristijan Kahlina (Charlotte FC). In another close vote, the winner of the year is…
Matt Freese - New York City FC
It has been an up and down season for New York City FC. From the highs of taking down Tigres in Leagues Cup to getting blown out by the Philadelphia Union in league play… this team has had one staple of great play, Matt Freese. Freese on every metric has been an excellent shot stopper, has made big time saves through high opponents xG, and has ultimately been the reason why his club has drawn or won games in 2024. The winners of our Goalkeeper of the Year, Defender of the Year, and MVP do automatically get places within the MLS Aces Best XI. So Freese will be the first name you all know as part of our Best XI for 2024 as well as this award.
MLS Aces “Daryl Grove” Defensive Player of the Year:
Another award we are dedicating to someone. Unfortunately the U.S. soccer world lost a pioneer in covering the game here in North America a few years ago, Total Soccer Show co-host Daryl Grove. Daryl was someone who came to America from the UK, loved the quirkiness of the game here in America, but also didn’t mock it. He valued American soccer, loved the Richmond Kickers, and in his Sunday league played defender (as he famously talked about on the Total Soccer Show). That is why he honor him and award the best defender from the 2024 MLS season. The finalists for this season’s best defender were; Micael (Houston Dynamo), Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew), Adilson Malanda (Charlotte FC), Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders), and Jesus Murillo (LAFC). This one was tough but the winner is…
Steven Moreira - Columbus Crew
The second Columbus Crew award winner for MLS Aces is here! After Nancy took home the Manager of the Year, one of his best positional shifts in Steven Moreira took home the Defender of the Year honor. Originally, Steven Moreira was a rightback for this Crew team but then Nancy took over in 2023 and shifted to a back three. In that back three he has allowed Steven Moreira to THRIVE as a right sided centerback. He is able to demonstrate his elite defensive ability but also push forward when needed and get involved within the attack. This award was tough as Houston’s Micael also took home A LOT of the votes, but ultimately just like everything else in 2024… Columbus’s boys have thrived. Just like Matt Freese and the Goalkeeper of the Year, this award (and now Steve Moreira) has a place in the 2024 MLS Aces Best XI.
MLS Aces MVP:
Oh the classic American MVP award, I love it! I hate the argument of “what does valuable even mean”... stop it. This award goes to the best player that specific season. A player that has been unbelievable on one of the best teams within the league. I don’t need to break things down even further for you all here, this is the top award of any season. This player also get an automatic spot on the MLS Aces Best XI as well. The finalists for this award this season were; Denis Bouanga (LAFC), Lucho Acosta (FC Cincinnati), Evander (Portland Timbers), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy), and Cucho Hernandez (Columbus Crew). I know… no Messi… shocking right? Well the vote came down to a difference of 2 votes and the winner is…
Cucho Hernandez - Columbus Crew
The third Columbus award winner of 2024 is here! To be perfectly fair to the voters and everyone reading this, the MVP race this season has been maybe the most difficult race in the last 5 or so years. I think there are fair shouts at Cucho, Lucho, Evander, Bouanga, Puig, Messi, and even Benteke for this award. But I do think this is a case where more exposure (i.e. more competitions and games played) helped out Cucho a ton this year, even if this was supposed to be a MLS only award. We all know it’s not… However, in MLS play alone this year, Cucho is part of the 30+ G/A club! He finishes his 2024 with 19 goals and 14 assists. Cucho is well deserving of this award and this spot on the Best XI for 2024.
