In more than one way, the 2025 MLS season was historic.
The league-record transfer fee was broken three times, the last of which by the $26.5 million arrival of Son Heung-min.
Unpredictability was the common theme of the season, with the Philadelphia Union unexpectedly winning the Supporters’ Shield, the Vancouver Whitecaps getting to the Concacaf Champions Cup final and San Diego FC having the best expansion season in league history, registering the most wins (19) and points (63) for a first-year side.
The story of a season is told by winning trophies, but its details are colored by end-of-season individual accolades.
I have the privilege of being an official MLS awards voter, a responsibility I take seriously to help tell that story. That comes with the need for transparency.
With that said, below is my official ballot being sent to MLS HQ and rationale for the selections.
MLS MVP: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami
Messi is the overwhelming favorite to win MLS MVP this season and, with it, would become the first back-to-back winner of the award and second multi-time winner.
Unlike last year, when Messi only played in 19 games, there isn’t much of a debate.
Messi led the league in goals (29) and tied for the lead in assists (19). He has the second-most goal contributions in league history (48) and Miami finished on 65 points, just one off the Shield-winning Union.
The numbers are vastly in Messi’s favor, as he had 10 more goal contributions than second place (Anders Dreyer, 38). Stylistically, well, it’s Lionel Freaking Messi. He’s having the second-most productive season in league history and leading one of the best teams in the league.
Messi’s 48 goal contributions outperformed the goals-scored tally of 13(!) teams. Name brand or not, this choice wasn’t too difficult.
Earlier in the year it was. In fact, for much of the season, Dreyer was leading my ballot. As San Diego’s Supporters’ Shield hopes dwindled and his goal contribution slowed (just a little), he slid behind Messi.
Dreyer’s final seven games of the season wound up strong with six goals and two assists — but not compared to Messi’s 10 goals and eight assists in that time. How can anyone keep pace with that?
Dreyer is the clear No. 2 and should absolutely be one of the three finalists (More on him in a bit; he won’t leave this season empty-handed).
The third finalist should be either LAFC’s Denis Bouanga (24 goals, nine assists for a team that finished third in West) or FC Cincinnati’s Evander (18 goals, 15 assists; second-place finish in the East after a league-record $12M cash-for-player deal). I’d go with Bouanga, but either would be fine. Nashville’s Sam Surridge (24 goals, five assists; sixth-place finish in the East) is just a touch behind.
Coach of the Year: Jesper Sørensen, Vancouver Whitecaps
For all the pleasant surprises in MLS this year, the Vancouver Whitecaps are the biggest, and as a result, Sørensen gets my Coach of the Year vote.
He was hired merely hours before preseason started. Club ownership put the team up for sale, and questions swirled about whether it would remain in the city in the future or relocate. The squad had good pieces, but the Whitecaps finished eighth in the West last year, transferred out a DP late in preseason (and did not immediately replace him). Then, star Ryan Gauld went out injured early and missed almost the whole season.
Vancouver went on to finish second in the West with 63 points, playing the most aesthetic soccer all season. The Whitecaps navigated injuries to key starters and handled the kind of fixture congestion that comes with a run to the Concacaf Champions Cup final as well as the Canadian Championship. Sørensen also tweaked his game model based on available players and integrated Thomas Müller seamlessly midseason.
A year that started as potentially disastrous has ended as the best season in Whitecaps history.
It feels cruel for Bradley Carnell and Mikey Varas to be overlooked for this award. In most years, both could have been obvious winners. Carnell won the Supporters’ Shield with Philly, a team no one picked to finish with the league’s best record, while Varas authored the best expansion season in league history, with his San Diego FC pipping Vancouver to the West’s top seed on Decision Day.
Philadelphia Union center back Olwethu Makhanya helped marshal MLS’s stingiest defense in 2025 (Chris Carter / Getty Images)
Defender of the Year: Olwethu Makhanya, Philadelphia Union
There are a few different deserving winners, but Makhanya gets my vote.
He’s been a shooting star in 2025 and became the preferred partner to 2022 Defender of the Year Jakob Glesnes, who was awesome as well. I went back and forth on these two players. I was torn, but I sampled a number of sources across the league for their opinion, and Makhanya was the majority choice.
All things being equal, I would have picked Makhanya, but my only hesitancy was his minutes played. He finished with 23 starts (29 appearances), a total that initially put him behind Glesnes (30 starts) in my mind.
This Union system is not an easy one to play. It requires center-backs to be completely comfortable defending isolated, in space. They have to be aggressive to win the ball high, but nimble to turn and deal with runners in behind.
The two make a great pair, and both are deserving. But only one can win this award.
Vancouver’s Tristan Blackmon may have gotten my vote if he had another 500-700 more minutes. Unfortunately, he’ll end the regular season at just over 2,000 minutes. He didn’t have the same team stats as Makhanya’s Union to make up the gap.
Minnesota’s Michael Boxall was another player within serious consideration. The 37-year-old has been incredible as the anchor to Minny’s defensive unit and has the added bonus of being an attacking weapon with his long throw-ins.
Goalkeeper of the Year: Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United
St. Clair checks both major boxes for my ballot: He plays for a really good defense, and his shot-stopping advanced metrics are at or near the top of the league.
Minnesota has allowed the third fewest goals in MLS, and, more importantly, St. Clair is responsible for saving around 10 goals more than expected, which is best in MLS (per American Soccer Analysis, who are the stat nerds I trust).
Philly’s Andre Blake will be within consideration, as will NYCFC’s Matt Freese.
With 19 goals and 19 assists, Anders Dreyer has given San Diego FC plenty to smile about in 2025 (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
Newcomer of the Year: Anders Dreyer, San Diego FC
Second in my MVP vote, but first in Newcomer of the Year.
Dreyer led San Diego to the best expansion season in league history, the driving force in a pyrotechnic attack. He had 19 goals and 19 assists while starting all 34 matches and has filled numerous roles for the team all season depending on what was needed.
Inside forward? Yep. Creative wide playmaker? Yep. False nine? Yep.
Chicago’s Philip Zinckernagel is second, and he, similarly to Dreyer, was foundational for his club’s attack. His 15 goals and 15 assists are just behind his fellow Dane, though, and he doesn’t have the same team success.
As an aside: No, Son Heung-min should not be considered here, despite how incredible his 806 minutes have been (nine goals, three assists) since debuting this summer as the new league-record signing.
Young Player of the Year: Alex Freeman, Orlando City
Freeman, 21, has been such a revelation to the point that Óscar Pareja changed the team’s game model to get the most out of him. He has been a difference-maker for the club.
From right back, Freeman has six goals and three assists despite missing time with the U.S. national team.
RSL’s Diego Luna, 22, seemed a shoo-in for the award early in the season – and still may win it – but I went for Freeman. Quinn Sullivan, 21, should get votes, too. San Jose midfielder Beau Leroux, 22, has quietly been one of the best young players in MLS this year, too.
Comeback Player of the Year: Nick Hagglund, FC Cincinnati
The FC Cincinnati center-back recovered from a fractured fibula, torn ligaments and tendons and significant cartilage damage in his ankle last season to make 16 starts this season.
The local Cincy kid was worried he might never play again after his injury, but he fought his way back and is once again a key rotational piece for a contender.
Lionel Messi and Denis Bouanga are two of MLS’s most dynamic attacking stars (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
Teams of the Season
There are two things to say before getting to my Best XI ballot.
First is to lay out my process. I have one guiding principle and then preferred criteria. The one guiding principle is: Does this XI best represent the story of the 2025 MLS season?
That’s my central theme and I try to keep it top of mind when splitting hairs on the many deserving players within a shout to be on the ballot. Then, like most things, context and relativity impact the final decisions.
I’m not an absolutist about the following preferences, but it’d be nice to have a “yes” for all of these questions:
- Can this team be an actual, real life starting XI?
- If not, does it at least loosely resemble one?
- Did individual excellence drive team success?
Voters are also restricted to MLS’s criteria. For instance, an official ballot cannot have all four of Messi, Dreyer, Surridge and Bouanga due to positional requirements. That’s tough.
Second is my bi-annual plea to the powers that be at MLS: Please introduce official Second and Third Best XIs.
This comes back to my guiding principle. Adding a Second XI and Third XI helps to properly tell the story of the season. To limit this section to just 11 players doesn’t cover it.
Below is my official Best XI ballot, followed by my unofficial Second XI and Third XI (with less rigid voting parameters, too).
Best XI
GK: Dayne St. Clair (MIN)
DEF: Tristan Blackmon (VAN), Olwethu Makhanya (PHL), Jakob Glesnes (PHL)
MID: Cristian Roldan (SEA), Jeppe Tverskov (SD), Sebastian Berhalter (VAN), Evander (CIN)
FWD: Lionel Messi (MIA), Anders Dreyer (SD), Denis Bouanga (LAFC)
- I feel quite good about this XI. The only preference I broke is absence of wingbacks, but it was more important to get these 11 players on the ballot. Plus, I can argue in an actual real-life game, Roldan can play right wingback and the left-sided midfielder would just play like a forward anyway.
- It’s important to have non-No. 10s represented in Best XI. This year I ended up going with three between Roldan, Tverskov and Berhalter.
- Messi, Dreyer and Bouanga as the front three were no-brainers.
Philip Zinckernagel contributed to 30 of the Chicago Fire’s goals in 2025 (Andrew Katsampes / ISI Photos / Getty Images)
Second XI
GK: Matt Freese (NYCFC)
DEF: Andy Najar (NSH), Michael Boxall (MIN), Adilson Malanda (CLT), Kai Wagner (PHL)
MID: Philip Zinckernagel (CHI), Danley Jean Jacques (PHL), Martín Ojeda (ORL), Jordi Alba (MIA)
FWD: Sam Surridge (NSH), Petar Musa (DAL)
- Again, Surridge should be in the Best XI. I would have dropped a midfielder and put Messi as a No. 10 for Surridge. It would have made sense. But, all four of Messi/Dreyer/Bouanga/Surridge cannot be voted together due to positional restraints. Surridge was the odd man out for me.
- Boxall was a tough-luck miss on the first team. He’ll get plenty of deserving votes.
- The fullbacks, too. If my Best XI was a back four, Najar and Wagner or Alba would be on it. Given the attacking prowess, I pushed Alba into the midfield to fit both on the second team.
- The way I justify this formation loosely resembling a real XI is 4-1-2-1-2 (wide) with Ojeda as the No. 10. Alba and Zinckernagel the wide midfielders. Jean Jacques the No. 6.
- Musa (18 goals, six assists) was quietly one of the best players in MLS this year.
Third XI
GK: Andre Blake (PHL)
DEF: Alex Freeman (ORL), Miles Robinson (CIN), Jackson Ragen (SEA), Chris McVey (SD)
MID: Cristian Espinoza (SJ), Owen Wolff (ATX), Mark Delgado (LAFC)
FWD: Dejan Joveljić (SKC), Alonso Martínez (NYC), Hany Mukhtar (NSH)
- Joveljić (18 goals) and Martínez (17 goals) finished top eight in the Golden Boot race. Both have been very good this season, as expected for two of the better strikers in the league.
- Delgado won MLS Cup with the LA Galaxy last year and then kept on winning with LAFC this year. Wherever he goes, his teams generally do better. He had a career-best nine assists this season, too.
- Mukhtar (16 goals, 12 assists) could well have made Second XI.