The 2026 MLS regular season is over, and while 18 teams not named DC United still have a shot at lifting the MLS Cup, the race is also on to see who will win one of the end-of-season awards the league gives out annually. From MVP to Comeback Player of the Year, there are several players who have a legitimate case for each award.

For the first time, The District Press was represented in the form of receiving the opportunity to fill out a ballot, and I was lucky to have that honor of casting the vote. While DC United players and coaches didn’t make the cut, it’s a great opportunity for transparency to show what players stood out in a terrific regular season for Major League Soccer. We work our way through the various awards, ending with the Best XI for the entire league.

Landon Donovan MVP: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)

Look, everyone’s probably tired of hearing Messi, Messi, Messi all the time. And, there was an active search to find a reason to list someone else as my pick for MVP. In the end, it’s hard to go against the stats. Messi was the Golden Boot winner, and also added 17 assists for a total of 43 goal contributions. His 43 goal contributions (goals + assists) are more than the total number of goals Red Bull New York, New York City FC, Toronto FC, San Diego FC, Austin FC, DC United, Atlanta United, and CF Montréal scored this season. And the Colorado Rapids could only tie with Messi’s goal contributions. He had 12 more goal contributions than the next two players on the list, Pep Biel and Evander. Hany Mukhtar was heavily considered for MVP alongside his teammate Sam Surridge. Ultimately, Messi’s stats won out to get this vote (sidebar: MLS should consider having ranked voting instead of having us vote on just one person in a league of 30 teams).

Coach of the Year: BJ Callaghan (Nashville SC)

This might have been the easiest pick of the awards. BJ Callaghan’s Nashville SC squad set the MLS record for points in a season (77) as they ran away with the Supporters’ Shield (while somehow only getting 2 points against DC United). It’s amazing what he’s been able to do down in Nashville, and I’ve been a huge fan of Callaghan since he stepped in as interim USMNT head coach to lead the team to the 2023 Nations League title. There was no one else considered for this award…Callaghan was easily the best coach this season.

Newcomer of the Year: Guilherme (Houston Dynamo)

This one was a struggle, and there were two trains of thought: do you go with the player who showed up and hit the ground like getting an invincible star in Mario Kart (Orlando City’s Antoine Griezmann)? Or do you go with the guy who showed up on Day 1 and was gas all season (Houston Dynamo’s Guilherme)? It was difficult, and if Griezmann got here pre-World Cup, this decision would have been easier. In the end, I went with Guilherme, who had 16 goals and 10 assists this season for Ben Olsen’s team. A season long success outweighed the midseason acquisition for this one.

Young Player of the Year: Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union)

Cavan Sullivan has come into his own. It has been amazing to see him take the next step in his young career, and at such a young age. Since the restart after the World Cup, he’s been the main reason the Philadelphia Union have been the hottest team in MLS since the World Cup break. In total, he had 9 goals and 14 assists, and he dazzled his way through the regular season in more ways than one. In many ways, this league is starting to trend towards the youngsters, and at least for one more season, Cavan is leading the way.

Goalkeeper of the Year: Brian Schwake (Nashville SC)

Brian Schwake has thrust himself into the USMNT picture, and that’s due to his play for Nashville SC this season. He had 16 clean sheets this season, almost half the matches they played. He stopped three penalties, and his play between the posts was a terrific effort. Schwake only conceded 25 goals this season, which is an incredible stat in itself and the reason Nashville is the prohibitive favorite to lift the MLS Cup.

Defender of the Year: Maxwell Woledzi (Nashville SC)

If your team sets the record for most points in a MLS season while also conceding less than a goal per game, you reward the defense. Maxwell Woledzi was the quarterback of the defense for Nashville this season, and that should be rewarded with getting the vote on this list. Andy Najar also got a ton of consideration for having a banner year defensively while also providing offense for the Supporters’ Shield winners.

Comeback Player of the Year: Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps)

Ryan Gauld had some MLS MVP considerations in 2024, and he entered 2025 with high expectations. Then he suffered a knee injury early into that season. It took him 501 days to return to the field for the Vancouver Whitecaps, but once he did, he continued to be a rock in the midfield for them. In the 20 matches he played after his return, he had 11 goal contributions and helped Vancouver to the top of the Western Conference. There were quite a few players considered for this award, including former DC United fan favorite Paul Arriola. However, Gauld had the better comeback in my mind.

Humanitarian of the Year: Brad Stuver (Austin FC)

For Humanitarian of the Year, I first give kudos to each of the nominees. They’re all doing fantastic work in their communities, and it’s hard to pick just one to honor. The vote went to Brad Stuver for his work with the Equality Texas Foundation, which is a non-profit that fights for full equality for the LGBTQIA+ community in Texas. He’s also a regional project director for The Laundry Project, which provides free laundry services and items for low-income families. Again, kudos to all of the nominees here, and I’m glad each of their work will be recognized in some way.

Referee of the Year: Rubial Vasquez; Assistant Referee of the Year: Jeremy Kieso

For referees and assistant referees, it’s hard to gauge who should be the one that gets the vote. Looking back at some of the matches they played, there wasn’t much that could be viewed as egregious for Rubial Vasquez, so he gets the vote for Referee of the Year. Jeremy Kieso got the Assistant Referee of the Year vote for similar reasons. 

Best XI

There were some fantastic candidates for each position, and it’s hard to figure out what kind of formation you want for a Best XI. I opted for a 3-4-3 because the midfielders and the forwards were the positions that I felt had the most to decide. Nashville SC, by virtue of having a record season with a terrific defense, gets four players on my list:

GK: Brian Schwake (Nashville SC)

DEF: Andy Najar (Nashville SC), Maxwell Woledzi (Nashville SC), Mathías Laborda (Vancouver Whitecaps)

MID: Andres Cubas (Vancouver Whitecaps), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC), Evander (FC Cincinnati), Pep Biel (Charlotte FC)

FWD: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Petar Musa (FC Dallas), Guilherme (Houston Dynamo)

Shoutout to our guy Andy Najar, who had a season on defense that had me seriously considering him for Defender of the Year. Vancouver lands two players on the list in Andres Cubas and Mathías Laborda. Evander and Pep Biel had terrific seasons in the midfield, with each providing double digit goals and assists. Hany Mukhtar and Petar Musa were under MVP consideration, with Musa narrowly making the list ahead of Sam Surridge. Lionel Messi and Guilherme round out the list.

That’s the ballot. As they say on Pardon The Interruption, we’ll try to do better next time. We’ll see who wins each of these awards in the next few weeks.