Wikipedia

MLS Defender of the Year Award

The Major League Soccer Defender of the Year Award is an annual award handed out to the top defender in Major League Soccer annually since the league's inception in 1996.[1] The award is decided based on votes from MLS players, MLS coaches and executives and media members.[2]

John Doyle won the inaugural award with the San Jose Clash for the 1996 MLS season.

Winners

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With three wins, Chad Marshall has won the most MLS Defender of the Year Awards.
 
US men's national team player Carlos Bocanegra is a two-time winner of the award.
 
Ike Opara won the award with both Sporting Kansas City and Minnesota United FC.
 
Walker Zimmerman won the award back-to-back with Nashville SC
Season Winner Team Finalists
1996   John Doyle San Jose Clash
1997   Eddie Pope D.C. United
1998   Luboš Kubík Chicago Fire
1999   Robin Fraser Los Angeles Galaxy
2000   Peter Vermes Kansas City Wizards
2001   Jeff Agoos San Jose Earthquakes
2002   Carlos Bocanegra Chicago Fire
2003   Carlos Bocanegra (2) Chicago Fire
2004[3]   Robin Fraser (2) Columbus Crew Jimmy Conrad
Eddie Pope
2005[4]   Jimmy Conrad Kansas City Wizards Danny Califf
Tyrone Marshall
2006[5]   Bobby Boswell D.C. United Jimmy Conrad
Jose Burciaga
2007   Michael Parkhurst New England Revolution
2008[6]   Chad Marshall Columbus Crew Jimmy Conrad
Bakary Soumare
2009   Chad Marshall (2) Columbus Crew
2010[7]   Jámison Olave Real Salt Lake Omar Gonzalez
Nat Borchers
2011   Omar Gonzalez Los Angeles Galaxy Jámison Olave
Nat Borchers
Carlos Valdés
2012   Matt Besler Sporting Kansas City Víctor Bernárdez
Aurélien Collin
Jay DeMerit
2013   José Gonçalves New England Revolution Matt Besler
Omar Gonzalez
Jámison Olave
2014   Chad Marshall (3) Seattle Sounders FC Bobby Boswell
Omar Gonzalez
Michael Parkhurst
2015   Laurent Ciman[1] Montreal Impact Kendall Waston
Matt Hedges
Matt Miazga
2016   Matt Hedges[2] FC Dallas Jelle Van Damme
Axel Sjöberg
Walker Zimmerman
Steve Birnbaum
2017   Ike Opara[8] Sporting Kansas City Justin Morrow
Kendall Waston
Leandro González Pírez
Matt Besler
2018   Aaron Long[9] New York Red Bulls Chad Marshall
Michael Parkhurst
Leandro González Pírez
Kemar Lawrence
2019   Ike Opara[10] (2) Minnesota United FC Walker Zimmerman
Miles Robinson
Maxime Chanot
Eddie Segura
Aaron Long
2020   Walker Zimmerman[11] Nashville SC Mark McKenzie
Jonathan Mensah
Anton Tinnerholm
Chris Mavinga
Richie Laryea
2021   Walker Zimmerman[12] (2) Nashville SC Yeimar Gómez Andrade
Miles Robinson
Andreu Fontàs
DeJuan Jones
2022   Jakob Glesnes[13] Philadelphia Union Kai Wagner
Alexander Callens
2023   Matt Miazga[14] FC Cincinnati Tim Parker
Yeimar Gómez Andrade
2024   Steven Moreira[15] Columbus Crew Jordi Alba
Jackson Ragen

Wins by club

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Club Wins
Columbus Crew 4
Kansas City Wizards/Sporting KC 4
Chicago Fire 3
D.C. United 2
LA Galaxy 2
Nashville SC 2
New England Revolution 2
San Jose Clash/Earthquakes 2
FC Cincinnati 1
FC Dallas 1
Minnesota United FC 1
Montréal Impact/CF Montréal 1
New York Red Bulls 1
Philadelphia Union 1
Real Salt Lake 1
Seattle Sounders FC 1
FC Cincinnati 1

Wins by nationality

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Nationality Wins
  United States 24
  Belgium 1
  Cape Verde 1
  Colombia 1
  Czech Republic 1
  Norway 1
  Portugal 1

References

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  1. ^ a b Montreal Impact defender Laurent Ciman named 2015 MLS Defender of the Year, mlssoccer.com
  2. ^ a b "The FC Dallas center back beat out the Galaxy’s Jelle Van Damme for the award", Goal.com, November 11, 2016.
  3. ^ "Crew defender Robin Fraser selected as one of three finalists for MLS Defender of the Year". Major League Soccer.
  4. ^ "Major League Soccer announces winners of four year-end awards". Major League Soccer.
  5. ^ "2006 MLS year-end awards finalists announced". Major League Soccer.
  6. ^ "Conrad, Lopez finalists for year-end awards | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  7. ^ "MLS names finalists for end-of-season awards". Major League Soccer.
  8. ^ "Sporting Kansas City's Ike Opara wins 2017 MLS Defender of the Year award". Major League Soccer. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  9. ^ Bogert, Tom (November 7, 2018). "New York Red Bulls' Aaron Long wins 2018 MLS Defender of the Year award". Major League Soccer. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  10. ^ "Minnesota United FC's Ike Opara named MLS Defender of the Year". Major League Soccer. October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  11. ^ "Nashville SC's Walker Zimmerman named 2020 MLS Defender of the Year". Major League Soccer. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  12. ^ "Nashville SC's Walker Zimmerman Named MLS Defender of the Year". Major League Soccer. December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  13. ^ "Philadelphia Union's Jakob Glesnes named 2022 MLS Defender of the Year". Major League Soccer. October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  14. ^ "FC Cincinnati's Matt Miazga named 2023 MLS Defender of the Year". Major League Soccer. November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  15. ^ "Columbus Crew's Steven Moreira named 2024 MLS Defender of the Year". Major League Soccer. November 13, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
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