Predicting the 2024 USL1 Individual Award Winners
We are just 3 weeks away from the season kickoff, so who is ahead of the pack for the end of season awards?
Inspired by the great John Morrissey's (@USLTatics) latest piece on Backheeled that broke down who he felt is in the driver’s seat for the 2024 awards in the USL Championship, I decided to do the same for the USLC chaotic little brother USL1.
Now, 3 individual awards are determined by one’s statistics - Golden Boot (most goals), Golden Glove (lowest GAA), and Golden Playmaker (most assists). These are stellar awards, but I will be breaking down the more subjective ones, giving my favorite for the award with other candidates that will also be in the mix.
Goalkeeper of the Year
Winner - Lalo Delgado (Northern Colorado)
In the mix - Schipmann (Madison), Pack (Charlotte), Lewis (Knoxville), and Knight (Lexington)
Goalkeeper is the deepest position in all of USL1. It took me, no lie, roughly an hour of comparing all 5 of the above keeper’s stats from last season to get to where we are now. Additionally, the keeper is the one position that, for me, is hard to judge how much one’s stats are thanks to the defense in front of them versus their abilities.
If one were to look at the stats from last season, they would expect that Delgado would have at least 1 end of the season award, considering he led the league in clean sheets with 13 (41% of his starts in 2023 resulted in a clean sheet), tied for 2nd in saves with 88, 3rd in save percentage with 71%. The 2nd lowest goals conceded per 90 with 1.1. One could argue that he did not win the award in 2023 because the league wanted to spread the prize out, with Amann and Rodgers taking home multiple honors for their stellar season.
However, Austin Pack deserved the award last year. Delgado was in the mix, but Pack was above the rest. However, 2023 will be a tough season to repeat in 2024 for Pack. With Northern Colorado losing a lot of attacking power this offseason, I expect Delgado to be taking a step up this season, both for his own team’s sake and since he was snubbed of league honors last season.
For the other 3 keepers cases - Lewis is the reigning Golden Glove winner and was 2nd team all-league last year, so he is prime for the award with a beef-up Knoxville defense in front of him. Schipmann was stellar for the Mingos last season, finishing just behind Delgado in clean sheets. Lastly, Knight shined for Lexington last year and was often the victim of golazos last season (just look at how many the league included in this highlight video), so with an outfield full of upgrades in front of him, he can be right up there with Pack and Delgado.
This is the award race to watch this season if I am a neutral USL1 fan, especially one that appreciates good goalkeeping.
Defender of the Year
Winner - Jordan Skelton (Knoxville)
In the Mix - Acoff (Omaha), Métanire (Spokane), and Fernandes (Chattanooga)
Defender of the Year is the most interesting award for me because as defender roles have evolved and changed worldwide, defender roles vary from squad to squad. Last year, we saw Arthur Rogers become the first-ever player to win the award twice, winning it back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Well, now Rogers is off to Tulsa in USLC, and there is now a race to fill the role of the best defender in USL1.
Jordan Skelton maybe that person, and for me is easily the early favorite to win the award in 2024. Skelton led the league with 170 clearances, earning 1st-team all-league honors while chipping in 181 duels won, 27 tackles won, 133 recoveries, and 25 blocks. The L1 veteran is in the perfect system down in Knoxville under McKeever, one of the best keepers in the net behind him with Lewis, and one of the best defenses in the league that has done nothing but upgrade this year.
Outside of Skelton, Acoff is one of the remaining survivors of the USLC raid on Omaha’s roster and now is the guy on the backline with Souahy gone. Fernandes was solid for NCFC last season, providing all-around contributions, but will be looking to prove something since he was not brought up to the USLC like most of NCFC's top contributors last year. Romain Métanire has played in League 1 in France with Reims and MLS with Minnesota United but remains on the older side (33 years young); he is my darkhorse favorite for the award if he can capture some of his form from his younger days.
Young Player of the Year
Winner - Brahima Ouattara (Northern Colorado)
In the Mix - Jackson (Lexington), Howell (Richmond), and Galván-Mercado (Omaha)
Young players are always hard to judge going into a season, and we all know it will be hard for the likes of Jackson, Howell, or other young defenders to win the award, even if they have stellar seasons if Ouattara, Pineda, or Galván-Mercado can have the offense contributions that Khoury had last season. Also, I could not find what the league classifies as a “Young Player”, so I went with any player 21 and under.
Now, I wanted to share the love with every team the best I can, but Ouattara is just too good on paper for me not to put him down as the favorite for the award. He is right on the edge of my criteria for the age group, but having played over 1,000 minutes in the Swiss Super League at the age of 17/18, it is very obvious why Hailstorm faithful are excited about him coming to town, and if Zayed can capture the best of his abilities like he did with Amann last season, the rest of USL1 could be in for a long season.
Jackson is right behind Ouattara and could be the safe bet if no youngster goes off offensively, as he made the most of his 5 starts at the end of last season for Lexington SC, even scoring an equalizer against Madison to become the youngest goal-scorer for Lexington. If he can break into the starting lineup on a Lexington side that has beefed up the backline with USLC-level talent, the 19-year-old should be in the conversation.
Howell and Galván-Mercado are players that I have heard praise for across the league, so they are my players to watch this season, which is often the case for most people when they pick young break-out stars unless they have watched them in person. The Kickers made Howell a pro at 18, and given their forgettable 2nd half of last season, I would expect Sawatzky to be open to giving Howell some serious minutes this year. As for Galván-Mercado, he enters an Omaha that has practically lost nearly all of its top guys and has a chance to fill in one of those voids if he makes the most of any time given to him by Casciato.
Coach of the Year
Winner - Darren Powell (Lexington
In the Mix - Glaeser (Madison), Veidman (Spokane), Mackenzie (Chattanooga), and Jones (Fuego)
Coach of the Year is always an interesting award in other leagues. Some pick the coach who came into a team and turned them around, others give it to the best team coach that year, and some give it to the one with the best storyline. For me, at this moment, I am going with a small mix of all those with the above selections, but thanks to the inspiration from Tim of Ranting Blue Penguin Media, I’ll be doing a breakdown of all 12 USL1 gaffers and what I think it will take for them to win the award.
Now, the selection of Powell does come with some slight bias; I will admit that. However, the man has walked back into USL1 and built a squad many believe will compete for every USL1 trophy possible this season. From multiple players with multiple international appearances for the senior squads to a host of USLC (and some MLS) level talent to having 3 players that have all scored 10+ goals at the professional level within the USA, Powell has assembled the best team on paper in the league. If they take home the shield at the end of the season, I see him taking home this award.
Glaser and Mackenzie are in similar cases to Powell. Glaser did guide Madison to finishing mid-table last season and getting into the playoffs for the 2nd time in club history. However, the roster he has built this offseason rivals only that of Lexington, so if he can get the go-toe-toe with Powell all year, it could come down to a toss-up. On the other hand, Mackenzie returns after a successful interim role with CRW to end last season, which saw the club finish just 1 point behind Lexington in 10th. If he can capitalize on that moment with the new additions this year, the Red Wolves will be a top 4 team in the league.
Viedman and Jones provide more storyline options. Spokane is looking better with every new addition + some solid preseason results, so if Viedman can get them in the league's upper half, I could see a case for him. Jones has the toughest task ahead of him, turning around a side that won the Wooden Spoon with a 6-point cushion, but if he can turn them around into a playoff team and, given his name recognition power, he might be in the running at season’s end.
Most Valuable Player
Winner - Christian Chaney (Madison)
In the Mix - Diouf (Lexington), Castro (Greenville), Dos Santos (Omaha), and Vinyals (Richmond)
MVP is one of the most subjective awards in team sports. The term “most valuable” can be taken in so many different directions that if one player does not rise about the rest of the field like Amann did last year, it will be a hotly debate subject all off-season by fans, and I think 2024 is going to be one of those years.
Chaney is The Guy in Madion’s attack for me, and with the roster that Glaeser has assembled around the returners from last season, I feel he is set to have a monster year that will have him right in the conversation, and he edges out Diouf for me right now. He gets the edge over Diouf, not for any other reasons besides Powell bringing in loads of talent around him. I have a feeling Diouf will thrive under Powell, but with Lancaster and Liadi in Lexington, he might not put up the monster numbers he did last year.
Castro and Dos Santos netted 13 goals last year, earning both 2nd team all-league honors. Greenville and Omaha have done well to build around them, especially Omaha, after losing so many guys. One of them will eclipse their goal tally from last year; I cannot decide which.
Lastly, there is Vinyals, the only one of the 4 returning 1st team all-league players (Pack, Skelton, and Diouf) that I have not touched on yet. Vinyal’s stellar 2023 got overlooked due to the Kickers' winless run to end the season, but that did not stop him from picking up 6 goals and 4 assists. USL1 veteran is nearing 150 appearances in the league, and he is my dark horse to win the award if he can put in another stellar season, hopefully helping the ‘Roos return to the form that saw them win the shield in 2022.
