Jordan Morris has been dominated for U.S. Soccer’s Young Male Player of the Year award, and could become the second Seattle Sounders Homegrown Player to win the award since 2014. That’s the year DeAndre Yedlin won it, shortly after announcing plans that he’d be transferring to Tottenham Hotspur.
Morris is a bit of a long shot, though, as Dortmund’s Cristian Pulisic, as well as Tottenham’s Cameron Carter-Vickers, recent Atlanta United Homegrown signing Andrew Carleton and U-17 forward Josh Sargent were also nominated.
If not for Pulisic — who’s established himself as a regular contributor for a Champions League team and is a regular starter for the full U.S. national team — Morris would be looking like a solid bet. Morris is the only one of the group who’s an every game starter at the professional level and is in the midst of a season in which he’s scored 14 goals to go along with three assists.
Most of Morris’ national team contributions came at the U23 level, where he led an unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the Olympics. Morris scored three goals in qualifying, only to see the USA miss out. Morris also played in three World Cup qualifiers, but has not scored for the senior national team since 2015.
- Clint Dempsey was nominated for the U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year, although that’s likely due almost entirely for his production for the national team. Dempsey enjoyed a standout Copa America Centenario, leading the USMNT to a semifinal appearance with three goals. Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Geoff Cameron and Bobby Wood were also nominated.