On Thursday, Major League Soccer announced the finalists for the 2026 End-of-Season awards. After setting the single-season points record and winning the Supporters' Shield, Nashville SC lead the league with six nominations. It's the most a single club has had since Inter Miami in 2024.
Club captain Hany Mukhtar is one of five finalists for the Landon Donovan MLS MVP, an award he took home in 2022 after a Golden Boot-winning 23-goal season. Head coach BJ Callaghan is unsurprisingly one of the three finalists for Coach of the Year, while goalkeeper Brian Schwake, who tied the league record of 16 clean sheets, is among the three finalists for Goalkeeper of the Year.
Nashville fully swept the Defender of the Year shortlist after allowing just 25 goals in the regular season, the best defensive record in league history. Andy Nájar, Jeisson Palacios, and Maxwell Woledzi were the three finalists for the award. This is just the second time in league history that one club has swept the finalists for a single award, after Seattle Sounders' Kasey Keller, Freddie Ljungberg, and Fredy Montero were the three finalists for Newcomer of the Year in 2009.
Landon Donovan MLS MVP finalists
- Evander (FC Cincinnati)
- Guilherme (Houston Dynamo FC)
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)
- Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC)
- Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union)
Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year finalists
- BJ Callaghan (Nashville SC)
- Yoann Damet (St. Louis City SC)
- Jesper Sørensen (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
MLS Newcomer of the Year finalists
- Antoine Griezmann (Orlando City SC)
- Guilherme (Houston Dynamo FC)
- André Luiz (Sporting Kansas City)
MLS Young Player of the Year finalists
- Julian Hall (Red Bull New York)
- Adri Mehmeti (Red Bull New York)
- Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union)
MLS Defender of the Year finalists
- Andy Nájar (Nashville SC)
- Jeisson Palacios (Nashville SC)
- Maxwell Woledzi (Nashville SC)
Goalkeeper of the Year finalists
- Roman Bürki (St. Louis City SC)
- Brian Schwake (Nashville SC)
- Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
MLS Comeback Player of the Year finalists
- Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
- Nick Hagglund (FC Cincinnati)
- Eduard Löwen (San Jose Earthquakes)
MLS Humanitarian of the Year finalists
- Paul Arriola (Seattle Sounders)
- Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution)
- Telasco Segovia (Inter Miami CF)
- Mason Stajduhar (Real Salt Lake)
- Brad Stuver (Austin FC)
