On Wednesday, Major League Soccer opened fan and media voting for the 2026 MLS All-Star Game, set to be hosted at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday, July 29.
Fan voting opens on Wednesday, May 13, at 11 pm CT, and will close at 10:59 pm CT on Thursday, May 21. Fans can cast their ballots here.
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The top 11 players from the combined fan and media vote will be named All-Stars. An additional 13 players will be selected by All-Star head coach Dean Smith, while two players will be added by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.
Before you start building your dream ballots, a few notes about how the voting process worked. Ballots must be in a 4-3-3 formation: one goalkeeper, one left back, two center backs, one left back, one defensive midfielder, two attacking midfielders, and three forwards/wingers. The top players in each position from the combined vote will be named All-Stars.
Additionally, players must have played at least 50% of their team’s minutes this season at the time of voting, which narrows the pool and eliminates some big names.
So while you’re reading my (Ben Wright’s) All-Star ballot below, keep that in mind. Maybe I don’t hate your favorite player; maybe he was just injured. If he’s not injured and not on my ballot, well… you’re out of luck. There’s also the obvious caveat that we’re selecting just 11 players from a 30-team league, and barely a third of the way into the season. This is not a comprehensive list of the best players in the league, and will certainly look very different from my Best XI ballot at the end of the year.
With all that out of the way, onward!
Goalkeeper: Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
This is an easy decision. Matt Turner has been one of the two best shotstoppers in MLS this season, denying nearly seven goals, according to American Soccer Analysis's G-xG. He's in elite form, pushing for the No. 1 job at the World Cup, and the Revs are on a hot streak. Easy choice.
Others receiving consideration: Brad Stuver (Austin FC), Brian Schwake (Nashville SC)
Left back: Juan Manuel Sanabria (Real Salt Lake)
Real Salt Lake have been my favorite team to watch so far this year, and Juan Manuel Sanabria has been a crucial piece of that. He pinches inside and acts almost as a No. 10 at times, and his service into the box is elite. Do yourself a favor watch him.
Others receiving consideration: Peyton Miller (New England Revolution), Jamar Ricketts (San Jose Earthquakes)
Center backs: Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders), Jeisson Palacios (Nashville SC)
Seattle Sounders are the best defense in MLS and Nashville SC are tied for the third-best. Jackson Ragen and Jeisson Palacios are two of the premier central defenders in the league, and both fully deserve to be here. And while only MLS play technically factors into the vote, they both held up in Concacaf Champions Cup, which solidifies their quality on a more macro level to me.
Others receiving consideration: Daniel Munie (San Jose Earthquakes), Maxwell Woledzi (Nashville SC), Lucas Herrington (Colorado Rapids), Lucas Bartlett (DC United), Mamadou Fofana (New England Revolution)
Right back: Andy Nájar (Nashville SC)
Andy Nájar was the best right back in MLS last year, and remains the best right back this year. He's already logged five assists in MLS play this season, half of his 2025 total in just 10 appearances. He's balling. Easy choice.
Others receiving consideration: Édier Ocampo (Vancouver Whitecaps), Frankie Westfield (Philadelphia Union)
Defensive midfielder: Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps)
The positional restrictions on the ballot made it really tough to leave off other players like Beau LeRoux or Cristian Roldan, but Sebastian Berhalter is a deserving first choice. The Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder already has four goals and seven assists this season, tied for the second-most assists in MLS. He's hitting career form.
Others receiving consideration: Beau LeRoux (San Jose Earthquakes), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Ashley Westwood (Charlotte FC), Patrick Yazbek (Nashville SC)
Attacking midfielders: Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake), Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes)
Two young Americans here are ultra deserving. Zavier Gozo has been electric for Real Salt Lake all season, and should get more serious consideration for a World Cup spot. Niko Tsakiris has finally gotten his shot in San Jose, and has created the most chances in the league for a team on historic attacking pace.
Positional designations and restrictions on the ballot mean some other deserving candidates miss out, but I have no qualms about voting for these two.
Others receiving consideration: Evander (FC Cincinnati), Nicolás Fernández-Mercau (New York City FC), Carles Gil (New England Revolution)
Forwards: Petar Musa (FC Dallas), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Ok, ok, elephant in the room: Sam Surridge. He would be my write-in-pen first choice here, but according to the voting rules, only players who have played 50% of their club's minutes this season will be considered. Surridge has played 44% of minutes for Nashville, which makes his nine MLS goals absolutely insane, but technically makes him ineligible for my ballot. The good news is that he'll 10000% be one of the 13 coach's picks.
The others are straightforward: Petar Musa is the best No. 9 in MLS, Lionel Messi is the best player in MLS, and Brian White is the line-leading No. 9 for the best attack in MLS (2.45 goals per game is insane, holy cow!!).
Others receiving consideration: Sam Surridge (Nashville SC), Preston Judd (San Jose Earthquakes), Hugo Cuypers (Chicago Fire), Julian Hall (Red Bull New York)
I'm sure there will be plenty of contrasting opinions on this, and I'm here for it. Let me know what you'd do differently in the comments!
