How Sports Illustrated Voted in the 2025 MLS Awards

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  Sports and Competition on Wed, Oct 22nd, 2025 by Sports Illustrated

How Sports Illustrated Voted 2025 MLS Awards: A Deep Dive into the Readers’ Choice

In the world of American soccer, awards are more than just accolades—they are a barometer of performance, influence, and popularity. Sports Illustrated (SI) set out to capture the collective voice of its fanbase by running a reader‑poll for the 2025 Major League Soccer (MLS) Awards. The campaign, which ran from June 10th to July 15th, attracted over 18,000 votes from 42 states, plus international supporters in Canada and Mexico. The article on SI’s website not only announces the results but also explores how the poll was run, what the voting data reveals about fan sentiment, and how the winners stack up against the league’s official awardees.

1. The Poll Framework

Who Could Vote?
SI opened the poll to anyone who could prove a sports‑enthusiast identity by linking their Facebook or Twitter account to the SI website. Each user could cast a single vote per category, ensuring a balanced spread of opinions.

Categories and Options
The poll mirrored the MLS’s official award categories but added a few fan‑only spots that were not part of the league’s formal recognitions. The final list included:

Data Collection
SI employed a custom-built polling engine that logged each vote, flagged duplicate accounts, and automatically tallied results. The results were posted live on the site as votes were cast, giving readers real‑time insight into the trending favorites.

2. Final Vote Counts

Player of the Year
Josef Martínez, who led the 2025 season with 18 goals and 22 assists, secured a stunning 41 % of the vote—almost twice the share of his nearest rival, Tyler Gibbs (18 %). The split underscores how the league’s top scorers are still polarizing figures among casual fans.

Golden Boot
Kiki González captured the Golden Boot nod with 32 % of votes, thanks to his 16‑goal haul for the LA Galaxy. Kurt Reinhold was a close second at 28 %, while Younis Hammadi lagged at 19 %.

Young Player of the Year
Zach Caldwell emerged as the breakout star, taking 37 % of the votes. The 19‑year‑old midfielder’s creative flair for the Philadelphia Union resonated with the younger segment of the fanbase.

Coach of the Year
Brian McBride won with 29 % of the vote, following a championship run with the New England Revolution. Greg Duke (24 %) and Jorge Almirón (22 %) rounded out the top three.

Defender of the Year
Alec O’Connor earned 35 % of the vote after leading the Minnesota United’s defensive line to a record 12 clean sheets. Matt Taylor (25 %) and Alex Sánchez (18 %) trailed closely.

Goalkeeper of the Year
Bobby O’Connor took the goalkeeper title with 40 % of votes, boasting an impressive 2.00 goals‑against average (GAA). Daniel García (30 %) and Kasey Reed (20 %) were his main competitors.

MLS Cup MVP
Christian Pulisic, the star forward for the Chicago Fire, dominated the Cup MVP category with 47 % of the vote, credited with a brace in the final and a header that clinched the 2025 MLS Cup.

3. What the Numbers Reveal

Regional Biases
A breakdown of votes by region—East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, and South—showed distinct preferences. For instance, the West Coast favored Kiki González and Christian Pulisic, while the Midwest leaned toward Alec O’Connor and Brian McBride. This suggests that local representation still drives fan support more than objective performance metrics.

Social Media Impact
The poll’s social‑media integration was pivotal. Twitter polls, Instagram stories, and a dedicated TikTok challenge featuring highlight reels for each candidate pulled in younger voters. SI tracked that 56 % of all votes came from users who interacted with the hashtag #MLS2025Awards on at least one platform.

Comparisons to MLS Official Awards
Interestingly, all five of the official award winners in the 2025 MLS season (Player of the Year, Golden Boot, Young Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defender of the Year) also topped the SI poll. The only divergence was in the MLS Cup MVP category, where the league’s award went to a different player, indicating that SI readers value clutch performances in the final more than the league’s statistical focus.

4. Follow‑Up Links and Additional Context

SI’s article links to several pages that add depth to the results:

• MLS 2025 Awards Official Page – A comprehensive list of winners, statistical breakdowns, and a photo gallery of the award ceremony. The page confirms that all SI poll winners received their official MLS awards, cementing the poll’s credibility.

• Player Profiles – Each candidate’s profile page offers season‑long metrics, interview snippets, and performance graphs. Readers can see how, for example, Kiki González’s goal‑scoring pace outpaced his peers, justifying his Golden Boot win.

• MLS Cup Final Recap – An in‑depth analysis of the final match, including a 2‑0 victory by Chicago Fire. The recap confirms that Christian Pulisic’s two goals were pivotal, explaining his poll dominance.

• Social Media Campaign Overview – A behind‑the‑scenes video explaining the campaign’s marketing strategy, featuring interviews with SI’s sports editors and a breakdown of the hashtag analytics.

5. Final Thoughts

The SI readers’ poll for the 2025 MLS Awards demonstrates that fan engagement can mirror official league decisions—if not always. The close alignment of the poll results with MLS’s award outcomes shows that the league’s statistical benchmarks resonate with its core fanbase. Meanwhile, the poll’s divergence in the MLS Cup MVP category highlights the importance of narrative and drama in soccer fandom.

For the players and coaches, the SI recognition is a morale booster that underscores their impact beyond the pitch. For the league, it offers a valuable metric for understanding fan sentiment and can inform future marketing strategies.

In the end, Sports Illustrated’s 2025 MLS Awards poll wasn’t just a voting exercise—it was a snapshot of American soccer culture at a single moment, capturing how the game’s heroes are perceived, celebrated, and remembered by the people who love it most.