It's the biggest award every year, the commendation that tries to capture the USL's eminent contributor in a given season: Most Valuable Player. Despite that broad definition, the voting body - myself included as of last year - has trended in a certain direction. If you want to win the award, you must finish in the top two for combined goals and assists placing in top-five-ish range for assists alone can also garner recognition.
Beyond that, you ought to make the playoffs and finish near the top of the table. Indeed, in the last five seasons, every MVP nominee has placed in the top five of their conference. Team success matters whether that's fair or not.
For reference, I zagged hard from the nominee field in 2022. Rodrigo Lopez (23rd for goals and assists, 4th in his conference) was my winner. Mitchell Taintor (117th for goal contributions, 1st in the West) and Alejandro Guido (82nd, 2nd) came in next. I'm in the tank for creative midfielders and do-it-all defenders, and I've tried to account for that bias here.
Thus, you're going to see a lot of strikers in the mix, and that's just how the cookie crumbles. This is an Attacker of the Year title in many ways. Without further ado, let's get to the power ranking.
1.) Mitchell Taintor (San Antonio)
Yes, I just laid out the case for volume scorers tending to win the MVP award. Still, team success plays a part, and Mitchell Taintor's San Antonio FC are the heavy favorites in the Western Conference and the USL at large. They also took home the title last season, which will resonate in the minds of the voting public. There's a "make-up" aspect to the case for Taintor.
Even as a centerback, Taintor scored five goals and assisted on another last season. He's a lethal threat on set pieces thanks to his vertical explosiveness and looping headers. Those offensive chops pay dividends in this race. As a wide centerback in a back three, Taintor may well up his assist total in 2023 even if the goals dip. Caveat: nine-goal Sean Totsch couldn't build momentum as a defender with first-place Louisville in 2022, though he was a penalty merchant.
Still, the San Antonio man is unassailable as a defensive anchor. He ranked in the 94th percentile for defensive actions per 90 and the 92nd for aerial wins last season; that was on top off elite efficiency in terms of tackling and fouling.
Above, you'll see a clip of an inch-perfect header from Taintor that simultaneously clears danger and sparks a counter; it's a regular trick for #3. He's simply the anchor of the USL's best defense and most coherent, effective tactical system. If Taintor runs back his wholly excellent season in 2023, he'll have my vote and projects as the favorite for the MVP nod.
2.) Phillip Goodrum (Memphis)
After having scored six goals in less than 2,000 minutes of professional play, Phillip Goodrum exploded onto the scene as Memphis 901's starting striker in 2022 to the tune of 21 goals and five assists. Aaron Molloy, the deep-lying maestro at AutoZone Park, got the MVP nomination, but Goodrum must've been right on his tale.
The core of the Memphis midfield is back in its entirety, bolstered by the addition of star creator Bruno Lapa as a no. 10. Furthermore, new manager Stephen Glass requires less pressing and more poaching than predecessor Ben Pirmann. Both factors ought to guarantee more service and more chances for the ex-Atlanta man.
Goodrum is best when he can use his elite sense for movement to carve through defenses and find looks. He's a hard-nosed player and a prodigious finisher, and he's a Golden Boot favorite if Memphis proves to be more than a fluke.
3.) Danny Trejo and Federico Varela (Phoenix)
Yes, putting two players at one spot is cheating. No, I don't care. I'm convinced that Phoenix Rising is due for a major return to form this season, and both Danny Trejo and Fede Varela will drive that comeback. Rising collapsed because of defensive inconsistency last season, but high-end attackers will lead their rebound in 2023.
What of Trejo? He dominated the league with the Las Vegas Light last season, netting 14 goals and generating five assists in a team that missed the playoffs. His excellence as a long-range shooter and final-third engine underrates league-best ball carriage. Trejo can receive a pass in his own half and leverage a low center of gravity to beat four or five defenders on the dribble; he's a one-man counter.
Varela, meanwhile, is an import from the peaks of European soccer. He's appeared in the first divisions of Portugal, Turkey, and Bulgaria and tore up Spain's second division at the age of 22. All the while, Varela generated elite ball progression numbers. Now 26, he's the key for the Rising offense against set foes. There's a chance he takes on the "pass-before-the-assist" role that led me to vote for Guido and Lopez in unsuccessful MVP campaigns. Nevertheless, he'll run the midfield for Phoenix whether he generates numbers or not.
4.) Wilson Harris (Louisville)
I hemmed and hawed as to whether a Louisville player could win MVP in 2023. Danny Cruz's team is insanely deep, and Cruz has rotated Wilson Harris with Cameron Lancaster and Brian Ownby on the regular this preseason; Enoch Mushagalusa could also find himself in that mix. Still, Harris earned 15 goals last season, got 25 more in his stint with Swope Park, and probably ranks as Cruz's first-choice striker.
Harris is special because of his deft touch in hold-up and excellent finishing. He has the loping, bruising gait of a Harry Kane and is similarly strong at finding holes in the midst of press-driven chaos. I just love his running; his intelligence is uncommon for someone that's barely 23.
Louisville is the favorite to repeat as the Eastern Conference's top club, and it would be rare for a club to top the table twice without any MVP nominees. Harris should be the man to earn votes if his team dominates as usual. Tyler Gibson, Sean Totsch, and possibly Dylan Mares could make cases, but Harris is the man here.
5.) Evan Conway (San Diego)
I've clipped a lot of goals, shots, and assists from my favorites in this column, but you'll see Evan Conway carve through an opposing defense with the ball at his feet above. Dribbbling? Unsung on the stat sheet but indicative of how #14 shreds you apart. Conway has the ability to fill any role: he was mainly a winger or wingback last season.
Even so, the former Omaha man nabbed nine goals without really playing as a forward in 2022. Amongst attackers and midfielders of all stripes, Conway ranked in the 91st percentile for conversion rate; he's ruthlessly efficient when liberated. This year, in Nate Miller's first season as San Diego's head coach, Conway will return to the no. 9 spot, and I expect big things. He served as a striker in carrying Omaha to a title and got 10 goals in 11 games' worth of minutes in 2021!
Part of the argument here is the connection between goal contributions and league finish. San Diego finished second in the West last year and should end up in that territory again. With Kyle Vassell out and Conway stepping up, he's as good a candidate as any to explode as the Loyal's chief goal man.
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