VANCOUVER, BC – Major League Soccer announced on Thursday the finalists for the 2026 MLS Year-End Awards, honouring the league’s top performers from the regular season. Vancouver Whitecaps FC had two finalists, including Jesper Sørensen for Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year and Ryan Gauld for Comeback Player of the Year.
The finalists for the annual awards received the highest average votes from MLS club technical staff, MLS first-team players, and select media members, with each group accounting for 33.3 percent of the overall results.
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Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year
- B. J. Callaghan (Nashville SC)
- Yoann Damet (St. Louis CITY SC)
- Jesper Sørensen (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Sørensen becomes the first coach to be named a finalist for the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year in each of his first two MLS seasons since Atlanta United FC head coach Gerardo 'Tata' Martino in 2017-18. The Dane recently set an MLS record for most points by a head coach in their first two MLS seasons (127), passing Martino (124). Sørensen led the 'Caps to club records in MLS for points (64), goals scored (74), goals conceded (34), and goal difference (+40), all while managing four different competitions and the most travel in MLS at 110,000 kilometres (68,000 miles).Â
Incredibly, Sørensen kept the team performing at a consistently high level while using 43 different starting lineups across 45 matches, with 23 different players recording at least one goal or assist in MLS play, and leading MLS with a +32.14 expected goals difference. In the process, Whitecaps FC became just the fourth team in MLS-history to record back-to-back 60-plus point seasons.
MLS Comeback Player of the Year
- Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
- Nick Hagglund (FC Cincinnati)
- Eduard Löwen (San Jose Earthquakes)
After injuring his knee on March 8, 2025, Ryan Gauld went 501 days until his next MLS start. The 'Caps captain was coming off of a 2024 season in which he was in the MLS MVP conversation, finishing the year with a phenomenal postseason performance where he had five goals and one assist, including becoming only the seventh player in league history to record a hat trick in the MLS Cup Playoff.
Since returning to play on July 22 after the 2026 FIFA World Cup break, Gauld has been back to his best. The Scotsman has recorded 11 MLS goal contributions (6G, 5A) in 15 starts and 20 appearances, earning three MLS Team of the Matchday selections (Matchday 25, 33, 34).
