Forget MVP and Best Young Player, who wore the best boots and had the best goal celebration in MLS this season?
The 2026 MLS regular season is in the rearview mirror, and the attention has fully shifted towards the MLS Cup Playoffs. Before that, however, the eyes of the MLS fanbase will fall upon the end-of-season awards, with the finalists being announced earlier this week.
Lionel Messi is seeking to complete a three-peat of MVP awards, while B.J. Callaghan will be hoping that his record-breaking season with Nashville will be enough to merit the Coach of the Year. Moreover, Cavan Sullivan, Julian Hall, and several other exciting rising stars are competing for the Best Young Player award.
However, we’re instead making our own awards, ones that can’t be contained by the establishment. From vibes assessments to the best bromance and boots, we present the 2026 Urban Pitch MLS Awards.
Team with the Best Vibes: Nashville SC
Nashville has written its name into the record books with the greatest regular season in MLS history. The club has surpassed Inter Miami’s 2024 season for the most points (77), highest win percentage (79.4%), fewest losses (three), fewest goals conceded (25), and the largest Supporters’ Shield margin ever. What’s more, they have tied the record for the most clean sheets (17) in a regular season.
We’ve already seen one Tennessee soccer team emerge victorious in the postseason, with Chattanooga FC edging LAFC 2 for the MLS NEXT Pro Cup. Nashville will be looking to keep the winning tradition alive in the Volunteer State, and become the eighth team to win the Supporters’ Shield and the MLS Cup in the same year.
It has been one year since Nashville SC claimed the U.S. Open Cup, edging the Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators, and Memphis Grizzlies as the first of Tennessee’s major-league professional sports franchises to win a major championship. Today, they’re operating at another gear to anyone else, 13 points ahead of second-placed Vancouver in the Supporters’ Shield standings. Can they keep hitting the right notes in the Music City?
Team with the Worst Vibes: CF Montréal
It has been a season to forget for CF Montréal. After losing six of their first seven matches, Montréal enjoyed a post-Easter resurgence with four wins from five, culminating in a 2-0 win against Orlando on May 9. Since then, however, the Canadian side has won just two matches in league play, taking a paltry five points from their last 13 matches.
While Montréal did manage to pull off a major upset by defeating Western Conference champions Vancouver Whitecaps from the Canadian Championship, the club failed to make it count after squandering an early penalty, falling to 10 men, and losing in a shootout in the final against Forge FC. Not even Alexis Sánchez, who joined the team during the summer transfer window, could save Montréal, who would finish in the league’s bottom three for the second straight year, taking home the Wooden Spoon.
Owner Joey Saputo has put Montréal up for sale, and while he would prefer to keep the team in Québec, he has refused to rule out relocating the team. For a team that has boasted iconic players like Didier Drogba and Alessandro Nesta, there is a genuine fear that Montréal has seen its final MLS match.
Best Bromance: Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez
Lionel Messi has been able to work alongside countless former teammates at Inter Miami such as Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Rodrigo De Paul, and Javier Mascherano. However, it’s fair to say that none have been quite as fruitful as Luis Suárez in terms of their attacking chemistry. Even with Miami signing Rayados striker Germán Berterame for $15 million, Suárez has remained as essential as ever.
Messi and Suárez had already developed a world-class partnership at Barcelona, leading the Blaugranas to the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League and a bevy of other domestic and international trophies. Since the start of the 2024 season, they’ve managed to bring that magic to South Florida, spearheading them to a Supporters’ Shield in 2024 and the MLS Cup in 2025.
Both players are their countries’ greatest-ever players, and both have called it quits on their legendary international careers. But despite approaching 40 years of age, they continue to decimate MLS defenses. Together, they’ve combined for 65 goal contributions this season, well ahead of any other pair across MLS.
Best Boots: Cavan Sullivan
Cavan Sullivan has already become the youngest player to play in a league match for a major American professional sports team, broken the MLS record for the most goal contributions by a teenager, and become the youngest goal scorer in United States men’s national team history.
Manchester City have acted quickly to secure his services, and so has adidas. In fact, the brand has allowed the 17-year-old wunderkind to become the first footballer to wear its groundbreaking 3D-printed boots. Developed using adidas’ Project R.A.P. (Radical Athlete Perception), this boot was built to specifically fit Sullivan’s exact foot shape and biomechanics, and its pink and black color clash is eye-catching if not anything.
Biggest Houdini Act: Columbus Crew
At the beginning of September, the Columbus Crew were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. After kicking off the month with a win against the Colorado Rapids, followed by defeats to D.C. United and Red Bull New York, it seemed that their season was dead and buried. Instead, it was the start of one of the unlikeliest resurgences in recent memory.
Columbus has won eight of their last nine matches, and even after suffering the anguish of their penalty shootout defeat to St. Louis CITY in the U.S. Open Cup, the club hasn’t buckled in its resolve. The Crew have snuck into the automatic playoff spots and finished seventh in the East thanks to their last-second win in Chicago on Decision Day, and they’ll be looking to make it seven wins on the bounce against Inter Miami.
Biggest Crashout: New York City FC
After winning three of their first four matches in 2026, all signs pointed to New York City FC mounting another deep playoff run. Even a two-month winless streak couldn’t derail their momentum entirely, with NYCFC bouncing back in May to win four of their next six matches.
As August approached, NYCFC sat fifth in the Eastern Conference, seemingly on course for the postseason. Instead, they capitulated in extraordinary fashion, collecting just 16 points from their final 17 matches. Their inability to protect leads proved particularly costly, with NYCFC dropping 23 points from winning positions.
The nadir came on Halloween, when they conceded a stoppage-time equalizer against the worst team in MLS, CF Montréal, extinguishing their playoff hopes before Decision Day. NYCFC finished 11th in the East, their lowest-ever position, and missed the playoffs for just the third time. As for Pascal Jansen, the man who had guided them to the Eastern Conference Final a year ago? He’s now looking for a new job.
Best Goal Celebration: Sam Sarver’s Chug for the Ages
FC Dallas winger Sam Sarver arrived in San Jose brimming with confidence, having scored his first two MLS goals within the past two weeks of the May 16 showdown. Against the Earthquakes, he took his hot streak to another level, coolly slotting home a stoppage-time winner before climbing atop the advertising boards with his teammates and breaking out his trademark scuba celebration.
The San Jose faithful weren’t amused. One disgruntled fan hurled a can of Modelo in Sarver’s direction, only for the forward to pick it up and drink/pour the remaining beer over his face, instantly cementing his place in FC Dallas folklore. However, it wasn’t the last beer-related incident that Sarver would have this season.
After Petar Musa’s last-gasp equalizer in Houston on October 17, Dynamo supporters pelted Dallas players with projectiles, prompting Sarver to retaliate by hurling a beer can back into the stands. He then made an obscene gesture, earning himself a red card and a suspension for the following match against San Jose.
Sarver returned for Dallas’ final two matches as they secured a second place finish in the Western Conference. Now, they’ll be hoping he can make headlines for his goals rather than his celebrations as they prepare to face the Portland Timbers in the playoffs.
Biggest Redemption Arc: St. Louis CITY
St. Louis CITY SC made history in 2023 by becoming the first team from Greater St. Louis to compete in the top flight of American soccer since 1977. They took MLS by storm, finishing atop the Western Conference, but their fairytale debut season ended on a sour note. After losing their final two regular season matches, St. Louis suffered back-to-back defeats in the opening round of the playoffs.
This negative momentum continued into 2024 and 2025, finishing 12th and 13th in the West (24th overall on both occasions). Their struggles prompted a sweeping organizational overhaul ahead of the 2026 season, with Corey Wray replacing Lutz Pfannenstiel as the club’s second sporting director and Yoann Damet becoming their fourth head coach in just 17 months.
Things went from bad to worse as St. Louis collected just six points from its opening 10 matches, leaving the cluib second-to-last in the West at the start of May. Having lost three consecutive matches, Damet needed a miracle to save his job heading into the World Cup break, and he got just that.
St. Louis CITY became the first MLS team to go 21 matches unbeaten in all competitions, and while they lost their next four league matches, they still managed to make history by beating Columbus Crew on penalties in the U.S. Open Cup Final to secure their first major trophy. They’ve gone from being locked in the basement of the Western Conference to finishing third in the West after a Decision Day win in Houston. Now, can they secure their first-ever MLS playoff victory against LAFC?
