BASAs: Young Player of the Year

1st 2nd 3rd Points 1 Kenny Cooper 11 2 57 2 Freddy Adu 2 3 3 22 3 Jonathan Bornstein 1 3 2 16 4 Justin Mapp 1 2 11 5 Michael Parkhurst 3 1 10 6 Marvell Wynne 2 2 8 7 Nate Sturgis 1 3 7 Francisco Mendoza 1 3 9 Sacha Kljestan 1 1 9 Ramon Nunez 1 1 9 Dasan Robinson 1 1 9 Willis Forko 1 1 9 Josmer Altidore 1 1 (5-3-1 scoring system) Probably my favorite award of the BASAs (along with Old Player) simply because there isn't an official MLS version of it. It's an award that's given out in England, at the World Cup, and elsewhere, but it's unheard of in American soccer. The traditional age limit is 23, and I picked a cut off date of July 1st. Why that date? That's the date used in baseball to determine what age a player is for that season among statisticians, since it's about the halfway point of MLB. That's pretty much the case in MLS as well, so I used it for this award. On this list of MLS players sorted by age, everyone U23 on July 1 is eligible (Jeff Curtin through Josmer Altidore). Since there's no official equivalent, there's no nominees or discussion to influence peoples' voting. Also, depending on how serious the bloggers took the BASAs, they may have overlooked somebody on the list. Just named the FC Dallas team mvp, Cooper was the easy choice. Adu gets decent support and takes second over the best rookie Bornstein. If he sticks around, I'm sure he'll win it eventually. Freddy still has five more years of eligibility! I would've thought Nunez might've got more support. Some notable players who were shut out completely include Eddie Gaven, Eddie Johnson, Chad Marshall, and Santino Quaranta. Also, I guess that the people who liked Wynne really liked him, because he did better here than several of his fellow rookies (he finished 5th in that award). Let's talk about eligibility. I already mentioned Adu, but Cooper is eligible next year as well. Next year there''ll be a chance of a repeat, unlike this year. Last year's winner Clint Dempsey was out of the running this year. Who becomes ineligible next season? Johnson and Parkhurst are the biggest names. Not a lot of talent compared to the ones that will drop off for 2008. Results Schedule 10/23-Goalkeeper of the Year (Troy Perkins) 10/24-Coach of the Year (Bob Bradley) 10/25-Rookie of the Year (Jonathan Bornstein) 10/26-Defender of the Year (Bobby Boswell) 10/27-Young Player of the Year (Kenny Cooper) 10/30-Midfielder of the Year 10/31-Old Player of the Year 11/1-Forward of the Year 11/2-Favorite MLS Player 11/3-Most Annoying US Soccer Personality 11/6-Best XI 11/7-USMNT Player of the Year 11/8-MLS Player of the Year