With nine weeks down in the 2025 USL League One season, we’re one-quarter of the way through the regular season campaign, making it the ideal moment to take stock of what’s happened so far this campaign.

Only one club is still undefeated in league play, with One Knoxville SC also making a positive start to the USL Jägermeister Cup, while some of the league’s expansion clubs are making a strong early impression in the standings, led by FC Naples.

There have also been a collection of impressive individual performances. Some of them were expected, while others have helped jumpstart their potential for individual honors at the end of the season.

Here’s where we think the race for the main five individual honors stands, we’ll check back again in a couple of months at the halfway point of the campaign.

Goalkeeper of the Year – Carlos Merancio, Spokane Velocity FC

Because of the disparity in the number of games different clubs have played, this is a very crowded race early in the season. We’re opting for Merancio for a couple of reasons, but you can definitely make a good case for Matt Levy, who's stepped into the starting role at the Charlotte Independence with aplomb, and Lalo Delgado at FC Naples after his key role in the club’s outstanding start.

Merancio, though, has a few factors in his favor. He leads League One in saves with 21 and has produced a strong save percentage of 77.8 percent on that volume of shots he’s had to face. That workload has also put Merancio at a -2.06 Goals Prevented mark, which isn’t quite as good as Levy’s mark of -2.37, but does put him ahead of Delgado and the likes of One Knoxville’s Sean Lewis and Rashid Nuhu before they get into the meat of their schedules.

Other contenders – Matt Levy, Charlotte Independence; Lalo Delgado, FC Naples; Sean Lewis, One Knoxville SC; Rashid Nuhu, Union Omaha

Defender of the Year – Brecc Evans, FC Naples

If you check out the USL Championship version of this story, we lay out why it’s usually a bit of a conundrum as to who the frontrunner for this award can be at this point of the season. Here, we’re feeling very confident in the candidacy of Brecc Evans, whose topline and underlying numbers combine with the performances Naples has put together in its inaugural season to give us a clear frontrunner.

Evans leads all defenders in League One with 51 clearances and ranks in the top five in duels won (36 at a 67.9 percent success rate) and aerial duels (24 at a 63.2 percent success rate). He’s led Naples as the side has conceded only three goals, but has notably put up an 0.71 Expected Goals Against/90 minutes in seven outings, comfortably the lowest mark in the league. Add it all up and Evans sits with the best Goals Added mark among defenders in the league at +1.82 per American Soccer Analysis and a platform to build on throughout the rest of the campaign.

Other Contenders – Jake Dengler, FC Naples; Stuart Ritchie, One Knoxville SC; Camron Miller, Spokane Velocity FC; Jordan Skelton, One Knoxville SC

Coach of the Year – Matt Poland, FC Naples

There are very good reasons why either Spokane Velocity’s Leigh Veidman or One Knoxville’s Ian Fuller could be here. Veidman has built on the platform he built in Velocity’s inaugural season to build a club that looks like a serious contender for silverware this year – the club’s +6.44 Expected Goal Differential is the best in the league – while Fuller has taken One Knox forward in its undefeated start to the regular season.

But there’s no way to ignore what Matt Poland has done with expansion side FC Naples over the first quarter of the season. The club’s defense is watertight and the style Naples has employed has made the most of Karsen Henderlong’s qualities as a center forward while providing solid back-up in the attacking third. While there were questions about Naples at the start of this season, those have all been addressed and then some, putting the side in contention for silverware in its inaugural year.

Other Contenders – Ian Fuller, One Knoxville SC; Leigh Veidman, Spokane Velocity FC; Mike Jeffries, Charlotte Independence

Young Player of the Year – Luis Álvarez, Charlotte Independence

After going close to claiming this award a year ago, Luis Álvarez has returned and leveled up for the Independence this season across all competitions. The 22-year-old has notched two goals and two assists in 526 minutes in league play while also having found the net in the U.S. Open Cup and USL Jägermeister Cup, and while those performances don’t officially factor into this award, you can expect the voters will have noted them.

In League One alone, Álvarez ranks tied for fourth overall with 13 chances created and hasn’t shied away from the defensive side of the game, winning 36 duels at a success rate of 53.7 percent and winning eight tackles at a success rate of 61.5 percent. The influence he has on the Independence’s performances, though, should put him front and center as the club pushes for success over the remainder of the campaign.

Other Contenders – Kaloyan Pehlivanov, AV ALTA FC; Anton Sorenson, Charlotte Independence; Eric Kinzner, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC

Player of the Year – Anuar Peláez, Spokane Velocity FC

There is already a great race building here, but we’re giving our early nod to Anuar Peláez, who is coming through at the age of 32 with the potential for a career season since his arrival in the United States with Oakland Roots a couple of years ago. The Colombian forward has four goals and two assists in his second season with Velocity – surpassing his marks a season ago while already having made more appearances across all competitions for the club while being part of the best attack in the league.

Peláez is going to have strong competition from one of the league’s newcomers in the Richmond Kickers’ Darwin Espinal, who has also put up five goals and two assists in league play. Those two also sit 1-2 in American Soccer Analysis’ Goals Added metric, with Pelaez having the edge at a +2.82 mark. We’re looking forward to seeing how this plays out over the coming months.

Other Contenders – Darwin Espinal, Richmond Kickers; Karsen Henderlong, FC Naples; Juan Carlos Obregon Jr., Westchester SC