LouCity with Five 2025 USL Championship Award Finalists
USL Louisville City FC

LouCity with Five 2025 USL Championship Award Finalists

Published on November 14, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Louisville City FC News Release


The United Soccer League has revealed its finalists for the 2025 USL Championship Awards, with the leading performers in five categories earning nominations after outstanding 2025 regular season campaigns.

Those nominees included five representatives from Louisville City FC - four players and head coach Danny Cruz.

Goalkeeper Damian Las is a finalist for Goalkeeper of the Year, while both Kyle Adams and Josh Jones are contenders for Defender of the Year. Cruz was tabbed as a finalist for Coach of the Year, and midfielder Taylor Davila is up for Player of the Year honors.

The league will announce the award winners between Tuesday, November 18 and Friday, November 21.

The 2025 USL Championship Awards were voted on by club management and a league-wide media panel that included representation from every USL market following the conclusion of the 2025 USL Championship regular season.

2025 USL Championship Awards Finalists

2025 USL Championship Goalkeeper of the Year - Winner Announced Tuesday, Nov. 18

Damian Las, Louisville City FC - The 23-year-old earned the USL Championship's Golden Glove with a 0.70 goals-against average while leading all eligible goalkeepers with a save percentage of 80 percent on 72 saves in his second season on loan with LouCity from Austin FC. Las also recorded 10 shutouts and a Goals Prevented mark of -2.38, conceding only 18 goals in 27 appearances over the regular season for the Players' Shield winner.

Koke Vegas, Rhode Island FC - The Spanish shot-stopper produced a career-best campaign in his fourth season in the Championship, recording single-season highs with 11 shutouts and a save percentage of 70.5 percent and a 0.86 goals-against average. Vegas also logged a -2.93 Goals Prevented mark while helping RIFC reach the postseason behind one of the stingiest back lines in the league.

Danny Vitiello, Sacramento Republic FC - The 2023 award-winner led the league with 12 shutouts in the regular season while posting a save percentage of 72.2 percent, good for second among Golden Glove-eligible goalkeepers. The 29-year-old also led the league with a -5.39 goals-prevented mark while playing every minute of the regular season campaign, leading Sacramento to a second-place finish in the West.

2025 USL Championship Defender of the Year - Winner Announced Tuesday, Nov. 18

Kyle Adams, Louisville City FC - In his second full season at LouCity, the New Zealand international produced a stellar all-around campaign as the side claimed the Players' Shield for a second consecutive year. Adams ranked second among defenders with 112 aerial duels won at a 70 percent success rate and logged a career high 159 duels won at a 66 percent success rate, captaining the side as it recorded a league-best 25.65 Expected Goals Against mark.

Joshua Jones, Louisville City FC - Making the move across town from the University of Louisville as he entered the professional ranks, Jones recorded 130 clearances and won 125 duels at a 68.7 percent success rate in 20 regular season appearances, making his mark in LouCity's veteran defensive corps. The 22-year-old also proved a weapon on set pieces, with his long throw-ins resulting directly in two assists and seven chances created while helping the club lead the league with nine goals from throw-ins during the regular season.

Sean Suber, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC - The 24-year-old came into his own at the center of the Hounds' defense in his third professional campaign, becoming one of only three players to play every minute of the regular season as he led the league with 204 clearances and tied for the league-lead with 116 headed clearances. Suber also won 75 aerial duels at a 65.3 percent success rate and ranked sixth in the league among defenders with a +5.41 Goals Added mark.

2025 USL Championship Coach of the Year - Winner Announced Wednesday, Nov. 19

Brendan Burke, Hartford Athletic - In his second season in Hartford, Burke guided the side to its best season in club history as Athletic returned to the USL Championship Playoffs for the first time since 2020 and earned its first silverware, lifting the 2025 USL Jägermeister Cup. Hartford ranked third in the league with an Expected Goals mark of 46.43xG as it recorded a club-best 13 victories and +12 goal differential in addition to its undefeated seven-game run through the USL Jägermeister Cup, winning the final on the road against Sacramento Republic FC.

Danny Cruz, Louisville City FC - The 2024 award-winner led Louisville City to one of the great regular seasons in USL Championship history, losing only once in the 30-game regular season and posting a single-season record 2.43 points-per-game mark as it won the Players' Shield for a second consecutive year. Cruz's side conceded only 19 goals in the regular season, the fewest by a club in a full campaign since 2015, while posting its first undefeated home slate in club history.

Luke Spencer, FC Tulsa - Having served as an assistant in 2024, Spencer took the reins at Tulsa this offseason and led the side to its best campaign in the club's decade-long history. A USL Championship title-winner as a player, Spencer led the Scissortails to full-season bests with 16 wins, 57 points and only five defeats to lead the side to the top of the Western Conference, earning a first trip to the USL Championship Playoffs since 2021 while improving the club's points-per-game mark by 0.78ppg, moving from 1.12ppg in the club's 10th-place finish last season to 1.9ppg this year.

2025 USL Championship Young Player of the Year - Winner Announced Thursday, Nov. 20

Abdellatif Aboukoura, Loudoun United FC - Having previously competed for the side as a USL Academy signing, Aboukoura made history as the first Loudoun United player to be voted to the USL Championship All-League Team after a standout campaign in which he recorded a team-high 12 goals and two assists. The 21-year-old's goalscoring mark saw him equal the league record for goals in a single season by a player 21 and under as he posted a 65.1 percent shooting accuracy rate and completed a league-high 45 dribbles to lead Loudoun to its first postseason berth.

Mamadou Dieng, Hartford Athletic - The Cameroonian forward produced a second consecutive sterling campaign for Athletic, recording nine goals and two assists in 19 appearances while also recording two goals and one assist in five appearances in the USL Jägermeister Cup. The 21-year-old posted a +6.56 Goals Added mark in league play before being transferred in August to Minnesota United FC of Major League Soccer for a club-record fee.

Finn Sundstrom, North Carolina FC - A NCFC Academy product, joining the club as an 11-year-old, Sundstrom produced a remarkable first full professional campaign as he ranked second at the club with 2,363 minutes in the regular season while ranking second on the team with 99 clearances, tying for the team lead with 26 tackles won at a 72.2 percent success rate, and ranking second with 799 completed passes at an 82.3 percent accuracy rate. Sundstrom also ranked fourth on the team with 100 duels won at a 60.2 percent success rate, and in September earned his first call-up to the U.S. Youth National Team program.

2025 USL Championship Player of the Year - Winner Announced Friday, Nov. 21

Taylor Davila, Louisville City FC - The California native earned his third consecutive All-League First Team honor as his second campaign for LouCity saw him deliver another remarkable two-way campaign for the Players' Shield winners. Davila led outfield players with 190 recoveries while also recording four goals, nine assists and 55 chances created, and tied for third in the league in winning possession 21 times in the attacking third. The 25-year-old also completed 21 dribbles at a 60 percent success rate and graded first among central midfielders with a +7.15 Goals Added mark.

Cal Jennings, Charleston Battery - Following an offseason move to the Battery, Jennings continued his rise in the USL Championship's all-time scoring ranks with a 17-goal campaign that placed him second in the Golden Boot race and moved him to third in league history with 82 regular season goals in just 153 games. As part of the highest-scoring attack in the league, Jennings also set single-season career highs with six assists and 23 goals contributions, recording 89 shots and 30 chances created overall while posting a +8.57 Goals Added mark in the regular season.

Peter Wilson, Oakland Roots SC - An offseason addition in Oakland, Wilson produced one of the most remarkable scoring runs in the USL Championship's history to close the regular season, scoring in each of his final eight appearances in the regular season to equal the league record for most consecutive games with a goal and claim the Golden Boot with 18 goals. The Liberian forward also logged five assists to tie for the league-lead in goal contributions while ranking second in the league with a +9.81 Goals Added mark.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from November 14, 2025


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