Three MLS players are among the six nominees announced for US Soccer's Male Athlete of the Year award. The winner will be announced on SportsCenter on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 4 pm ET.
All six finalists represented the US at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. MLS players Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders) and Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution) were nominated along with Tim Howard, Fabian Johnson and Alejandro Bedoya.
According to US Soccer, this year's new voting process consisted of votes cast by national-team and youth-national-team coaches and staff, national-team players who earned a cap in 2014, Major League Soccer and North American Soccer League head coaches, select media members, former players and administrators.
Dempsey is a three-time winner of the award, taking the honor in 2007, 2011 and 2012. Forward Jozy Altidore won in 2013, while LA Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan (2003, 2004, 2009, 2010) is the only four-time recipient.
All six nominees were regular starters for the US at the World Cup, with Beckerman and Bedoya starting three games and the other four players starting all four. Dempsey scored the fifth-fastest goal in World Cup history in the US opener against Ghana and netted the go-ahead goal against Portugal. Howard made a World Cup-record 15 saves in the Round of 16 against Belgium, while Jones scored a screaming equalizer against Portugal.
