Current Columbus Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter and former MLS stars Jimmy Conrad, Frankie Hejduk, Kasey Keller, Pat Onstad, Eddie Robinson, Diego Serna and Zach Thornton are among the first-year nominees for the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2015, it was announced Thursday by U.S. Soccer.
Voting for the Player, Veteran Player and Builder awards will begin immediately on the finalized ballots.
Voting will continue through March 20, and the election results will be announced shortly after. Induction ceremony details for the Class of 2015 will be announced at a later date.
Players in their first year of eligibility include:
- Two-time FIFA World Cup participant and current Columbus Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter
- Thirteen-year MLS veteran Jimmy Conrad
- Thirteen 13-year national team fixture and MLS Cup champion Frankie Hejduk
- 2008 Olympic gold medalist Natasha Kai
- Four-time FIFA World Cup participant and three-time CONCACAF Gold Cup Champion Kasey Keller
- Ten-year national team veteran and current LA Galaxy technical director Jovan Kirovski
- 1996 Olympic gold medalist and 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Tiffeny Milbrett
- Two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Pat Onstad
- Three-time MLS Cup champion Eddie Robinson
- Colombian MLS star Diego Serna
- Two-time Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Tarpley
- 15-year veteran and two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Zach Thornton
- Six-year women’s national team forward Christie Welsh
Of the 31 players on the Player ballot, Robin Fraser and Shannon MacMillan are in their final year of eligibility.
To be eligible for election as a Player, an individual must be retired for at least three years but for no more than 10 years, and have either: 1) Played in at least 20 international games for the US, or 2) Played at least five seasons in an American first-division professional league and named to a postseason All-League or All-Star team at least once.
The voting pool includes all past and present full men's and women's national team coaches, all active MLS and NWSL head coaches with a minimum of four years of experience as a head coach at the highest level in the United States, MLS and NWSL management representatives, the MLS and NWSL Commissioners, U.S. Soccer CEO/secretary general, U.S. Soccer president, designated media members, and all Hall of Famers.
Here is the full 2015 National Soccer Hall of Fame Player Ballot:
- Chris Armas
- Gregg Berhalter
- Jimmy Conrad
- Robin Fraser
- Frankie Hejduk
- Chris Henderson
- Natasha Kai
- Kasey Keller
- Jovan Kirovski
- Chris Klein
- Jason Kreis
- Eddie Lewis
- Shannon MacMillan
- Clint Mathis
- Tiffeny Milbrett
- Jaime Moreno
- John O’Brien
- Ben Olsen
- Pat Onstad
- Steve Ralston
- Ante Razov
- Tiffany Roberts
- Eddie RobinsonTony Sanneh
- Briana Scurry
- Diego Serna
- Kate Sobrero Markgraf
- Lindsay Tarpley
- Taylor Twellman
- Christie Welsh
- Zach Thornton
First year of eligibility
** Final year of eligibility; moves to Veteran ballot in 2016
Voting is also set to begin for the Veteran Player and Builder ballots. Nine players are up for selection on the Veteran ballot, which is voted on only by current Hall of Famers after the list has been narrowed down by a screening committee.
The top vote-getter will be elected as long as he or she appears on a minimum of 50 percent of the ballots. If no individual appears on 50 percent of the ballots, then no Veteran will be elected to the 2015 Class.
2015 National Soccer Hall of Fame Veteran Ballot:
- Mike Burns
- John Doyle
- Marco Etcheverry
- Linda Hamilton
- Mary Harvey
- Shep Messing
- Glenn Myernick
- Cindy Parlow
- Tisha Venturini-Hoch
The 2015 Builder ballot includes nine individuals selected by a screening committee and follows the same procedures for election as the Veteran ballot, although the voting pool is expanded to also include select soccer administrators.
Builders must be at least 50 years old and are eligible by making their mark in the soccer community in a non-playing capacity while sustaining a major and positive impact on American Soccer at the national federation or first-division level for at least 10 years.
2015 National Soccer Hall of Fame Builder Ballot:
- Bob Contiguglia
- Don Garber
- Richard Groff
- Robert Kraft
- Tim Leiweke
- Francisco Marcos
- Fritz Marth
- Kevin Payne
- Sigi Schmid
Complete information about the election and eligibility procedures is available online at ussoccer.com.
