In the United States, Major League Soccer (MLS) has handed out a Rookie of the Year Award since its inception in 1996. MLS, as opposed to other American sports leagues like Major League Baseball, only designates a player as a rookie if the player has had no prior professional experience. So, for example, although Taylor Twellman finished second in MVP voting in 2002, he was ineligible for the Rookie of the Year Award because he had played on the reserve team of 1860 Munich.
Winners
- 1996 -
Steve Ralston, Tampa Bay Mutiny - 1997 - Mike Duhaney, Tampa Bay Mutiny
- 1998 - Ben Olsen, D.C. United
- 1999 - Jay Heaps, Miami Fusion
- 2000 - Carlos Bocanegra, Chicago Fire
- 2001 -
Rodrigo Faria, MetroStars - 2002 - Kyle Martino, Columbus Crew
- 2003 -
Damani Ralph, Chicago Fire - 2004 - Clint Dempsey, New England Revolution
- 2005 - Michael Parkhurst, New England Revolution
- 2006 - Jonathan Bornstein, C.D. Chivas USA
- 2007 - Maurice Edu, Toronto FC
- 2008 - Sean Franklin, Los Angeles Galaxy
- 2009 - Omar Gonzalez, Los Angeles Galaxy
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