Antonee Robinson has been named U.S. Soccer's male player of 2024, the federation announced on Sunday.
Known by his nickname, "Jedi," Robinson is the first defender to win the award in 18 years, since Oguchi Onyewu did it in 2006. The Fulham left back, who was also nominated for the honor in 2022, beat out U.S. teammates Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic and Tim Ream.
"It's an incredible honor," first-time recipient Robinson said after he was revealed as the winner. "Representing our country isn't something you do for individual accolades. It's always about putting the team first and trying to do my best for the boys and for the country, so to be rewarded for that is an amazing feeling."
Robinson, 27, secured more than half of the final weighted vote tally from ballots cast by fans, USMNT teammates, national team coaches, professional league head coaches and sporting directors, members of U.S. Soccer's board of directors and Athletes' Council, plus select media members, former players and administrators.
Robinson has established himself as perhaps the best fullback in England's vaunted Premier League over the last year-plus. He leads all defenders in the world's top domestic circuit with seven assists, and has captained the Cottagers to ninth place heading into Sunday's match against Ipswich Town — drawing transfer interest from Prem-leading Liverpool, according to local reports.
USMNT great Tim Howard, now a commentator for NBC, surprised Robinson by breaking the news just before Sunday's game in London.
"I thought it was just a random interview with Tim about how the season was going, so when he told me I'd won I was just in disbelief because it was the last thing I expected," he said. "It was a thrill to have that news delivered by him."
Jedi made 11 appearances for the national team in 2024, helping his country win a third consecutive Concacaf Nations League crown and advance to the semifinals of the 2025 tournament.
He becomes the 27th different American named U.S. Soccer's player of the year since the award was first presented in 1984.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. A staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he has covered United States men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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