NEW YORK (Tuesday, November 4, 2025) – Major League Soccer today announced San Diego FC forward Anders Dreyer as the 2025 MLS Newcomer of the Year. The award recognizes the most impactful player with prior professional experience and who made their MLS debut during the 2025 regular season.
Dreyer was signed as the club’s second Designated Player on a permanent transfer on January 22, 2025, going on to record a club-best 19 goals and 19 assists. The 27-year-old became the first player in club history to record at least 30 goal contributions and the eighth in MLS history. Dreyer’s 38 goal contributions this season tied for the third-most in a season in MLS history (Carlos Vela with 49 in 2019 and Lionel Messi with 48 in 2025) and tied for the most by a first-year MLS player (Giovinco in 2015), making it an expansion club record.
Dreyer’s 38 goal contributions led all first-year MLS players with Danish compatriot Philip Zinckernagel (30), the New York Red Bulls’ Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (22), and San Diego teammate Hirving “Chucky” Lozano (19), following behind. Dreyer was an integral piece to San Diego’s offense contributing to 59.4% of the club’s 64 goals in 2025, which led them to the top seed in the Western Conference and qualification to the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.
In addition to being named MLS Newcomer of the Year, Dreyer was also named to the 2025 MLS All-Star team and earned Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra honors twice (Matchday 1 and 31). Dreyer was also named Player of the Month on two occasions (June, August), joining Josef Martínez (2017) as the only players in league history to earn multiple Player of the Month honors for an expansion club in their debut season.
Dreyer is the first San Diego player in history to earn a year-end award and the first Danish player to earn the Newcomer of the Year honor. This is the third time in MLS history that the Newcomer of the Year came from an expansion side in their debut season, joining Miguel Almirón (2017, Atlanta United) and Fredy Montero (2009, Seattle Sounders FC).
Dreyer led voting in all three categories to earn the honor over fellow first-year MLS stars Son Heung-Min (LAFC) and Philip Zinckernagel (Chicago Fire FC). The Newcomer of the Year award was voted on by MLS club technical staff, media, and current MLS players. Below is a breakdown of the voting results.
|
MLS Newcomer of the Year Voting Breakdown
|
| Name |
Media Vote |
Player Vote |
Club Vote |
Total Vote |
| Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC) |
71.75% |
69.09% |
81.48% |
74.11% |
| Son Heung-Min (LAFC) |
7.91% |
7.27% |
3.70% |
6.30% |
| Philip Zinckernagel (Chicago Fire FC) |
3.95% |
7.27% |
7.41% |
6.21%
|
A full list of previous MLS Newcomer of the Year award winners can be found below:
|
MLS Newcomer of the Year Winners
|
| Season |
Player |
Club |
| 2025 |
Anders Dreyer |
San Diego FC |
| 2024 |
Gabriel Pec |
LA Galaxy |
| 2023 |
Giorgos Giakoumakis |
Atlanta United |
| 2022 |
Thiago Almada |
Atlanta United |
| 2021 |
Cristian Arango |
Los Angeles Football Club |
| 2020 |
Lucas Zelarayán |
Columbus Crew |
| 2019 |
Carles Gil |
New England Revolution |
| 2018 |
Zlatan Ibrahimović |
LA Galaxy |
| 2017 |
Miguel Almirón |
Atlanta United |
| 2016 |
Nicolás Lodeiro |
Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2015 |
Sebastian Giovinco |
Toronto FC |
| 2014 |
Pedro Morales |
Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| 2013 |
Diego Valeri |
Portland Timbers |
| 2012 |
Federico Higuaín |
Columbus Crew |
| 2011 |
Mauro Rosales |
Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2010 |
Álvaro Saborío |
Real Salt Lake |
| 2009 |
Fredy Montero |
Seattle Sounders FC |
| 2008 |
Darren Huckerby |
San Jose Earthquakes |
| 2007 |
Luciano Emílio |
D.C. United
|
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