SANDY, Utah - Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jason Kreis is up for a spot in the National Soccer Hall of Fame, U.S. Soccer announced on Friday.
Kreis is one of 22 former players on the player ballot. The Claret-and-Cobalt manager, who retired in 2007, is eligible for the vote because he’s been retired for more than three years, but less than 10, and played at least five seasons in an American first division pro league and was named to a postseason All-League team at least once.
Voting for the Hall of Fame will begin immediately and run through Feb. 22, with the election results expected to be announced shortly thereafter.
The voting pool includes all past and present full men’s and women’s national team coaches, all active MLS and NWSL head coaches who have a minimum of four years of experience as head coach in a first division league, MLS and NWSL management representatives, MLS Commissioner, NWSL executive director, U.S. Soccer CEO, U.S. Soccer president, designated media members and all Hall of Famers.
Each voter can vote for up to 10 candidates per ballot. Any player appearing on at least 2/3 of the ballots will enter the Hall of Fame, while any player who doesn’t appear on at least five percent of ballots will be dropped.
Kreis finished his 12 year MLS career with 108 MLS goals in 305 appearances. The 1999 MLS MVP, Kreis became the first player in Real Salt Lake history when he was traded to the Claret-and-Cobalt from Dallas in November 2004. The first player in MLS history to reach 100 career league goals, Kreis scored 17 goals in 58 MLS games for RSL before retiring as a player to become head coach in May 2007.
Other notables up for selection include Taylor Twellman, Marco Etcheverry, Chris Armas and Ben Olsen (Player Ballot) as well as Don Garber, Bob Bradley and Sigi Schmid (Builder Ballot).
