SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, October 31, 2018) – Real Salt Lake FW Corey Baird has been named a finalist for 2018 AT&T MLS Rookie of the Year after scoring eight goals with five assists in his first professional season. The RSL Academy product is the lone finalist from Real Salt Lake’s roster and joins Philadelphia Union defender Mark McKenzie and Orlando City SC midfielder Chris Mueller as a finalist for the award.
Baird earned his way into a starting role in his first professional campaign after playing four years at Stanford University. He scored his first career goal on the road against Toronto FC on March 30, then scored in consecutive matches against Orlando City SC and D.C. United before later shining with one goal and two assists off the bench on August 25 against the Colorado Rapids and one goal and one assist in a convincing win over the New England Revolution in the regular season home finale. The three-time NCAA National Champion at Stanford and product of the RSL Academy finished the year with eight goals to lead all MLS rookies in scoring.
Real Salt Lake faces LAFC in the Knockout Round of the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. MT (ESPN 2, UniMas, ESPN 700). The winner will host the first leg of the Western Conference Semifinal on Sunday.
The finalists earned the most votes in polling of three voting groups:
- Current MLS players
- MLS Clubs (Coaches, Technical Directors/General Managers)
- Media members who consistently covered the 2018 MLS Regular Season
The AT&T Goal of the Year and MLS Save of the Year will be decided by online voting at
MLSsoccer.com
or the free MLS app from now through November 11.
2018 Major League Soccer Awards Finalists
(Listed in alphabetical order by last name within each award category)
Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player Finalists
Miguel Almirón (Atlanta United)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (LA Galaxy)
Josef Martínez (Atlanta United)
Wayne Rooney (D.C. United)
Carlos Vela (Los Angeles Football Club)
Defender of the Year Finalists
Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls)
Chad Marshall (Seattle Sounders FC)
Michael Parkhurst (Atlanta United)
Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists
Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders FC)
Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls)
Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew SC)
Newcomer of the Year Finalists
For this award, “newcomer” is defined as a player with previous professional experience who made his MLS debut in 2018
Zlatan Ibrahimović (LA Galaxy)
Wayne Rooney (D.C. United)
Carlos Vela (Los Angeles Football Club)
AT&T Rookie of the Year Finalists
For this award, “rookie” is defined as a player without previous professional experience who made his MLS debut in 2018
Corey Baird (Real Salt Lake)
Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union)
Chris Mueller (Orlando City SC)
Coach of the Year Finalists
Bob Bradley (Los Angeles Football Club)
Gerardo “Tata” Martino (Atlanta United)
Peter Vermes (Sporting Kansas City)
Comeback Player of the Year Finalists
Honors an MLS player who has overcome injuries and/or adversity in order to achieve success during the 2018 regular season
Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders FC)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (LA Galaxy)
Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew SC)
MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year, presented by AdvoCare Finalists
Matt Lampson (Minnesota United FC)
Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls)
Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)
Referee of the Year Finalists
Alan Kelly
Nima Saghafi
Robert Sibiga
Assistant Referee of the Year Finalists
Joe Fletcher
CJ Morgante
Corey Rockwell
