The most impressive member of the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team’s Concacaf U-20 Championship-winning side was named U.S. Male Young Player of the Year on Tuesday.
Alex Mendez, who currently plays for Freiburg in Germany, was awarded the honor after winning the Golden Ball at the November tournament, where he contributed eight goals and six assists.
“It’s a very proud moment,” Mendez said. “First, I want to thank U.S. Soccer for the nomination. I also want to thank my family, my teammates and the U-20 squad that won the Concacaf Championship. Obviously, this is an individual award, but none of this would be possible without them pushing me to be a better player.”
Before moving to Freiburg, Mendez scored five goals for the LA Galaxy in U-18/U-19 U.S. Soccer Development Academy playoffs and earned playing time in USL with LA Galaxy II, where he scored his first professional goal on July 1.
Mendez is the latest American phenom to win the award, which has been given to Josh Sargent, Christian Pulisic, Matt Miazga and DeAndre Yedlin in the last four years.