Inter Miami’s Ben Cremaschi has started 2026 by receiving a major honor from U.S. Soccer.
Creamschi was named U.S. Soccer’s Young Male Player of the Year for 2025, the federation announced Thursday. The talented midfielder received 38.9% of the weighted total vote and was followed by Cavan Sullivan (34.8%) and Mathis Albert (12.3%) in the Top 3 of voting for the award.
“This award means a lot to me,” Cremaschi said. “It’s a representation of how my year went with my clubs and the National Team. This is an amazing accomplishment, but it also speaks to all the people around me that keep me going as a player. I want to thank my family, teammates and everyone that made this award possible.
“My U-20 teammates gave me the confidence I needed to be the player and leader I needed to be at the World Cup,” he added. “That is a group of guys I will never forget. I also want to thank Marko Mitrovic – a coach I’ve had at many different levels with the National Team – for his belief and guidance along the way. Finally, I’m so grateful to my family, for their support and love.”
Cremaschi made 22 appearances for Inter Miami during the 2025 MLS season, registering one goal and adding four assists.
The Herons would go on to win MLS Cup while Cremaschi joined Italian Serie A side Parma on loan over the summer.
He’s made three appearances for Parma in all competitions.
On the international level, Cremaschi captained the U.S. Under-20 men’s national team that reached the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He won the tournament’s Golden Boot award after scoring five goals, becoming just the second American player to do so in that tournament’s history.
He also made his senior USMNT debut in 2025, starting both friendlies against Venezuela and Costa Rica last January.
Cremaschi’s a good player and definitely needs to take his shot in Europe but Serie A’s a rough place to begin in at his age. He needs to play regularly. To me that means the Dutch league, the Championship, even the B2. Those levels aren’t better than MLS, the challenge there is cultural and tactical. But it lets you get success and dug in, and that’s big for successfully adapting.
It’s hard for an MLS player to transfer in the summer window. He’d played 2/3 of season and thrown in the U20 WC, his body needed some recovery and likely his mind as well. This always seemed as much like a training stint as a loan. Parma was probably just looking for an American for publicity after Gio fell thru. Not sure there are any more minutes at Inter Miami this year so maybe he makes a more permanent move next summer.