We’re inching closer and closer to awards season in MLS, which means it’s time to start asking: which players from around the league aren’t getting the recognition they deserve?
Today, I’m diving into a trio of key performers who have flown under-the-radar during the 2024 campaign, using data to identify each player and to help illustrate why they’ve been so important to their respective teams.
Onwards.
Yannick Bright, DM, Inter Miami
Often, we hear about how the MLS SuperDraft has become less important as the league continues to grow. What good are college players when you can attract increasingly better talent from the youth game and abroad? However, within the college draft, savvy MLS teams can still find late-blooming talent that simply ended up on an alternative route to contributing in the top-flight.
Yannick Bright is one of those players.
Bright, who was drafted 15th overall by Inter Miami, has been a true bright spot for Tata Martino’s star-studded squad. The Italian played in his home country’s Serie D before joining the University of New Hampshire, where he started 69 games and was a Mac Hermann Trophy semifinalist.
Bright didn’t start the year as a consistent starter; he made a few spot appearances for Inter Miami in league play while they had Concacaf Champions Cup action, and was on and off playing for the second team. However, after the team’s 2-1 victory over Philadelphia on June 15th, Bright has played at least 45 minutes or more in every game for the Supporters’ Shield favorites. He's started all but two of those 12 games.
Along the way, he’s become a vital midfield piece as the more defensive option next to Federico Redondo.
The 23-year-old’s defensive stats shine, albeit in a modest sample of MLS minutes. Bright leads MLS midfielders with 5.53 tackles plus interceptions per 90 minutes – yes, you read that correctly: a rookie leads the league in that category.
Solely looking at interceptions, Bright sits second, just behind LA Galaxy midfielder Gaston Brugman. In terms of total recoveries, Bright ranks 12th amongst all midfielders at 6.99 per 90. Bright’s role is important in Martino’s system. With the aging Sergio Busquets being asked to play center back, providing cover in front of that backline is monumental; while Busquets is a legend in the midfield, he’s far from a lockdown central defender.
Look at Bright’s defensive actions in Miami’s 2-0 victory over FC Cincinnati on August 24th. Down a man for much of the game, Bright had seven combined tackles and interceptions, three blocks, and five recoveries.
Uh, not too bad for a 15th overall pick.
