STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford men's soccer alumnus and Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris received the first major postseason award of his professional career when he was named 2016 AT&T MLS Rookie of the Year on Thursday.
Morris beat Philadelphia Union defender Keegan Rosenberry and New York City FC midfielder Jack Harrison to win the award and become the first Sounders player in franchise history to be named Rookie of the Year. He is the second Cardinal to earn one of the league's major postseason awards, joining three-time MLS Defender of the Year and Sounders teammate Chad Marshall.
Morris received 47 percent of the player votes and 45 percent overall, which included votes from media members and club personnel.
A 22-year-old Homegrown Player and native of Mercer Island, Wash., Morris scored a team-high 12 goals and assisted on four more in 34 appearances this year. He's also the first field player in the team's eight-year MLS history to appear in every game during the regular season.
Morris' 12 goals during the regular season were the second-most ever by an MLS rookie, and the most ever by a U.S.-born rookie. He also set a new MLS rookie record with six game-winning goals and finished second overall in the category behind New York Red Bulls forward and Budweiser Golden Boot winner Bradley Wright-Phillips. Morris was just the fifth rookie to record double-digit goals and became the first American to do so since Pat Noonan in 2003.
Morris is the third straight forward to win the award and sixth overall in the award's 21-year history, and he's the first American to win since 2013. He's also the second Homegrown Player to win the award along with Andy Najar, who claimed the prize while he was with D.C. United in 2010.
Morris and the Sounders will return to action against the Colorado Rapids in the first leg of the Western Conference Championship at CenturyLink Field on Sunday, Nov. 22. He was called up by United States national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann for the U.S.' first two Hexagonal matches in CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying on Nov. 11 and 15, but was replaced earlier this week by Alan Gordon due to a hamstring strain.
