Megan Rapinoe becomes first player to earn Best NWSL Player award
Yesterday evening, forward Megan Rapinoe of Seattle Reign FC was the first player to be awarded as the Best NWSL Player at the 35th annual ESPY Award ceremony in Los Angeles.
“I’m honored to receive the ESPY for Best NWSL Player,” Rapinoe said. “To win it in the first year of existence is pretty cool. I was happy to see them recognize the NWSL and women’s sports at large.”
This was the first year where an NWSL player was recognized for their achievements. The other NWSL players that were nominated for this award were Adrianna Franch of Portland Thorns, Sam Kerr from the Chicago Red Stars, and Sam Mewis of the North Carolina Courage.
Reign forward Jodie Taylor was also nominated for Best International Women’s Soccer Player, but was awarded to Australian forward Sam Kerr.
The list of the ESPY winners:
Male athlete: Alex Ovechkin
Female athlete: Chloe Kim
Olympic moment: Shaun White
Championship performance: Nick Foles
Breakthrough athlete: Donovan Mitchell
Game: U.S. Olympic women's hockey team defeats Canada
Moment: Minnesota Vikings defeat New Orleans Saints
Team: Houston Astros
College athlete: Baker Mayfield
Play: Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale hits second buzzer-beater to win NCAA women's basketball title
Record-breaking performance: Roger Federer
International men's soccer player: Cristiano Ronaldo
International women's soccer player: Sam Kerr
NFL player: Tom Brady
MLB player: Mike Trout
NHL player: Alex Ovechkin
Driver: Martin Truex Jr.
NBA player: LeBron James
WNBA player: Maya Moore
Fighter: Terence Crawford
Male golfer: Jordan Spieth
Female golfer: Sung-Hyun Park
Male Olympian: Shaun White
Female Olympian: Chloe Kim
Male tennis player: Roger Federer
Female tennis player: Sloane Stephens
Male action sports athlete: David Wise
Female action sports athlete: Chloe Kim
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Male athlete with a disability: Mike Schultz
Female athlete with a disability: Brenna Huckaby
Bowler: Rhino Page
MLS player: Nemanja Nikolic
NWSL player: Megan Rapinoe
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Jim Kelly
Pat Tillman Award for Service: Jake Wood, Team Rubicon
