Louisville City FC is on pace to go back-to-back with the USL Championship Young Player of the Year award after defender Josh Wynder this week won a public vote for the midseason version of the honor.
Should the 17-year-old also claim the more formal season-long award, he’d follow in the footsteps of former LouCity standout Jonathan Gomez, who earned the recognition in 2021 prior to his transfer to La Liga club Real Sociedad.
Wynder – who at age 17 is eyeing a European move in the future as well — is a regular starter at center back for first-place City, leading the boys in purple in both clearances (36) and blocks (8). The LouCity Academy graduate also netted his first professional goal July 2 in a 2-1 win over Birmingham Legion FC and back in the spring netted the game-winning penalty kick to seal a U.S. Open Cup victory over St. Louis City SC.
From Oldham County, Wynder has also emerged as an international prospect, in June captaining the U.S. Men’s Youth National Team U-19 side for a friendly win over England when debuting in the red, white and blue.
Lead USL Championship analyst Devon Kerr, who was in town this week to call LouCity’s game against Phoenix Rising FC, told the club’s Soccer City radio show on Thursday of Wynder: “I watch him play and look at other guys around the league – he’s someone that if I had to pick a center back, and not just because he’s 17 and he’s got promise – I would put him as a top 10 to 12 center back in the league right now. And if you really sat down and looked at the metrics, you might be able to argue that further up the chain.”
Wynder was the youngest player in the Midseason Young Player of the Year race, which also included LA Galaxy II’s Cameron Dunbar (19), Atlanta United 2’s Jackson Conway (20), the Tampa Bay Rowdies’ Jake LaCava (21) and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC’s Michee Ngalina (22).
