CHICAGO (Jan. 29, 2025) – U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Tanner Tessmann has been voted the 2024 U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year after making major strides at the international and club level. The Alabama native captained the U.S. Men’s Olympic Soccer Team to its best finish since 2000 at the Paris 2024 Olympics and helped lead Venezia FC to promotion to the Italian top flight. This fall, Tessmann made a move to French powerhouse Olympique Lyon and made four appearances with the senior USMNT.
Of the five finalists for Young Male Player of the Year, Tessmann took 70 percent of the overall total, followed by Gianluca Busio (15 percent) and Niko Tsakiris (eight percent).
Votes for U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year Awards are collected from National Team coaches, USMNT players who earned a cap in 2024, members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors, U.S. Soccer Athletes’ Council, professional league head coaches and sporting directors, select media members and former players and administrators.
Returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, Tessmann captained the U.S. men throughout their preparations and at the Paris Games. The midfielder played every minute for the USA in France, leading the Americans to advancement from the group stage for just the second time since pool play was introduced at Rome 1960. Reaching the quarterfinals for just the third time in its 100-year history at the Games, Paris 2024 marked the USA’s first time winning two games at the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament.
After making his senior international debut in September 2023, Tessmann began to install himself as a regular contributor with new head coach Mauricio Pochettino during the manager’s first two camps at the helm of the USMNT last fall. Following substitute appearances in both of Pochettino’s first friendlies in charge, Tessmann started both legs of the Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinals against Jamaica, helping the U.S. take the first step toward its fourth CNL title with a 5-2 aggregate victory.
It was a similarly impressive year for Tessmann on the club front. The midfielder was a fixture for Venezia FC in Serie B, helping the club back to Serie A after two seasons in the second division. He started 35 of 38 games for Venezia on the year, appearing in all but one league match. The Leoni Alati finished third in the league table to earn a place in the promotion playoffs, where Tessmann shone brightly. He played every minute of the four-game tournament and scored a spectacular goal in the second leg against Palermo to secure advancement to the finals.
Tessmann’s strong play for club and country was rewarded with an August transfer to French power Olympique Lyon. He played in 14 games for the club during the first half of the 2024-25 season. The 23-year-old earned his first minutes in European competition during the start of Lyon’s UEFA Europa League campaign this fall as the club clinched a place in the next round, finishing the year in fourth place with two league games remaining.
