NWSL Awards races: Picks and favorites for every postseason award

We are approaching the conclusion of August. The finish line is nearly here. While leagues like the Barclays Women's Championship and Women's Super League get up and running, the NWSL will be coming to a close. Other than the race for playoff positions, the field for each individual honor is beginning to become clearer by the day. Five players and one coach across the league will be announced as the best of the best from a 22-match week campaign. In 2022, Sophia Smith was given the MVP two days before the NWSL Championship, indicating that could be the same sort of timeline this time around. The title match takes place on Nov. 11 at Snapdragon Stadium.

Due to the sheer competitiveness of the NWSL, selecting winners is an incredibly tough job. That is why a combination of players, media, coaches, owners, and even fans are involved in the process. Here are my picks for all six awards set to be distributed at some point in November.

Predictions for every NWSL postseason award:

Most Valuable Player

Predicted winner: Sophia Smith

2022 Recipient: Sophia Smith

Since the NWSL was founded, no player has been able to win back-to-back MVP awards. Portland Thorns' Sophia Smith is well on her way to being the first one. The USWNT star has amassed 16 goal contributions so far in 12 starts for the league leaders. She is well on pace to shatter her total from last season, having collected 17 in 16 league starts. There are few words to decide a player of Smith's quality. It is not just the world-class finishing that makes her so brilliant, the unselfishness of such a star player presents the opponent with so much to ponder when she is striding forward.

Kerolin, North Carolina's Brazilian star is second to Smith in the goal department with eight in one fewer match played. She is one of the key reasons why the Courage will be fighting for that top seed along with Portland in the coming weeks. The 23-year-old has taken the burden that Debinha left behind, and ran with it. Her electric speed and elite footwork have built her into a true NWSL superstar since coming over from Madrid CFF in January 2022.

Golden Boot

Predicted winner: Sophia Smith

2022 Recipient: Alex Morgan

With the way that the Portland star came out in her return from Australia and New Zealand, it seems unlikely anyone is going to catch her. The youngster would join a group that includes Kim Little, Lynn Williams, Crystal Dunn, and Sam Kerr as the only players to hoist the Golden Boot and MVP in the same campaign.

The 23-year-old forward found the back of the net on 14 occasions in 2022 during league play, missing out on being the NWSL's top scorer by one goal. With the quality of Ashley Sanchez and Trinity Rodman back into the Washington team, Ashley Hatch is going to have the service she needs to finish right behind the Thorns' No. 9.