Tyrone Mears is no newbie. A veteran MLS defender, he came to Seattle in 2015 for a fresh start to his career after playing for several different teams, from Manchester City to the Bolton Wanderers. Seattle was not yet home to Mears, but he quickly adapted, gaining thousands of fans and establishing himself among the Rave Green.

Flash forward a season and it was clear that the Sounders needed some vast changes among the ranks in order to move forward. The team had had a successful season that somehow ended with a fizz rather than a bang, and Sigi Schmid and co have since worked hard to reform the roster with fresh, young blood to help pump the 2016 season filled with life again. Tyrone Mears, however, stood out among the players during the year as a steady, skillful player who could be counted on, and he has since found that the rest of the nation noticed his diligence.

Mears spent the 2015 season ranking among the most skillful defenders in the league, solidifying his space not only on the team but among all of the MLS defenders. He stood out among the crowd, scoring a goal, bringing his all to every game in an obvious fashion and never letting his teammates down. In short, he had a stellar first season with the Sounders and it is no surprise that he will still be playing for them come 2016. At age 32, Mears has proven himself a compelling athlete on the field on both the offense and defense lines, stepping up whenever his team needed him most without shirking his responsibilities as a defender. Some fans are also arguing that the honor should have had more defenders in the running, including Jorge Antonio Villafaña and Darlington Nagbe. But Mears has the hunger to prove himself, which also gave him an edge this past season.

All of these reasons and likely others are why Mears was named among Fox Soccer’s best XI in MLS this week. Many MLS fans were surprised that the honor did not fall to New York Red Bulls defender Kemar Lawrence who also had a stellar year. Fans believe Lawrence may have lost points for the pick from not being present in as many games as Mears had been in last year as well. Goal USA’s best XI for 2015 also recognized Mears and his work earlier in the season.

Tyrone Mears is definitely a player to watch in the upcoming 2016 season.

Photo courtesy of wikipedia