Former Union player Danny Cruz named USL Championship Coach of the Year

Go Danny, go!

Former Philadelphia Union player and current Louisville City head coach Danny Cruz has been named the 2024 USL Championship Coach of the Year.

The fourth-year head coach was voted for the honor by club management and a league-wide media panel that included representation from every USL market.

“I’m grateful and humbled to receive an award like this, especially considering how many great coaches are in our league,” said Cruz in a news release. “This is possible because Louisville City surrounds me with incredible players and staff. Without their belief, work ethic and values we would not have had the regular season we did. I recognize that we fell short of our ultimate goal in the playoffs, but we’re looking forward to coming back stronger next season.”

Cruz led Louisville City to 24 regular season wins to tie a league record and oversaw a side that recorded the second most goals (86) in a regular season campaign. Louisville City’s 76 points were the fourth-most in a season in league history.

LouCity was knocked out of the postseason by Rhode Island FC in the conference semifinal in a stunning 3-0 loss.

The Virginia native and former UNLV Rebel played for the Union from 2012-2015, making 74 appearances and logging more than 4,600 minutes in all competitions. He started his coaching career as a 28-year-old assistant coach for the Real Monarchs in 2018. He went to Louisville City in 2018 and served as an assistant coach and technical director before taking over as interim head coach in 2021.