Charleston Battery forward Nick Markanich has been voted the 2024 USL Championship Player of the Year, the league announced Saturday. A near-unanimous pick, Markanich won 93% of the ballot to earn the award.
Markanich takes home the league’s top individual honor after a record-setting 2024 season in Charleston.
The Golden Boot winner and All-League First Team selection turned in one of the most dominant seasons in Championship history, scoring 28 goals and adding five assists across 33 regular season matches. He averaged a goal every 98.3 minutes and recorded 50 shots on target, leading in the league. Markanich ended the regular season as the top goalscorer in America across all domestic leagues.
Markanich’s 28 goals set a new single-season scoring record for the Championship. He ended with 30 goals across all competitions, setting a new Charleston record for most overall goals scored in a single season, surpassing Paul Conway’s previous record of 27 goals scored in 2001.
“Nick has had the single greatest season in our league's history,” said Head Coach Ben Pirmann. “His ability and return of scoring goals speak for themselves, but his performances in the past 10 months showed that he did whatever it would take to help this team win.”
The Northern Illinois alumnus recorded six multi-goal games, including his astonishing four-goal haul against Las Vegas on April 27 and his sensational hat trick against Orange County on August 24. Additionally, nine of Markanich’s 28 regular season goals were match-winners.
He also made a profound impact defensively. Among forwards in the Championship regular season, he ranked first in possession won in the attacking third (35) and recoveries (147), second in duels won (188), third in tackles won (39), and tied for seventh in interceptions (21).
“Winning this award is very special to me and it means a lot, I’ve enjoyed every moment this season with my teammates and the staff, and they’ve helped me become a better player,” said Markanich. “I owe it all to my teammates for achieving this award. This season was something really special, not only for me but my teammates were also incredibly special. The experience and the type of bond and chemistry we all had together again was very unique. They all believed in me and helped me along the way to win this award.”
Markanich is the first Battery player to win Player of the Year/MVP since Lamar Neagle took home the award in 2010.
He also formed a formidable, and historic, strike partnership with fellow forward MD Myers. With 42 combined goals, the teammates set a new Championship record for most goals in a single season by an attacking duo.
“As a club, we are so proud of Nick and the season that he and his teammates had, all of the successes and honors they earned, and also the impact he has made on this community,” said Coach Pirmann.
The Player of the Year award caps off an accolade-rich year for Markanich, who earned numerous league-wide honors in 2024: All-League First Team, Golden Boot, 10-time Team of the Week, five-time Player of the Week and two-time Player of the Month. He was also voted by his peers in the USL Player’s Association as the USLPA Player of the Year and in the Best Eleven.
Markanich’s impressive 2024 season concludes his two-year tenure with the Battery, as he is now set for a new European adventure with Spanish side CD Castellón in LaLiga 2 this winter after agreeing to join the club via transfer.
Markanich won 93% of the ballot to claim the award, beating out Louisville City’s Taylor Davila and San Antonio’s Jorge Hernández. The 2024 USL Championship Awards were voted on by club management and a league-wide media panel that included representation from every USL market.
