The Columbus Crew’s Jonathan Mensah may not have won MLS Defender of the Year, but the Black & Gold center back did receive recognition from Major League Soccer for his play in 2020. On Friday, MLS announced its annual Best XI team and Jonathan was one of three center backs selected alongside Nashville SC’s Walker Zimmerman and the Philadelphia Union’s Mark McKenzie.
The Best XI is created to recognize the top players in MLS each year, represented through a standard formation. The players are selected by members of the media, MLS players and MLS club technical staff.