CHESTER, Pa. — Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan has added another historic achievement to his rapidly growing résumé.
Sullivan was named MLS Player of the Month for September 2026, becoming the youngest player in league history to earn the honor. At just 17 years and two days old, the Union homegrown midfielder claimed the award following a remarkable month in which he emerged as one of Major League Soccer’s most productive attacking players.
Sullivan appeared in four matches for Philadelphia during September and recorded nine goal contributions, the most of any MLS player. He scored four goals while adding five assists, with his nine combined contributions finishing three ahead of the next-closest players.
His production helped fuel a dominant month for Philadelphia. The Union went a perfect 5-0-0 in September, becoming the only MLS club to win all five of its matches while leading the league with 20 goals and a plus-15 goal differential.
Sullivan opened the month by scoring in a 2-0 victory over CF Montréal before producing three assists four days later as Philadelphia routed FC Cincinnati, 5-0.
The teenager then delivered two goals and an assist against San Diego FC, a performance that earned him MLS Player of the Matchday honors.
He closed his September MLS schedule with another goal and assist in one of Philadelphia’s most dramatic victories of the season. The Union fell behind Sporting Kansas City 3-0 before storming back for a 4-3 victory, becoming just the fifth team in MLS history to win after facing a three-goal deficit.
Sullivan’s numbers across the entire 2026 season have been equally impressive.
In only 1,450 regular-season minutes, he has recorded seven goals and 12 assists. His 19 goal contributions are tied with Alphonso Davies’ 2018 total for the second-most by a teenager in a single MLS season, leaving Sullivan one behind Diego Fagúndez’s mark of 20 set in 2013.
He has also recorded a goal or assist in eight consecutive matches, the longest such streak by a teenager in MLS history.
Sullivan’s rise has extended beyond Philadelphia.
His club form helped earn him his first U.S. Men’s National Team call-up, and against Peru on Sept. 26, Sullivan became the second-youngest player ever to start a match for the USMNT.
His Player of the Month honor also represents a milestone for the league’s development system. Sullivan is the first player to progress through the complete MLS Player Pathway — MLS NEXT, MLS NEXT Pro and the MLS first team — before winning Player of the Month.
He becomes the fourth Philadelphia Union player to capture the award, joining Tai Baribo, Jack McInerney and Sébastien Le Toux.
Philadelphia enters the October stretch riding a 12-game unbeaten run since returning from the FIFA World Cup break. The Union have collected 32 points over that span, tied for the most ever by an MLS club across a 12-game stretch.
Sullivan has started 11 of those matches.
For a player who only turned 17 this week, the numbers increasingly suggest Sullivan is no longer simply a prospect for Philadelphia’s future. He has become an important part of the Union’s present.
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