TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship announced on Sunday its Golden Awards for the 2024 regular season, honoring the Charleston Battery’s Nick Markanich as the Golden Boot winner, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC’s Eric Dick as the Golden Glove winner, and Rhode Island FC’s Noah Fuson as the Golden Playmaker winner as the league’s three individual statistical award honorees.

Markanich earned the Golden Boot following a historic season in which he set a USL Championship single-season record with 28 goals in 33 appearances for the Battery. He set a torrid pace to start the season, recording 12 goals in his first 10 appearances of the campaign, and then pushed on in the second half of the season with a run of 16 goals in 17 appearances which began in his side’s victory against Southern Derby rival North Carolina FC on June 28.

The 24-year-old surpassed the league’s single-season record of 25 goals set by Louisville City FC’s Cameron Lancaster in the 2018 season and matched by Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC’s Hadji Barry in 2021, as Markanich scored at a rate of a goal every 98.3 minutes. The Illinois native is set to depart the Battery this offseason after the club struck a transfer agreement with LaLiga 2 club CD Castellon that will see him become the latest USL Championship talent to make a transfer move to Europe.

Dick earned the Golden Glove for the first time as he posted a goals-against average of 0.69 in his first season with the Hounds. An offseason arrival from Minnesota United FC, the 30-year-old made 22 appearances for Pittsburgh and posted a 79.1% save percentage and 14 shutouts while recording a minus-10.18 Goals Prevented mark as the Hounds conceded the fewest goals in the Championship during the regular season.

Fuson earned the Golden Playmaker award for the first time as he recorded 10 assists to lead Rhode Island to the postseason in its inaugural season. The 24-year-old was part of a three-pronged attack that also featured 2023 Golden Boot winner Albert Dikwa and JJ Williams, and in addition to double-digit helpers, Fuson also notched eight goals to rank fourth in the USL Championship in goal contributions during the regular season.

All three players are set to feature in the upcoming 2024 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Terminix, which kick off this Friday night with the Eastern and Western Conference Quarterfinals. Full details of the bracket and schedule for the opening weekend of games can be found here.

The 2024 USL Championship Golden Boot, Golden Glove and Golden Playmaker are the opening three awards that will be presented by the league this year. The Championship’s Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, and the USL Championship All-League Teams will be announced in November.