The Canadian Premier League announced on Friday the nominees for this year’s Player of the Year award for the 2023 season, with Pacific FC’s Manny Aparicio among the nominees.

Aparicio, currently finishing up his third season on the Island, earns a Player of the Year nomination for the second straight campaign – highlighting the quality and consistency he has shown as a member of the Tridents.

Named as part of Pacific’s Leadership Group prior to the start of the season, Aparicio has donned the captain’s armband on multiple occasions in 2023 and has played with his usual tone-setting style of play throughout the season. Aparicio is one of only a handful of players in the CPL who regularly impact the game on both sides of the ball, which is shown is his ability to rack up numbers in many statistical categories.

Going forward, Aparicio was one of six PFC players to score four goals (the third-most on the team) and finished with five assists (the second-most on the team). With nine goal contributions, Aparicio showed how dangerous he is around the opposition’s box with his ability to both play the final pass or finish the chance himself.

On the other side of the ball, the 28-year-old made 49 tackles and 21 interceptions, both of which were among the highest in the PFC squad. Where Aparicio truly shone was in the number of times he won possession in the final third, the amount of recoveries he made and the number of duels he won. In 24 appearances, Aparicio won possession in the final third 21 times (the second-most in the league), made 153 recoveries (the fourth-most in the league), and won 133 duels (the eight-most in the league).

Aside from the numbers, Aparicio was his usual game-changing self in midfield all season long. He often covering more ground than any other player on the pitch, led Pacific’s press off the ball, and pushed the team forward in attack.

The winner will be decided through voting by CPL club technical leadership and select media members representing local and national outlets who consistently covered the 2023 CPL regular season. The winner will be revealed at an in-person ceremony in Hamilton, Ont. on Thursday, Oct. 26 as part of the CPL Final weekend festivities.

Voting for all the CPL’s annual awards will this year be based on performances during the regular season, not including Canadian Championship, CONCACAF or playoff action.