Hall of Fame finalists for Class of 2022 announced

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Nov 16, 2021

The National Soccer Hall of Fame at Toyota Stadium today released the names of the finalists for election to the Class of 2022:

Player ballot (20)
David Beckham
Shannon Boxx
Lori Chalupny
Brian Ching
Clint Dempsey
Maurice Edu
Thierry Henry
Lauren Cheney Holiday
Eddie Johnson
Shalrie Joseph
Robbie Keane
Pablo Mastroeni
Josh McKinney
Heather Mitts
Oguchi Onyewu
Carlos Ruiz
Hope Solo
Aly Wagner
Cat Reddick Whitehill
Josh Wolff

-- Clint Dempsey and Robbie Keane were selected to the final ballot in their first year of eligibility. Brian Ching, Eddie Johnson and Carlos Ruiz were selected as finalists after not being chosen last year.

Veteran ballot (10)
Chris Armas
Chico Borja
Marco Etcheverry
Linda Hamilton
Mary Harvey
Frankie Hejduk
Clint Mathis
Tony Sanneh
Kate Sobrero Markgraf
Tisha Venturini-Hoch

-- Chris Armas, Chico Borja and Mary Harvey are newcomers on the Veterans ballot in 2021.

Builder ballot (4)
Esse Baharmast
Brian Hall
Sandra Hunt
Kari Seitz

-- Based on the rotation established in 2020, only referees are being considered for the 2022 Builder ballot. (Other categories: coaches, and owners and administrators.)
 
New rules. The two Players, one Veteran and one Builder who receive the most votes and are named on more than 50% of the ballots are automatically elected to the Hall of Fame. Beginning this year, a third Player and a second Veteran will be elected if they are named to at least 75% of the ballots.

In 2021, Hope Solo and Shannon Box finished third and fourth with their names on 85% and 83% of the Player ballots. They are on the 2022 ballot.

Marco Etcheverry was on 96% of the Veteran ballots but lost out to Jaime Moreno on a tiebreaker. Kate Sobrero Markgraf was on 79% of the ballots. They are also on the 2022 ballot.