Toronto FC attacking midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo has been named Major League Soccer’s 2020 Most Valuable Player.

Pozuelo had nine goals and 10 assists during the coronavirus-shortened regular season, even while the Reds played part of the year in Connecticut because of travel restrictions in Canada.

“I’m very proud because this means a lot and maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, when I start seeing more news, I will believe that I’ve won this award,” he said. “But I’m very proud to represent Toronto. And I know it’s easy to say that I won the award, but it’s something that takes a lot of work to get here.”

Pozuelo’s 10 assists were tied for the league lead with Houston’s Darwin Quintero and Seattle’s Nicolas Lodeiro. He had four goals and two assists during September, earning league Player of the Month honors.

Pozuelo is the second Toronto FC player to win the MVP award, following Sebastian Giovinco in 2015.

COLLEGES

FOOTBALL: Michigan’s football team has resumed limited workouts, taking a step toward possibly playing No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday. The Wolverines paused in-person activities last week after a COVID-19 outbreak within the program.

The Buckeyes, who have Big Ten and national title hopes, played through what Coach Ryan Day called a “mini outbreak” on Saturday in a 52-12 win at Michigan State after he was relegated to watching the game from home.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Gonzaga and Baylor remained atop the AP Top 25 poll after their hotly anticipated weekend game in Indianapolis was called off about 90 minutes before tipoff because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the Bulldogs’ program.

Gonzaga received 54 of 61 first-place votes from a national media panel while the Bears had the other seven. Iowa remained third after Luka Garza’s monster week powered the Hawkeyes to a pair of easy victories, Michigan State climbed four spots to No. 4 and Kansas jumped two spots to round out the top 5.

Illinois allowed the Big Ten Conference to keep three teams in the top six after then-No. 4 Wisconsin took a tumble with a last-second loss to Marquette. The Illini were followed by Houston, Creighton, Villanova and Duke.

• UConn has suspended team activities for a second time this fall following another positive coronavirus test in the program.

The school said the move will force the postponement of Friday’s home game against St. John’s. That was to have been the first Big East game for the Huskies (3-0) since returning to the conference after seven years in the American Athletic Conference.

• No. 2 Baylor is looking for a replacement opponent for its scheduled home opener.

The Bears were supposed to play Nicholls State on Tuesday night, but the Colonels had positive COVID-19 tests in their program.

Baylor said it was trying to find another opponent to play before its Big 12 opener at home Sunday against No. 13 Texas.

The cancellation of the home opener comes two days after Baylor’s showdown with No. 1 Gonzaga was scrapped only 90 minutes before tip Saturday because a player and another person with the Bulldogs’ traveling team tested positive.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Stanford ascended to the top spot in the AP Top 25 after previous No. 1 South Carolina lost at home to then-No. 8 North Carolina State. Stanford received 24 of the 30 first-place votes from a national media panel.

Louisville moved up three spots to No. 2 – matching the highest ranking in school history – and received two first-place votes. UConn, which has yet to play a game because the Huskies were on pause due to coronavirus concerns, stayed at No. 3, also receiving two first-place votes.

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