MYSTIC, Conn. – Vermont’s Zach Barrett has been named the America East Man of the Year, as announced by the conference at its annual awards banquet on Tuesday evening.
Barrett is the first Vermont male student-athlete to be named Man of the Year. He is the second men’s soccer athlete to win the award in the past four years. This award recognizes the conference's senior male student-athlete who has best distinguished himself throughout his collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, service and leadership.
The four-time all-conference selection led the Catamounts to new heights as they won the 2024 NCAA National Championship. Barrett started 23 games and in the national championship he earned the assist on the game-winning goal in overtime to lift UVM to a 2-1 victory. For his efforts he was named to the NCAA All-Championship Team.
Barrett appeared in 90 games with 89 starts over five seasons for UVM. He won a pair of conference titles and is a three-time All-Region selection who was named the 2024 #AEMSOC Defender of the Year. He finished his career with seven goals and seven assists playing on defense.
Barret graduated with a 3.4 GPA and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a finance concentration. He also earned a Master of Accounting (MAcc) with a 3.7 GPA.
Off the field Barrett made an impact on the Burlington community, helping organize a yearly event with the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington for 70+ children to play soccer with the men’s soccer program. He also volunteered at the King Street Youth Center to play sports with underprivileged youth once a month over the past three years. Barrett was a four-year member of SAAC and a member of the executive board for two years.
The nine nominees for the 2025 America East Man of the Year award were announced on May 19. Three finalists, which included Barrett, Jayo Adegboyo (UMBC) and Joseph Mucci (NJIT) were announced on Tuesday, May 27.
America East began honoring a Man of the Year in 2014. All-Time America East Man & Woman of the Year Award Listing.
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -