MYSTIC, Conn. – NJIT swimming & diving senior Zac Kuzak has been named the America East Man of the Year, as announced by the conference at its annual awards banquet on Tuesday evening.
Kuzak becomes the first student-athlete in NJIT history to be named America East Conference Man of the Year. 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.
A four-year member of the Highlanders’ men’s swimming and diving program, Kuzak graduated with a degree in financial technology from NJIT’s Martin Tuchman School of Management, earning a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Earlier this spring, Kuzak was selected as one of 42 winter recipients of the 2025-26 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, which recognizes excellence in academics, athletics and leadership. In 2026, Kuzak was named an America East Presidential Scholar-Athlete and represented the conference at the NCAA Leadership Forum, a three-day national leadership workshop held in spring 2025.
A two-time team captain, Kuzak competed in four America East championships, earning numerous points both as an individual and in relay events. He helped the Highlanders capture four medals during his four years, including serving as the anchor of the 800 free relay in 2024 that earned silver with the third fastest time in league history at that time. He also earned a pair of bronze medals in the 200 free relay and the 800 free relay. Individually his top finish was eight in the 200 free.
Outside the pool, Kuzak has been a strong advocate for student-athletes. He served three consecutive seasons as one of NJIT’s representatives on the America East Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was also a three-time NJIT SAAC representative for men’s swimming and diving. He also helps mentors 25 undergraduate business students and was selected to help teach the school’s new AI bootcamp for incoming freshmen.
The nine nominees for the 2026 America East Man of the Year award were announced on May 14, 2026. The America East Conference selected three finalists per gender for the prestigious honor, announced on May 26, 2026.
The America East began honoring a Man of the Year in 2014. To view the complete listing of All-Time award winners, click here.
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
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 -