NAC Announces 2024 Man of the Year Finalists
WATERVILLE, Maine – A total of six recent graduates from North Atlantic Conference (NAC) institutions have been nominated for the conference's 2024 Man of the Year Award.
In alphabetical order, the nominees are Evan Allen from Maine Maritime Academy, Aric Belanger from University of Maine at Farmington, Anderson Jimenez from Eastern Nazarene College, Nick Logan from SUNY Cobleskill, Lionel Raye, Jr. from Thomas College, and Aiden Trapani from Vermont State University – Lyndon.
The NAC Man of the Year award is modeled after the NCAA Woman of the Year program which honors graduating student athletes who distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, service, and leadership. The NAC also selects a Woman of the Year using the same model, nominees for which were released on June 26, 2024. These are the two preeminent awards presented annually by the conference.
Member schools nominate student athletes from their own institution, then NAC Athletic Directors and Senior Woman Administrators vote to select the Man of the Year. Scoring for the academic achievement section is based on the undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of the nominee. Scoring for athletic excellence is based on the nominee's honors and accomplishments including awards and championships, and scoring for service and leadership is based on their involvement in campus and community activities and organizations over the course of their collegiate career. Administrators also consider a short personal statement written by each nominee.
The NAC Man of the Year will be announced in early July and will be honored on campus during the upcoming academic year. More information on each of the 2024 NAC Man of the Year nominees is below:
Evan Allen
Institution: Maine Maritime Academy
Major: Marine Systems Engineering (3.99)
Minor: Mathematics & Naval Architecture
Sport: Soccer I Position: Midfield
Hometown / High School: Avon, Maine / Mt. Abram High School
A four-year member of the Maine Maritime Academy soccer team, Allen earned NAC All-Academic Team honors every season and claimed the esteemed MMA Elite 8 Award – bestowed upon the male and female student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA in each class – all four years. He was also an MMA Scheel Scholar, an award given annually to a select number of students who best exemplify intellectual curiosity and achievement.
The two-year team captain was named 2023 Men's Soccer Leader of the Year and claimed 2023 NAC Men’s Soccer Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year honors. Allen was listed on the 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team and secured 2023 NAC All-Sportsmanship Team accolades as well.
Off the field and away from the classroom, Allen volunteered for the Special Olympics, at fall soccer clinics, and as an MMA College Experience camp counselor. He also worked on campus as an admissions ambassador, a conference services assistant, a residential assistant, a teacher’s assistant, and a tutor in several subjects.
Allen completed internships with Bath Iron Works and Performance Contracting Inc., which is based in San Diego.
Aric Belanger
Institution: University of Maine at Farmington
Major: Business Administration (3.45)
Minor: Coaching
Sport: Soccer/Baseball I Position: Midfield/Infield
Hometown / High School: Manchester, Maine / Maranacook High School
Belanger, a four-year starter for the UMaine-Farmington soccer program and two-year member of the Beavers’ baseball team, served the UMF community as a soccer team captain, volunteer basketball assistant coach, volunteer sports information assistant, and SAAC member.
He also logged over 720 hours as a volunteer student associate with the Tyson Group and spearheaded team study sessions to ensure his teammates’ academic success. Belanger excelled in the classroom and on four occasions earned Dean’s List honors while claiming 2021 NAC All-Academic Team accolades.
On the soccer pitch, Belanger was a two-year team captain for the Beavers, earned 2022 First Team All-Conference honors, and helped his team win the 2019 NAC East Division Championship. He was also listed on the 2023 NAC All-Sportsmanship Team and was selected to play in the 2023 NEISL Senior All-Star Game.
Anderson Jimenez
Institution: Eastern Nazarene College
Major: Global Business (3.56)
Sport: Baseball I Position: Infield
Hometown / High School: Lowell, Mass. / Lowell High School
A standout on the baseball diamond, Jimenez garnered First Team All-Conference and Tournament Most Valuable Player honors as a freshman for New England College, which claimed the 2019 NECC Championship, the program’s first-ever title. He also earned 2023 NECC All-Tournament Team honors and capped his career with 2024 All-NAC West Division First Team accolades.
The two-year team captain was also an excellent student as a Global Business major and was listed on the 2023 NECC and 2024 NAC All-Academic Teams.
Nick Logan
Institution: SUNY Cobleskill
Major: Plant Science (3.89)
Associate Degree: Environmental Science
Sports: Cross Country / Track & Field I Positions: Distance / Mid-Distance
Hometown / High School: Queensbury, N.Y. / Queensbury High School
Logan, a three-year member of the Fighting Tigers’ cross country and indoor/outdoor track & field programs, racked up an impressive list of athletic and academic accolades during his college career. As a cross country standout, he earned a trio of First Team All-NAC honors with top three finishes every year and a team championship in 2021. At the NAC Championships in outdoor track & field, Logan won the 1500-Meter in 2023 and notched victories in the 1500-Meter and 800-Meter in 2024. He also secured 2024 NCAA Atlantic All-Region honors with a seventh-place finish in the 1-Mile run at the regional championship.
He closed out his prestigious college career with a pair of well-deserved accolades, as he was named as SUNY Cobleskill’s 2024 Stanley Nevins Outstanding Male Athlete and was the recipient of the 2024 Senior Scholar Athlete Award, which is given annually to the graduating senior who exhibited strong leadership skills and outstanding athletic achievements.
Logan was also named as the NAC Senior Scholar Athlete for both cross country and outdoor track & field during the 2023-24 academic year. He earned NAC All-Academic honors following each of his six seasons and was on Cobleskill’s Dean’s List all three years. The two-sport team captain was chosen as SUNY Cobleskill’s 2024 Environmental Studies Most Outstanding Student and was given an award for having the highest GPA among Plant Science majors.
Lionel Raye, Jr.
Institution: Thomas College
Major: Communications (3.06)
Sport: Track & Field I Events: Sprints & Jumps
Hometown / High School: West Warwick, R.I. / West Warwick High School
A four-year member of the Thomas College track & field program, Raye claimed four individual NAC titles in the sprints and jumps events and helped lead the Terriers to the 2024 NAC Championship, the first crown in team history.
The three-year team captain earned a trio of NAC All-Academic Team accolades and served as a member of the Thomas College SAAC for two years. Raye was in the Finance Club for two years and took part in the track & field program’s “Rent-A-Terrier” event, an annual fundraiser for which athletes work in the community and receive donations for their teams.
Raye, who established several team records during his time with the Terriers, capped his career by winning the 100-Meter Dash in the 2024 NCAA Division III New England Championships and was selected as the recipient of the 2024 Thomas College Men’s Senior Outstanding Athlete Award.
Aiden Trapini
Institution: Vermont State University - Lyndon
Major: Exercise Science / Indiv. Program of Study (Pre-Med) (3.66)
Minor: Exercise Physiology
Sports: Lacrosse / Basketball I Positions: Attack / Forward
Hometown / High School: Deltona, Fla. / Pine Ridge High School
Trapani, who played four years of basketball and three years of lacrosse at VSTU Lyndon, was a four-year member of the Hornets’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, served two years on the North Atlantic Conference SAAC, was a Student Government Association representative for two years, and a member of the Sports Medicine Club as the organization’s Vice President for three years.
He also participated in several blood drives and SAAC Trunk or Treat events and volunteered for various other causes, including a Toys for Tots Drive, the Good Sheppard School Skills Clinic, and the SAAC Save Second Base breast cancer awareness fundraiser. Trapani worked the Caledonia State Fair and donated his time to stack wood for local residents as well.
A three-year captain for the lacrosse program and senior captain for the hoops squad, Trapani held a long list of leadership positions on the Lyndon campus. For three years he served as an Exercise Science Mentor and worked in the athletic training room, where he helped create and administer rehabilitation and injury prevention programs. He also spent time as a student strength & conditioning coach, an exercise physiology tutor, an exercise program writer, and a lab assistant.
Trapani collected a bevy of academic accolades, including multiple NAC All-Academic Team honors, a pair of College Sports Communicators Academic All-District nods, and NABC Honors Court acclaim. As a senior, he was selected as Lyndon’s robing ceremony student speaker and earned the Arthur B. Elliot Scholar and Exercise Science Academic Excellence awards.