NAC Announces 2025 Man of the Year Finalists including Dolgeville graduate

WATERVILLE, Maine – A total of six recent graduates from North Atlantic Conference (NAC) institutions have been nominated for the conference’s 2025 Man of the Year Award.

In alphabetical order, the nominees are Parker Desjardins from Thomas College, Gregory Gonyea, Jr. from Vermont State University Lyndon, William Harriman from University of Maine at Farmington, David Hileman from Husson University, Logan Migliori from University of Maine at Presque Isle, and Samuel Nichol from Maine Maritime Academy.

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 24, 2025. 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.

Hornets’ men’s basketball captain Gregory Gonyea, Jr. has made his mark both on the court and in the classroom during his time at Vermont State University Lyndon, earning his business administration degree in three years with a 3.94 GPA. In his final season, the three-year member and two-year captain was named NAC Senior Scholar Athlete for men’s basketball, earned NAC All-Conference First Team honors, led the conference in overall scoring, received regional honors after landing on D3Hoops.com Region 1 Third Team, and was even recognized for his efforts during weekly honors at the conference and national level. Gonyea’s athletic efforts recently led to him receiving the Dudley Bell Outstanding Male Athlete at VTSU Lyndon. He is a two-time Michael Tessier Award winner at Lyndon (2023-24, 2024-25) and was named NAC Rookie of the Year and Lyndon men’s basketball Most Outstanding Teammate during his rookie season (2022-23). Gonyea also ran on the Lyndon men’s cross-country team in 2023.

In the classroom, Gonyea has been named to the Lyndon President’s List five times and Dean’s List once, while also being honored as the Outstanding Senior Business Student at Lyndon. He is a three-time NAC All-Academic Team honoree and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree. In addition, he has received recognition as a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court.

Gonyea has served as the Vice Present of Lyndon’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee from 2023-2025 and was selected to attend the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum in 2023. He has worked as a member of the Lyndon Athletics Department Game Crew and has been responsible as a recruiting host for potential student-athletes. His community service involvement includes being an organizer for Trunk or Treat, wood stacking for community members, and volunteering at the Caledonia Country Fair. In addition, he has served as a coach at the Lyndon summer basketball camps, middle school basketball clinics, and at the AAU basketball level. Gonyea was recognized with the Skip Pound Service to Athletics Award in 2024 and 2025.

Gonyea tallied a career total of 1,101 points in only three seasons at Lyndon and was received the VTSU Lyndon Alumni Council Outstanding Graduating Senior Award.

The NAC Man of the Year will be announced in early July and will be honored on campus during the upcoming academic year.