The University of Charleston’s Thomas Vancaeyezeele has been selected as the Mountain East Conference Male Athlete of the Year for 2017-18.
Vancaeyezeele collected a host of individual honors as he helped the Golden Eagles to the national championship. He was named the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Player of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches becoming just the second player in school history to earn national Player of the Year honors. He was a consensus first team All-American earning the honor from the United Soccer Coaches and the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA). The MEC Defensive Player of the Year helped lead one of the top defensive units in the country as UC allowed just six goals all year. In fact, UC did not concede a goal in the NCAA Tournament. Vancaeyezeele also stepped forward to score four goals and add two assists on the season.
Vancaeyezeele is the first UC student-athlete and the first soccer player to be named MEC Athlete of the Year. He is currently a member of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the United Soccer League (USL).
The MEC Male Athlete of the Year is selected by a vote of institutional administrators and the conference office.
Charleston’s Dan Stratford and Glenville State’s Kim Stephens were recognized yesterday as the 2017-18 Mountain East Conference Coaches of the Year.
Previous Winners
2014-15: Seger Bonifant (Basketball, West Liberty)
2015-16: Seger Bonifant (Basketball, West Liberty)
2016-17: Matt Bingaya (Basketball, Fairmont State)
2017-18: Thomas Vancaeyezeele (Soccer, Charleston)