FARMINGTON – University of Maine at Farmington men’s basketball senior Ben Johnson (Manchester, Maine/Maranacook) is one of five finalists for the North Atlantic Conference Man of the Year award. The NAC unveiled the names of its Man of the Year finalists on Wednesday afternoon.
The award winner will be announced later this month, and honored on their campus during the 2014-15 academic year.
Joining Johnson as finalists are Castleton State baseball’s Matt McNamee, Colby-Sawyer baseball pitcher Alex Drost, Husson baseball’s Dylan Foster, and New England College soccer athlete Zak Harris.
Johnson, a two-time Capital One Academic All-America honoree, completed his four years at UMaine-Farmington ranked fourth among career scoring leaders with 1,489 points, and third in career rebounds with 914. He is also among UMF career leaders in blocks (67) and field goal percentage (.583), ranking fifth in both categories.
Johnson is the only player in the history of the North Atlantic Conference to earn both the Player of the Year (2013) and Defensive Player of the Year (2012) awards in a career, and is a three-time All-North Atlantic Conference selection. At the state level, he was the voted the 2013-14 Maine Player of the Year by the Maine Men’s Basketball Coaches and Writers Association, and was three times named to the All-Maine team.
Johnson capped his senior year by receiving UMaine-Farmington’s Senior Male Athlete of the Year and Senior Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, the institution’s two highest honors for student-athlete athletic and academic achievement over the course of a career.
The NAC Man of the Year Award is modeled after the NCAA Woman of the Year program, which honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
The nominees for the NAC Woman of the Year award will be announced Thursday.
