BOSTON - Men's cross country and track and field runner Joseph Mucci and women's basketball player Trinity Williams were nominated for the 2024-25 America East Man and Woman of the Year, the conference announced on Monday.
 
Eighteen institutional nominees for the 2024-25 America East Man and Woman of the Year nominees are up for the honor that recognizes the conference's senior male and female student-athlete who has best distinguished himself and herself throughout their collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, service and leadership.
 
Joseph Mucci, Men's Cross Country and Track and Field
A four-year member of the men's cross country and track and field teams, Mucci boasts a 4.0 GPA as a Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science double major and has been named to the Dean's List seven times. He will graduate Summa Cum Laude this month. Mucci has been selected to the America East All-Academic Team four times and was the America East Elite 18 award winner three times. He also won the Dorman Honors Scholar Exceptional Service Award and the Senior Highlander Academic Award, which is given to the athlete with the highest GPA in the 2025 graduating class.
 
On the track, Mucci holds indoor school records in the 1,000m (2:27.69), 4x800m relay (7:44.38), and DMR (10:05.49). The mid-distance runner scored in all three events at the America East Indoor Championships. He also set the outdoor school record in the 4x800m relay (7:41.49) to score at the America East Outdoor Championships. The Mountain Lakes, New Jersey product earned All-East honors in the 4x800m relay, finishing sixth with a time of 7:46.66 at the IC4A Outdoor Championships.
 
Mucci served as a team captain this season and was the president of the Finance and Actuarial Society. He also did several community service projects, which includes serving a student-athlete ambassador for Education Day, working with NJIT's on-campus food pantry, Highlander House, being a Teaching Assistant for the Honors First Year Seminar, serving as a Jersey STEM program instructor, and teaching a class on foundational computer programming at a middle school in Newark.
 
 
Trinity Williams, Women's Basketball
Williams graduated Magna Cum Laude with her undergraduate degree in Cyberpsychology and a Business minor in December 2024, holding a 3.79 GPA. The 2025 America East All-Academic team honoree is pursuing her master's degree in Management. She is a two-time CSC Academic All-District selection and has been named to the Dean's List seven times.
 
Williams was selected to the America East All-Defensive Team after leading the conference in blocks per game (1.6) for the second straight season. The veteran post player ranked fourth in the America East in field goal percentage (52.2%), 10th in rebounds per game (5.3) and 10th in points per game (9.9). She finished her career with 849 points, 523 rebounds, and 141 blocks.
 
Williams was the senior student speaker at the Annual Athletics Awards Banquet and served as the women's basketball representative in SAAC for two years. She did a Diversity, Inclusion, and Talent Management internship and worked as a Desk Attendant at the BWEC for two years. The Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania native was part of the America East student-athlete focus group for rebranding during the 2022-23 school year.
 
Williams did 18 hours of community service with several organizations, including the Community Food Bank of NJ, the media relations department at NJIT Athletics, the Welcome Back to School Crew at Michelle Obama Elementary School, and reading to Pre-K classes at Sarah Ward Nursery School.
 

To be nominated, student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in their primary sport by the end of the 2025 spring season or received their undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the summer 2025 term and have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.500 (4.000 scale). Institutions are permitted to submit up to two nominees for each award if at least one is an international or ethnic minority student-athlete.

The nominees will be narrowed down to three finalists per gender, who will be announced on Tuesday, May 27. The 2024-25 America East Man and Woman of the Year will be unveiled on Tuesday, June 3 at the America East Conference Awards Dinner.

America East began honoring a Woman of the Year in 2006 and introduced the Man of the Year award in 2015.

All-Time America East