Moon Township, Pa. – Former RMU forward
Neco Brett (2012-15) was named to the Northeast Conference (NEC) Mount Rushmore Men's Soccer Team Friday, it was announced by the league.
In celebration of its 40th season as an NCAA Division I conference, the NEC is paying tribute to its heritage with seasonal announcements of its Mount Rushmore award winners. Each Mount Rushmore honors four student-athletes from a sport on a hypothetical mountain. Student-athletes were selected by a conference panel based on their individual accomplishments both on the conference and national levels while they played in the NEC.
Brett, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter for the Colonials who is the only student-athlete in conference history to be named NEC Player of the Year three times. He claimed the award as a sophomore in 2013, as a junior in 2014 and completed the hat trick as a senior in 2015.
In addition to being named the 2015 NEC Player of the Year, Brett became the first student-athlete in school history to earn a spot on the National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) NCAA Division I All-America Team. He was also a three-time NSCAA All-Northeast Region First Team honoree.
Brett led the NEC in scoring three consecutive years, posting 12 goals and 29 points as a senior for RMU in 2015. He finished tied for second in NCAA Division I in game-winning goals (7) that season and elsewhere in the national rankings tied for fifth in points per game (0.72), tied for sixth in points per game (1.72) and rank seventh in total goals.
In the second game of his senior year in 2015, Brett scored all four goals in a 4-1 triumph at Cleveland State, marking the second four-goal performance of his career. It also marked his third career hat trick, which tied him with Jacek Przednowek (2005-07) for the most in school history.
As a junior in 2014, Brett finished with 15 goals, which led NCAA Division I, and three assists for an NEC-high 33 points, a year after pacing the circuit as a sophomore in 2013 with a career-high 36 points courtesy of 14 goals and eight assists. His 36 points in 2013 also topped NCAA Division I.
In the RMU career record book, Brett owns school records for game-winning goals (18), shots on goal (136), shots per game (3.82) and shots on goal per contest (2.03). He is one of just three student-athletes in program history to score at least 100 points, ranking third with 100. He also ranks second all-time for the Colonials in goals (42) and fourth in points per game (1.49).
Upon conclusion of his RMU career, Brett was taken in the second round of the 2016 Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft with the 40th overall pick by the Portland Timbers. He also spent two seasons with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (2018-19) and signed with the Birmingham Legion in December of 2019.
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