Mark Grant Named to NJCAA All-American Team

Mark Grant came to Manchester Community College from Tokyo in June of 2010 with an ability to dictate the flow of a soccer game, but very little knowledge of the English language.

Two and a half years later, Grant is leaving the school with a 3.36 GPA, an associate’s degree, a scholarship to Dominican College (Orangeburgh, NY) and recognition from the National Junior College Athletic Association as a men’s soccer All-American.

Grant, who was a two-time NJCAA Region 21 (New England) Division III first-team selection, led MCC in scoring in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. In 2011, the Cougars won the New England championship as Grant led the way with 17 goals and nine assists. Last November, Grant once again led the Cougars to the championship game and scored 19 goals and assisted on 14 others (53 points) over 19 games. The 5’8” graduate of Fujieda Higashi High racked up 95 points on 36 goals and 23 assists and started all 37 MCC games over two seasons.

“Mark is a remarkable player,” said head coach Darren Foster. “I’m very privileged to have coached such a talented player, with the skills and work ethics he has. He carried our team on his back plenty of times.”

Grant chose Dominican over a number of colleges that were recruiting him based on its strong business program and Foster feels he will be able to make an immediate impact on the soccer field.

Grant, who started classes at Dominican on January 16th, thanked his teammates and said, “pretty much everyone help out,” when asked about his All-American selection.