Assistant Coach Deon Barrett

It is a special thing when a college athlete can make a significant mark in his sport as an athlete, and then come back and make an even bigger mark at his alma mater as a coach. Such has been the contribution of Deon Barrett, an All-American cross country runner at UMass Dartmouth in 1995,who returned a decade later to lend his significant talents to his sport and his school. Barrett enters his sixth season as assistant coach in cross country.

In addition to his All-American status, Barrett is also a member of the UMass Dartmouth Corsair Hall of Fame (2004) as well as being ranked seventh on the all time list of cross country performers in the storied history of that sport at UMass Dartmouth. With personal bests of 14:50 for 5K, 24:50 for 5 miles, and 30:37 for 10K, he brings a great blend of coaching ability, personal running experience, and dedication to the runners at UMass Dartmouth. The men's cross country team had it's best season in a number of years in 2008, and Barrett was a major pert of their success. "Deon is my right and left hand," says Head coach Jon Hird.