It was Tuesday, December 9th, 2025 when the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) announced its 2025 All-American Teams. This could’ve been just another set of All-American teams, but instead, it would mark program history for Queens College, as Bradyn Brown, forward for the Men’s Soccer team, had made it into the third team, becoming the first rookie/freshman in QC history to be selected. 

“The first person that called me was my coach,” said freshman forward Bradyn Brown, “He’s saying what’s up, and he was like, ‘I just wanted to be the first one to tell you that you did get All-American status.’ So I found out a day before it officially came out on, like, social media and everything.”

“When I think back to it and, like, you know, I see the post on Instagram sometimes, it just makes me very proud of myself and, like, how far I’ve come on the journey,” he continued when asked how this accomplishment makes him feel today. 

But this all begs the question: How did he get to this point? “I really liked the campus, really liked the players on the team, I got toured by three of the players on my visit here, and I really loved the coaches. I thought it was just a great atmosphere, and I felt like I was gonna succeed here, which it turns out I did, so it was nice,” said Brown about why he chose to attend QC.

When asked about why he chose to recruit Bradyn, Head Coach Frank Vertullo had this to say:

“When we were recruiting him, you saw his potential. His work rate and his work ethic was the first thing that stands out to you. And anybody that’s gonna come in and work hard and be disciplined, they’re gonna be successful, you know? And when we were recruiting him, we saw that as soon as we saw him play. He was always working off the ball, always hunting the ball, both offensively and defensively.”

When asked what he credited his achievements to, which include the All-American honor, the ECC Rookie of the Year title, and the All-ECC First Team Honor, among other season achievements, Brown said: “I think it’s my mental toughness maybe.” He continued, crediting his father for instilling this mentality, “All our workouts are centered around just being mentally tough, pushing through the pain no matter what, and just finishing the game, the workout, whatever it is.” 

Brown also mentioned that he always felt supported by his teammates, saying: “I think a main factor of not feeling too much pressure was that our team was very versatile, and we had so many great players. We had so many players on the bench that could come in and just keep the level of the game. So I think coming into this season, I never had the pressure on my back that I was gonna have to be the lead goal scorer. I knew at any time someone could score.”

Head Coach Vertullo showed his pride in Brown, stating, “It’s a huge deal. Listen, we’ve had an All-American four years in a row, and obviously him being the first freshman ever to do it, you know?” Vertullo however, also noted the challenges Brown has faced, saying: “He’s gotta work twice as hard now to get that again, because now, I mean, halfway through the season, he had a target on his back from the other teams, and he really stepped up his play, came up with some really big goals, but now the champions are made in the off-season, so I know he’s working really, really hard to get to where he was this year and beyond.”

Brown also took the time to thank those who helped him with this monumental achievement, “I’ll thank the coaches for believing in me, putting me on the field as a freshman, making me feel comfortable with the team. My teammates, of course, ’cause without them, you can’t score, you can’t win games, and then my family. They always support me, and they came to almost every game, they pushed me to always do great, and they helped me overcome all the obstacles I faced this year.”