This morning, the Bearcats got great news that senior defender Ashley Barron was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight season. Barron, continued to show why she is arguably the best player within the American Athletic Conference along with one of the top players in the country as she continued to anchor the final third for the Bearcats and was a huge role in the teams success over the last four seasons.
Barron, not only becomes the first Bearcat to be tabbed with player of the year honors in multiple seasons, but she also becomes the first athlete to be named a three time defensive player of the year in any sport in the history of the American Athletic Conference which shows how much of an impact player Barron is on the field.
Barron joined elite company after she was named to the AAC First Team for the third straight season, where she joined Paulette Angilecchia (1994-1996) as the only two Bearcats to achieve such honor, but this time Barron etches her name into history as she becomes the first Bearcat in program history to be named to the All AAC First Team all four seasons, along with the first student athlete to be named a player of the year three times in a row in their respected sport in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
Barron now cements her legacy as one of the all-time greats at the University of Cincinnati alongside former Bearcat Vanessa Gilles, who has had a tremendous career that included winning a gold medal at the 2020 Toyko Olympics. Barron a four-time AAC First Team selection, 3x Defensive Player of the Year, etches her name into the history books at the University of Cincinnati and has been a very big reason that Neil Stafford and the Bearcats have been able to dominate the pitch the last few seasons that included in a perfect season at Gettler Stadium this season for the first time since 2017.
“Ashley is arguably one of the best defenders I have ever coached here at Cincinnati and that says a lot when you are talking about Vanessa Gilles and where she is at today and what she has been able to accomplish. Ashley is a high character young woman, she is intense, a competitor, she is someone who engraves the standard within the program even academically, I think she’s defender and player of the year, but she is also a full book student as well and that really speaks to who she is on and off the field. She leads by example; I think kids look up to her, I have always said if my daughter is half the woman Ashley is, I’d be a very proud dad,” said Bearcats head coach Neil Stafford.
Barron, was not only a key point on defense for the Bearcats, but displayed her whole arsenal this season as we saw her use her height and athleticism to her advantage and became a very huge threat offensively as she recorded a career high two goals on 24 shot attempts, both goals came in which she connected off corner kicks, used her height and athleticism to muscle her way in the box, provide a huge spark, a very reliable option in the box and was a mismatch for most teams.
A huge congratulations to Ashley for achieving such historical feat as she etches her name into not just Bearcat history, but American Athletic Conference history as well after earning Defensive Player of The Year honors for the third consecutive season.
