Mary Kate Agona '06 and Jason Godwin '00 have been selected by the W Association to receive the Paul V. Barrett Award. This year's Barrett Award presentation will take place during the W Association's Athletics Night of Excellence on Friday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Gault Recital Hall. The W Association's Athletics Night of Excellence is free to attend. Those wishing to attend are kindly asked to register here to assist the Alumni and Family Engagement team with event planning.

Agona has continued the rich successes of Massillon Jackson High School's volleyball program, guiding the powerhouse program to a 111-21 record since taking over as head coach in 2021. Agona's teams have captured the conference title in all five seasons with her at the helm, and even more impressively, the Polar Bears entered the 2026 season riding a six-year undefeated streak in conference play. Agona's teams have won five straight district championships and most recently advanced to the regional final in 2025.

Agona has earned multiple District IV Div. I Coach of the Year and Federal League Coach of the Year honors and previously was an assistant with the program for seven years and an assistant at Thiel College. She started Jackson's youth volleyball program in 2024 and has coached at the club level for multiple seasons.

The former Mary Kate Fowkes played on three 20-win teams at Wooster and graduated tops in program history with 132 matches played and 472 sets played, school records that still stand to this day. Her 136 aces are the fourth-most in program history and only one player has served up more than Agona did since she graduated. Her 691 digs as a junior are the third-most in single-season program history for the 30-point format with a libero and rate as the fifth-most overall across all set point formats.

Godwin is the head boys' lacrosse coach at Olentangy Liberty High School, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Since 2013, he has led Olentangy Liberty to a 207-72 record. Olentangy Liberty won the state championship in 2024 and has won three regional titles during Godwin's tenure. Ten players have been tabbed high school All-Americans by US Lacrosse and four of his standouts earned state player of the year honors.

Overall, Godwin has a 289-139 record in over two decades as a high school head lacrosse coach. His teams have played in the regional championship game nine times and 14 players have earned high school All-America status. Godwin coaches with True Lacrosse and has 12 seasons of club coaching experience. He is a three-time US Lacrosse Central Chapter Coach of the Year recipient, has earned Ohio Lacrosse Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors twice, and is a four-time conference coach of the year.

At Wooster, Godwin was a two-time honorable mention All-NCAC defender. He played in 56 games and was credited with 38 groundballs for seasons in which that statistic was tracked.

The Barrett Award recognizes College of Wooster graduates who have made significant contributions as a coach of any sport at any level, factoring in both on-field success and off-the-field impact. For more on the award, or to nominate a College of Wooster graduate you know who meets the nomination criteria, click here.