JOHN DEBRITO, ’91, MADE A LASTING IMPRESSION on Southern’s soccer program as a two-time All-American who led the Owls to two national titles. After his unexpected death in 2020 at the age of 51, his family built on his legacy with a generous gift to establish the John DeBrito Memorial Endowed Scholarship.
“This scholarship recognizes the impact others can have on an individual life, celebrating character, discipline, family, and teamwork,” the family explained in a statement in December 2022.
The scholarship fittingly acknowledges excellence both on and off the field. Southern’s soccer coaches select one recipient each season who displays the values that DeBrito embodied as “a team player, a community-oriented individual with an excellent work ethic.” The scholarship recipient is assigned jersey No. 14, which was worn by DeBrito at Southern.
Born in Cape Verde in 1968, DeBrito moved with his family as a toddler to Lisbon, Portugal, where they spent six years. The DeBritos eventually settled in Waterbury, Conn., in 1975.
A gifted athlete, DeBrito played basketball and soccer at W.F. Kaynor Technical High School. He excelled at both sports, setting school scoring records on the court and becoming one of the highest-scoring soccer players in Connecticut history.
the SCSU Athletic Hall
of Fame induction
ceremony in 2019.
Jake Novoshelski.
John DeBrito wasn’t the only soccer star in the family. His older brother Pedro won a national championship with UConn, played professionally, and was inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame. John idolized Pedro, who was nine years older. Pedro, in turn, offered loving guidance, steering his brother to Southern.
It was a perfect fit. During four years as a defender and midfielder on the Southern soccer team, DeBrito won NCAA Division II championships in 1987 and 1990 — his first and final seasons with the Owls.
DeBrito’s prowess was undeniable from the onset. As a freshman in the 1987 national championship game, he scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Cal State Northridge — Southern’s first-ever NCAA tournament win. Four years later, as a senior, DeBrito was instrumental in the team’s second national championship victory.
The interim years brought further proof of John DeBrito’s gifts. A natural goal-scorer and creative playmaker, he was the first Southern men’s soccer player to record 30 assists in his career, finishing with 32. He scored 20 goals in his college career, including a high of eight his junior season.
After graduation, DeBrito went on to play a handful of games with the U.S. national team and enjoyed 10 seasons of professional soccer. He was inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006 and into the SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
former athletics director; former Owls men’s soccer coach Raymond Reid, ’84, M.S. ’86, M.S. ’90; and DeBrito-Esdaile.
“He was a great player. He was an even better person,” says Ray Reid, who, as an assistant coach, had recruited the young DeBrito. Reid was named head coach of Owls soccer in 1989, winning three national titles, and later led the UConn Huskies soccer program for 24 years, claiming a national championship and multiple Big East titles. Now a member of Southern’s Institutional Advancement team, he has guided countless exceptionally talented players during his career. Still, John DeBrito holds a special place in his heart: “Everyone loved him,” says Reid.
Those who knew DeBrito — coaches, teammates, family, and friends — describe him as soft-spoken, modest, funny, kind, and generous. He shone on the field in big moments and, away from the spotlight, mentored teammates who weren’t as gifted. He was a guy who loved spending time with his family (he had two children) and on the dance floor. After retiring from soccer in 2001, DeBrito dedicated his life to helping others as a firefighter in Miami and coaching youth soccer teams.
This year’s recipient of the John DeBrito Memorial Endowed Scholarship, Jake Novoshelski, a premed student and forward on the soccer team, says the stories he has heard about DeBrito inspire him.
“No matter who I talk to, their eyes light up when they talk about the kind of person he was off the field,” says Novoshelski. “When I see his No. 14 on my jersey hanging in my locker, it gives me extra motivation. I want to honor him as a player and a person.”
After DeBrito’s passing, Reid suggested to his family that they establish a scholarship at Southern. They had already set up a foundation in memory of Pedro DeBrito, John’s older brother who died in a car accident in 2014. Since 2015, the family foundation has granted annual scholarships to eight college-bound Connecticut high school players. John had organized soccer tournaments in Waterbury and Miami to fund the foundation. His family liked Reid’s idea. “It felt like something we could do as a family in his honor,” John’s older sister, Vera DeBrito-Esdaile says.
In 2022, the family organized a banquet to celebrate John’s life and raise money for the endowment. Help was provided by Reid; Kevin Anderson, ’94, the Owls current men’s soccer coach who had played with DeBrito at Southern; and DeBrito’s other former Southern soccer teammates. The well-attended event raised almost $100,000.
The family foundation funded the scholarship with an endowment of $95,000 (interest provides the annual scholarship) and an additional gift of $3,000 to pay for the first scholarship granted in the 2023 season.
Another one of John’s older sisters, Valeriana (Val) DeBrito, thinks her brother would have approved. “He’d do anything to help his school,” Val says. “Those were some of the happiest years of his life. He didn’t like drawing a lot of attention to himself, but he’d think this was something pretty special.” ■
Make a gift to the John DeBrito Memorial Endowed Scholarship at SouthernCT.edu/giving/ways-to-give. Please designate your contribution to “DeBrito” in the check memo section or online to support this fund.
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