Zac Harvey-Latham
NCAA Division III – St. Olaf College
Minnesota
From: Inner West Hawks / Northern Tigers FC
NCAA Division III – Merit-Based Financial Aid
The Journey
Zac Harvey-Latham's journey from the soccer pitches of New South Wales to a national championship title in the snow-belt of Minnesota is one of the defining Upper 90 College stories – a testament to patience, academic ambition, and the power of finding the right environment at the right time. Growing up in Sydney, Zac honed his craft with Inner West Hawks and Northern Tigers FC in the NSW Premier Leagues, earning selection for the 2018 Combined Associated Schools XI – a mark of distinction in the NSW school sport system. He attended the prestigious Knox Grammar School, where academic excellence was expected alongside athletic achievement. Inspired by his older brother Eddy – himself an Upper 90 alumnus who played and graduated from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (NCAA Division II) – Zac set his own sights on the US college soccer system. His first placement was at the University of Mount Olive (NCAA Division II) in North Carolina, where he started 11 games in his freshman year and recorded the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win over Belmont Abbey. Academically, he was exceptional – earning the Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll in consecutive Fall and Spring semesters. Seeking a new challenge both academically and athletically, Zac transferred to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota – ranked among the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the United States. The move proved to be the defining decision of his college career. In the 2023 season, Zac was part of a historic St. Olaf Lions squad that won the program's first-ever NCAA Division III Men's Soccer National Championship, defeating Amherst College 2-1 in overtime. The fact that both Zac's St. Olaf side and Upper 90 client Simon Kalinauskas's Amherst team met in the final was a remarkable coincidence that spoke to the depth of Australian talent flowing through the pathway. Zac became Upper 90 College's first NCAA National Champion – setting the benchmark for the golden era of championships that followed.
Challenges Overcome
Navigating two college transfers across different divisions while maintaining elite academic performance was a significant challenge. Moving from Sydney to rural North Carolina, and then further to Minnesota, required enormous personal resilience and cultural adaptation. At St. Olaf, balancing a kinesiology major at one of America's most academically rigorous institutions with the demands of a national championship-winning soccer program was a daily challenge Zac embraced.
Achievements
2023 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer National Champion with St. Olaf College (first championship in program history). Defeated Amherst College 2-1 in overtime in the national final. 2023 Dean's List at St. Olaf College. Chi Alpha Sigma inductee (National College Athlete Honor Society). Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll (multiple semesters) at the University of Mount Olive. 2018 NSW Combined Associated Schools XI selection. Upper 90 College's first-ever NCAA National Champion.
"Winning a national championship at D3 proved that the right division matters more than the biggest division."
— Zac Harvey-Latham, St. Olaf College
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