Jason Burnett was named the Head Coach of Men's Soccer in August of 2021. He became the 13th head coach in in the 55 years of the program's existence.
During the 2022 season, Burnett saw his Corsairs team post victories over Berkeley College (NJ) and Little East-rival Castleton, in addition to draws against Framingham State, Salem State, Southern Maine and Mass. Maritime.
Twelve different players recorded points during the 2022 season, including a team-high 11 points (4 goals, 3 assists) from junior forward Joey Paiva – who also ranked second in the Little East in shots per game (3.67).
In his first season at the helm in 2021, Burnett guided the Corsairs to a 7-7-2 overall record and a berth in the Little East playoffs. UMass Dartmouth was paced by points from 12 different players, including a team-best eight points (3 goals, 2 assists) from forward Lucas Passaro.
The Corsairs concluded the 2021 season with wins in two of their last three contests, securing the sixth-seed in the LEC Tournament. UMass Dartmouth later fell to Western Connecticut in the LEC Quarterfinals. The Corsairs saw Rony Morales named to the All-LEC Second Team at season’s end.
Burnett came to UMass Dartmouth after a stint at Roger Williams University, where he joined the program in the Fall of 2019 as an assistant coach. Prior to that, he was an assistant at the Division 1 Brown University. In his five years as an assistant coach, Brown posted three NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing to the round of 16 twice and capturing the 2011 Ivy League title. Burnett developed two All-Ivy goalkeepers in Sam Kernan-Schloss and Josh Weiner; multiple professional players who have competed in the MLS, USL, and leagues overseas, as well as Brown's only Senior CLASS Award winner, Ryan McDuff.
Previously, Burnett served at the University of Vermont where he assisted with all aspects of the program and specialized specifically in goalkeeper development. During his time at UVM he was also a head coach at the youth level with the premier club Nordic Spirit SC. Additionally he served as the club’s director of goalkeeping.
Burnett started at UVM after a short stint semi-professionally and a successful four-year career at Saint Michael's College. While finishing his bachelor’s degree he served as a volunteer assistant for both the men’s and women’s programs at St. Michael’s in the Spring of 2010.
A goalkeeper, he was a team captain and was an All-New England selection as a senior which he culminated by appearing in the 2010 NEISL All-Star game. During his career at SMC, he ranked among the Northeast-10 Conference leaders in six different categories, including saves, shutouts, and goals-against average. Burnett was named to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll and received three honorary awards in his senior year. He was part of a two person class that won the most games by any four-year class in the program's 60+ year history.
Burnett holds an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Saint Michael's College.
