University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Former men’s basketball standout Trevor Gaines had a lasting impact on the Vermont program and helped build the foundation that set up the three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Gaines passed away unexpectedly on July 21, 2010 at the age of 29 while playing pick-up basketball in Las Vegas, where he resided, when he collapsed and never regained consciousness.
The 6-7 forward and native of Farmington Hills, Mich., was a two-time captain. In 2002, his final year at Vermont, Gaines was a key to the Catamounts winning a then school-record 21 Division I games and leading UVM to its first-ever America East Regular Season Championship. Gaines, who earned America East All-Rookie honors as a freshman, was named to the America East All-Conference First Team as a senior after ranking fifth in scoring (15.5 ppg) and leading the league in rebounding (11.0 rpg).
He set a new UVM school record for double-doubles in a season with 17 and closed out the year ranked seventh in the country in rebounding. Gaines finished his career scoring 1,255 points, ranking 13th all-time at Vermont, and collected 880 rebounds, good for third among UVM's career rebounders. He was one of six players to score over 1,000 points and grab over 700 rebounds in the program's history. Gaines also finished his career ranked 10th among the all-time America East leaders in rebounding.
Gaines earned the J. Edward Donnelly Award as the top senior student-athlete at Vermont. Following graduation, Gaines played on the summer league team for the Minnesota Timberwolves and then spent seven seasons playing oversees, most recently in Vienna, Austria. Gaines’ No. 45 was only the third jersey retired in team history when it was raised to the rafters this past year, joining the late Kevin Roberson’s No. 33 and Eddie Benton’s No. 10.
