August 31, 2018
Baseball Program Wins BIG EAST Championship, Student-Athletes Head to the Majors
The St. John’s baseball team turned in another terrific season in 2018, going 40–17 and winning the latest in a long line of BIG EAST titles. The Red Storm’s BIG EAST Tournament championship marked the ninth title for the program—the most in conference history.
St. John’s also made its 37th trip to the NCAA Tournament in the spring and tied with the University of Oklahoma and the University of Southern California for the eighth highest total in Division I history. Under Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer, the Johnnies have earned 11 NCAA Tournament berths. Coach Blankmeyer, a 23-year veteran at St. John’s, guided his staff to the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year Award for a league-record eighth time.
In addition, six St. John’s players heard their names called in the 2018 MLB Draft, with all signing professional contracts. It marked the third time in program history that six Red Storm baseball players were selected in the same draft class, matching totals from 2005 and 2015.
Women’s Tennis Team Wins First-Ever BIG EAST Title
The St. John’s women’s tennis program soared to new heights in the 2018 season, capturing the first BIG EAST Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Johnnies battled eventual national champion Stanford University in the opening round of the tournament.
Head Coach Lauren Leo and Graduate Assistant Nelo Phiri ’18MPS were also honored by the conference as the BIG EAST Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year. Leading the squad to a 17–6 overall record, the Johnnies finished just a single win shy from matching the program’s best of 18 set a season earlier. Coach Leo has accumulated a 49–15 record since taking over the coaching duties in August 2015, the most wins by a St. John’s head coach in his or her first three seasons.
Several St. John’s Athletic Programs and Nearly 200 Student-Athletes Honored for Academic Success
Three St. John’s teams were awarded the BIG EAST Team Academic Excellence Award, given to the squads with the highest grade point average (GPA) in the conference for their respective sports.
The University’s baseball, women’s soccer, and volleyball teams were each presented with the honor for the academic achievements of their student-athletes during the 2017–18 season.
St. John’s University was one of only four schools to garner three or more certificates, joining Georgetown University, DePaul University, and Creighton University with the most awards.
For the third consecutive season—and fourth overall under Head Coach Ian Stone—the women’s soccer team was honored by the league with the prestigious Team Academic Excellence Award. Their 3.73 GPA ranks as the highest across all sports in the conference during the 2017–18 academic season.
Under the direction of Head Coach Joanne Persico ’91MBA, volleyball also led the league academically. Since the program was established in 1994, the Red Storm has recorded a GPA of 3.0 or above in all 24 seasons and has eclipsed the 3.3 GPA mark in 13 of those years—the most in the BIG EAST over that span.
In addition to the team awards, the BIG EAST conference announced that 194 St. John’s student-athletes were selected to the conference’s 2017–18 All-Academic Team. Every St. John’s program that competes in the BIG EAST was honored with at least one selection.
The St. John’s track and field program placed the most names on the All-Academic Team with 34. The baseball and lacrosse teams each recorded 28 names to finish second. Both the volleyball and men’s tennis programs earned the distinction of having all of their student-athletes named to the All-Academic Team.