St. John's University Athletics
Monaghan Inks Free Agent Deal With Baltimore Orioles
6/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Senior catcher Brendan Monaghan joined teammate Anthony Smith as players who have begun professional careers in 2007, signing with the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend. Monaghan starts his career with the Bluefield (W. Va.) Orioles of the Rookie-level Appalachian League when they open the 2007 season with Tuesday and Wednesday home games against the Bristol Sox.
Monaghan was a .307 career hitter at St. John's and had a .406 career on-base percentage. He more than doubled his previous season-best with 52 starts and 61 hits in 2007, finishing his four-year career with 88 starts and 102 hits. Monaghan was a first team All-BIG EAST selection as a senior and was widely recognized as one of the league's top leaders and defensive backstops.
In 12 seasons under Blankmeyer, 39 players have inked professional contracts, as St. John's has continued its strong tradition of graduating talent to the next level. Smith and Monaghan join the likes of Rich Aurilia, John Franco, Craig Hansen, C.J. Nitkowski and Frank Viola as players who have left Queens to pursue careers in pro baseball.
Over their careers at St. John's, Monaghan and Smith helped lead the Red Storm to a pair of BIG EAST regular season titles, a school record 41 wins in both 2005 and 2007 and NCAA Regional appearances in 2004, 2005 and 2007. In 2007, St. John's made the program's 30th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. No. 3 seed St. John's fell to No. 2 Clemson, 3-2, in its tournament opener, then defeated No. 4 VCU, 5-4, on a walk-off home run by Chris Anninos, and lost to top-seeded Coastal Carolina, 6-5, in an elimination game on June 3.