St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Garners ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award
7/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
ABCA Release
QUEENS, N.Y. - For the second-straight season, the St. John's Red Storm has been honored with the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award, recognizing the squad's achievements in the classroom in addition to their successes on the field of play.
The Red Storm was one of 36 Division I teams presented with the award and the only program from the BIG EAST Conference to garner the accolade.
In order to receive the award, a team must carry a GPA of at least 3.0 on the 4.0 scale, a mark that the Red Storm shattered during 2016-17. The Johnnies compiled a team GPA of 3.42 during the last school year, with 29 of the team's 35 players carrying an individual GPA of 3.0 or higher. Matt Messier and Joe Kelly each tallied one semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA, while Ryan Markey turned in a flawless academic mark in both the fall and spring semesters.
Jesse Berardi, a CoSIDA Academic All-American who was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 10th Round of the 2017 MLB Draft following his junior campaign, left St. John's with a 3.83 GPA and plans on returning to complete his studies in the fall. In addition, Michael Donadio earned CoSIDA Academic All-District distinction while Robbie Knightes won the BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Award.
