St. John's University Athletics
Antico Named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, Johnnies Picked to Finish Second
12/18/2019 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
Nick Mondak also garners selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
QUEENS, N.Y. (Dec. 18, 2019) – Looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in a span of four seasons, the St. John's baseball team has been predicted to finish in a tie for second in the BIG EAST by a preseason vote of the league's coaches. Additionally, the Red Storm saw two of its players garner individual accolades, as Mike Antico earned Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year honors and Nick Mondak found a spot on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
2020 will mark the first season since 2014 that a team other than St. John's will enter the year as the league's preseason favorite. In those five consecutive years that the Johnnies were predicted to win the BIG EAST, the team won a pair of conference titles and earned three berths to the NCAA Tournament.
This season, St. John's is part of a three-way tie for second place with Seton Hall and Xavier, as all three schools earned 28 points in the poll. Defending league champion Creighton clinched first place by a single point, coming in with 29. Butler (14), Villanova (11) and Georgetown (9) rounded out the rest of the preseason poll.
Antico becomes the third St. John's player since conference realignment to earn Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year honors, joining Anthony Brocato in 2018 and Alex Caruso in 2016.
Antico, who just yesterday was named a Preseason Third Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, earned his recognition following a stellar junior campaign that saw him emerge as one of the conference's most feared hitters. The Colts Neck, N.J., native hit .386 and reached base at a .500 clip, good enough for second and first, respectively, in the conference. Nationally, Antico's .386 average ranked 22nd while his .500 on-base percentage placed 16th in Division I.
During the 18-game BIG EAST regular season, Antico was a revelation at the plate, slashing .431/.575/.754. He hit four of his team-high six home runs against conference foes and drove in 14 of his 29 RBIs. Three of those round trippers came in one game, as Antico put forth the most dominant offensive performance by a St. John's player in nearly a decade. On April 19 against Villanova, he reached base in all six of his plate appearances, going 4-for-4 with three home runs, a double, seven RBIs and two walks. Antico became the first St. John's player to leave the yard three or more times in a single game since eventual second round draft pick Jeremy Baltz hit four against Louisville in 2010.
Antico was equally impressive in the postseason, going 9-for-15 with a home run, two doubles, four runs scored and two RBIs in three games at the BIG EAST Touranment. Included in that postseason surge was a 5-for-6 effort against Creighton in which Antico fell a triple shy of the cycle.
Also known for his blazing speed on the base paths, Antico stole 20 bases on just 24 tries in 2019, becoming the first St. John's player since Matt Wessinger in 2012 to swipe 20 or more bags in a single season.
After battling injuries throughout the first three years of his St. John's tenure, Mondak will look to fully break out during his fourth season with the program in 2020.
A southpaw from Watertown, Conn., Mondak made his first appearance in nearly two years during the Red Storm's season opener at UCLA before going down again for a month and a half with a separate injury. Upon returning in April, Mondak proved to be one of the Red Storm's most reliable arms, working his way into a formidable weekend rotation by season's end.
In nine appearances, eight of which were starts, Mondak went 2-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 35.0 innings of work. He struck out 34 batters and surrendered only 16 walks, including a 30-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his final six appearances. Included in that stretch was a start against Iona that saw him punch out 10 and walk only one in six innings of scoreless, two-hit work.
2020 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Preseason Player of the Year
Mike Antico, St. John's, Sr., OF ^
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Connor Schultz, Butler, Jr., RHP
Preseason All-BIG EAST *
Natale Monastra, Xavier, Sr., C
^ Matt Toke, Seton Hall, 1B
Ryan Altenberger, Xavier, Jr., 2B
Jack Housinger, Xavier, So., SS
Eddie McCabe, Georgetown, Jr., 3B
Ryan Mantle, Creighton, RS-Sr., DH
^ Mike Antico, St. John's, Sr., OF
Tyler Shedler-McAvoy, Seton Hall, Sr., OF
Jared Wegner, Creighton, So., OF
^ Connor Schultz, Butler, Jr., RHP
Noah Thompson, Seton Hall, Sr., RHP
Nick LoRusso, Villanova, So., INF/RHP
Nick Mondak, St. John's, Sr., LHP
Gordon Graceffo, Villanova, So., RHP
David Festa, Seton Hall, So., RHP
^ Lane Flamm, Xavier, So., RHP (RP)
Preseason Coaches' Poll
First place votes in ( )
1. Creighton (2) – 29 pts.
T2. Seton Hall (3) – 28
T2. St. John's (1) – 28
T2. Xavier – 28
5. Butler – 14
6. Villanova – 11
7. Georgetown – 9
^ - denotes unanimous selection
* due to a tie in voting, there are six starting pitchers on the preseason all-conference team
2020 will mark the first season since 2014 that a team other than St. John's will enter the year as the league's preseason favorite. In those five consecutive years that the Johnnies were predicted to win the BIG EAST, the team won a pair of conference titles and earned three berths to the NCAA Tournament.
This season, St. John's is part of a three-way tie for second place with Seton Hall and Xavier, as all three schools earned 28 points in the poll. Defending league champion Creighton clinched first place by a single point, coming in with 29. Butler (14), Villanova (11) and Georgetown (9) rounded out the rest of the preseason poll.
Antico becomes the third St. John's player since conference realignment to earn Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year honors, joining Anthony Brocato in 2018 and Alex Caruso in 2016.
Antico, who just yesterday was named a Preseason Third Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, earned his recognition following a stellar junior campaign that saw him emerge as one of the conference's most feared hitters. The Colts Neck, N.J., native hit .386 and reached base at a .500 clip, good enough for second and first, respectively, in the conference. Nationally, Antico's .386 average ranked 22nd while his .500 on-base percentage placed 16th in Division I.
During the 18-game BIG EAST regular season, Antico was a revelation at the plate, slashing .431/.575/.754. He hit four of his team-high six home runs against conference foes and drove in 14 of his 29 RBIs. Three of those round trippers came in one game, as Antico put forth the most dominant offensive performance by a St. John's player in nearly a decade. On April 19 against Villanova, he reached base in all six of his plate appearances, going 4-for-4 with three home runs, a double, seven RBIs and two walks. Antico became the first St. John's player to leave the yard three or more times in a single game since eventual second round draft pick Jeremy Baltz hit four against Louisville in 2010.
Antico was equally impressive in the postseason, going 9-for-15 with a home run, two doubles, four runs scored and two RBIs in three games at the BIG EAST Touranment. Included in that postseason surge was a 5-for-6 effort against Creighton in which Antico fell a triple shy of the cycle.
Also known for his blazing speed on the base paths, Antico stole 20 bases on just 24 tries in 2019, becoming the first St. John's player since Matt Wessinger in 2012 to swipe 20 or more bags in a single season.
After battling injuries throughout the first three years of his St. John's tenure, Mondak will look to fully break out during his fourth season with the program in 2020.
A southpaw from Watertown, Conn., Mondak made his first appearance in nearly two years during the Red Storm's season opener at UCLA before going down again for a month and a half with a separate injury. Upon returning in April, Mondak proved to be one of the Red Storm's most reliable arms, working his way into a formidable weekend rotation by season's end.
In nine appearances, eight of which were starts, Mondak went 2-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 35.0 innings of work. He struck out 34 batters and surrendered only 16 walks, including a 30-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his final six appearances. Included in that stretch was a start against Iona that saw him punch out 10 and walk only one in six innings of scoreless, two-hit work.
2020 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Preseason Player of the Year
Mike Antico, St. John's, Sr., OF ^
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Connor Schultz, Butler, Jr., RHP
Preseason All-BIG EAST *
Natale Monastra, Xavier, Sr., C
^ Matt Toke, Seton Hall, 1B
Ryan Altenberger, Xavier, Jr., 2B
Jack Housinger, Xavier, So., SS
Eddie McCabe, Georgetown, Jr., 3B
Ryan Mantle, Creighton, RS-Sr., DH
^ Mike Antico, St. John's, Sr., OF
Tyler Shedler-McAvoy, Seton Hall, Sr., OF
Jared Wegner, Creighton, So., OF
^ Connor Schultz, Butler, Jr., RHP
Noah Thompson, Seton Hall, Sr., RHP
Nick LoRusso, Villanova, So., INF/RHP
Nick Mondak, St. John's, Sr., LHP
Gordon Graceffo, Villanova, So., RHP
David Festa, Seton Hall, So., RHP
^ Lane Flamm, Xavier, So., RHP (RP)
Preseason Coaches' Poll
First place votes in ( )
1. Creighton (2) – 29 pts.
T2. Seton Hall (3) – 28
T2. St. John's (1) – 28
T2. Xavier – 28
5. Butler – 14
6. Villanova – 11
7. Georgetown – 9
^ - denotes unanimous selection
* due to a tie in voting, there are six starting pitchers on the preseason all-conference team
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