St. John's University Athletics
Four Johnnies Earn All-BIG EAST Honors
5/26/2021 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
Mondak, Bartels and Higgins claim first-team spots, Routzahn named to second team
Four members of the St. John's baseball team have garnered All-BIG EAST honors, it was announced on Wednesday afternoon by the conference office.
Three of the Red Storm's four honorees claimed spots on the league's top squad, as Nick Mondak, Carson Bartels and Marty Higgins earned selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Ethan Routzahn was rewarded with a place on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
Mondak, Bartels, Higgins and Routzahn each earned all-conference bids for the first time in their collegiate tenures.
Since 2014, St. John's has now placed 33 student-athletes on the All-BIG EAST First Team, an average of more than four per season.
Mondak, who overcame injury early in his career to become the Red Storm's Friday night ace, earned selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team after turning in a 4-3 record with a 1.92 ERA in 11 appearances, all of which were starts. Through the regular season, Mondak ranks third in the BIG EAST and 14th nationally among qualifying pitchers in ERA. The southpaw struck out 74 batters and surrendered just 18 walks on the season while limiting opponents to a .248 batting average. In the month of May, Mondak tallied 23 strikeouts and just one walk over his final 18.2 innings pitched. On the season, Mondak's ERA never climbed north of 2.12 following any one start.
Bartels, in his third year with the program, enjoyed his best season as a Johnnie in 2021. The graduate student from Westchester, Ill., started 36 of his 37 appearances at second base and finished third on the team with a .279 batting average. Bartels led the squad with 26 RBIs and finished second in doubles (9) and home runs (2). He had five multi-hit games, including a pair of three-hit performances, and tallied a team-high seven outings with multiple RBIs, including two four-RBI showings. Bartels ended the season reaching base in 13 straight games.
Having seen limited action as a true freshman during the abbreviated 2020 season, Higgins exploded onto the scene for the Red Storm in 2021. After starting the campaign 0-for-7 in his first five appearances, Higgins broke into the starting lineup at the beginning of BIG EAST play and never looked back. Higgins played in all 26 conference games, hitting a team-best .360 against league foes with seven doubles. The Nutley, N.J., native recorded six multi-hit games, including four outings with three or more base knocks. His most memorable performance of the season came in the series-opening win against Seton Hall, when he went 4-for-4 with two doubles, including a walk-off two-bagger in the bottom of the 11th.
Routzahn, who showed signs of promise during the shortened 2020 season, solidified a reputation as one of the league's most feared relievers in 2021. The sidearm specialist made a team-high 16 appearances out of the bullpen, compiling a 2-1 record with six saves and a 1.19 ERA. His 1.19 ERA was the lowest mark over the course of a full season by a St. John's hurler since 2016, when Thomas Hackimer tallied a 1.17 ERA before being taken in the fourth round of the MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins. This season, Routzahn fanned 30 batters and surrendered just 10 walks while holding opponents to a .143 batting average in 22.2 innings pitched. Five of Routzahn's 16 outings lasted 2.0 innings or more.
2021 BIG EAST Baseball Regular Season Awards
Player of the Year
Kyler Fedko, UConn, So., OF ^
Pitcher of the Year
Dylan Tebrake, Creighton, So., RHP
Freshman of the Year
Alan Roden, Creighton, RS-Fr., OF
Coaching Staff of the Year
Connecticut, Head coach Jim Penders
All-BIG EAST First Team *
Dylan Tebrake, Creighton, So., RHP ^
David Festa, Seton Hall, Jr., RHP
Nick Zwack, Xavier, Sr., LHP
Nick Mondak, St. John's, RS-Jr., LHP
Caleb Wurster, UConn, So., LHP (RP)
Jerry Huntzinger, Seton Hall, Sr., C
Natale Monastra, Xavier, Sr., C
Matt Toke, Seton Hall, Sr., 1B
Carson Bartels, St. John's, Grad, 2B
Jack Housinger, Xavier, Jr., SS
Marty Higgins, St. John's, RS-Fr., 3B
Alan Roden, Creighton, Fr., DH ^
Kyler Fedko, UConn, So., OF ^
Chris Winkel, UConn, Sr., OF
Erik Stock, UConn, Jr., OF
All-BIG EAST Second Team
(listed alphabetically by team)
James Gargano, Butler, Sr., OF
Ben Casparius, UConn, Jr., RHP
Reggie Crawford, UConn, Fr., 1B/Utility
Austin Peterson, UConn, Jr., RHP
Pat Winkel, UConn, So., C
Paul Bergstrom, Creighton, So., LHP (RP)
Ryan Mantle, Creighton, Sr., 3B
Andrew Meggs, Creighton, So., 2B
Parker Upton, Creighton, Sr., OF
Ethan Routzahn, St. John's, RS-Jr., RHP (RP)
Tyler Burnham, Seton Hall, Sr., LHP
Casey Dana, Seton Hall, Sr., DH
Will Gale, Seton Hall, RS-Fr., OF
Gordon Graceffo, Villanova, Jr., SP
Andrew Walker, Xavier, So., OF
^ denotes unanimous selection
* due to a tie in voting, there are two catchers listed on the all-conference first team
Three of the Red Storm's four honorees claimed spots on the league's top squad, as Nick Mondak, Carson Bartels and Marty Higgins earned selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Ethan Routzahn was rewarded with a place on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
Mondak, Bartels, Higgins and Routzahn each earned all-conference bids for the first time in their collegiate tenures.
Since 2014, St. John's has now placed 33 student-athletes on the All-BIG EAST First Team, an average of more than four per season.
Mondak, who overcame injury early in his career to become the Red Storm's Friday night ace, earned selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team after turning in a 4-3 record with a 1.92 ERA in 11 appearances, all of which were starts. Through the regular season, Mondak ranks third in the BIG EAST and 14th nationally among qualifying pitchers in ERA. The southpaw struck out 74 batters and surrendered just 18 walks on the season while limiting opponents to a .248 batting average. In the month of May, Mondak tallied 23 strikeouts and just one walk over his final 18.2 innings pitched. On the season, Mondak's ERA never climbed north of 2.12 following any one start.
Bartels, in his third year with the program, enjoyed his best season as a Johnnie in 2021. The graduate student from Westchester, Ill., started 36 of his 37 appearances at second base and finished third on the team with a .279 batting average. Bartels led the squad with 26 RBIs and finished second in doubles (9) and home runs (2). He had five multi-hit games, including a pair of three-hit performances, and tallied a team-high seven outings with multiple RBIs, including two four-RBI showings. Bartels ended the season reaching base in 13 straight games.
Having seen limited action as a true freshman during the abbreviated 2020 season, Higgins exploded onto the scene for the Red Storm in 2021. After starting the campaign 0-for-7 in his first five appearances, Higgins broke into the starting lineup at the beginning of BIG EAST play and never looked back. Higgins played in all 26 conference games, hitting a team-best .360 against league foes with seven doubles. The Nutley, N.J., native recorded six multi-hit games, including four outings with three or more base knocks. His most memorable performance of the season came in the series-opening win against Seton Hall, when he went 4-for-4 with two doubles, including a walk-off two-bagger in the bottom of the 11th.
Routzahn, who showed signs of promise during the shortened 2020 season, solidified a reputation as one of the league's most feared relievers in 2021. The sidearm specialist made a team-high 16 appearances out of the bullpen, compiling a 2-1 record with six saves and a 1.19 ERA. His 1.19 ERA was the lowest mark over the course of a full season by a St. John's hurler since 2016, when Thomas Hackimer tallied a 1.17 ERA before being taken in the fourth round of the MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins. This season, Routzahn fanned 30 batters and surrendered just 10 walks while holding opponents to a .143 batting average in 22.2 innings pitched. Five of Routzahn's 16 outings lasted 2.0 innings or more.
2021 BIG EAST Baseball Regular Season Awards
Player of the Year
Kyler Fedko, UConn, So., OF ^
Pitcher of the Year
Dylan Tebrake, Creighton, So., RHP
Freshman of the Year
Alan Roden, Creighton, RS-Fr., OF
Coaching Staff of the Year
Connecticut, Head coach Jim Penders
All-BIG EAST First Team *
Dylan Tebrake, Creighton, So., RHP ^
David Festa, Seton Hall, Jr., RHP
Nick Zwack, Xavier, Sr., LHP
Nick Mondak, St. John's, RS-Jr., LHP
Caleb Wurster, UConn, So., LHP (RP)
Jerry Huntzinger, Seton Hall, Sr., C
Natale Monastra, Xavier, Sr., C
Matt Toke, Seton Hall, Sr., 1B
Carson Bartels, St. John's, Grad, 2B
Jack Housinger, Xavier, Jr., SS
Marty Higgins, St. John's, RS-Fr., 3B
Alan Roden, Creighton, Fr., DH ^
Kyler Fedko, UConn, So., OF ^
Chris Winkel, UConn, Sr., OF
Erik Stock, UConn, Jr., OF
All-BIG EAST Second Team
(listed alphabetically by team)
James Gargano, Butler, Sr., OF
Ben Casparius, UConn, Jr., RHP
Reggie Crawford, UConn, Fr., 1B/Utility
Austin Peterson, UConn, Jr., RHP
Pat Winkel, UConn, So., C
Paul Bergstrom, Creighton, So., LHP (RP)
Ryan Mantle, Creighton, Sr., 3B
Andrew Meggs, Creighton, So., 2B
Parker Upton, Creighton, Sr., OF
Ethan Routzahn, St. John's, RS-Jr., RHP (RP)
Tyler Burnham, Seton Hall, Sr., LHP
Casey Dana, Seton Hall, Sr., DH
Will Gale, Seton Hall, RS-Fr., OF
Gordon Graceffo, Villanova, Jr., SP
Andrew Walker, Xavier, So., OF
^ denotes unanimous selection
* due to a tie in voting, there are two catchers listed on the all-conference first team
Players Mentioned
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